One of Juwan Howard’s biggest recruiting successes to date was reviving Michigan’s chances in the race for 2020 College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy center Walker Kessler. The Wolverines had fallen out of contention for the five-star big man after John Beilein’s abrupt departure, but Howard’s persistence and Kessler’s favorable impression of the program’s tradition allowed them to make the cutdown to six. Getting past the likes of Gonzaga, Auburn, Duke, North Carolina, and Cal will come down to making Kessler more comfortable with Howard’s vision for the future. The talented youngster’s longtime trainer and friend Austin Ewing recently indicated a return visit to Ann Arbor would be necessary for that to happen.

“The plan is to make another trip up because Walker really wants to see it and he wants to give them a chance to be able to explain that stuff,” Ewing told The Michigan Insider in a prior interview. “Based on what we’ve been told (the system) is going to have a little bit more screen-and-roll involved in it. You would expect that from a coach coming from the NBA ranks. So, I would expect that. I’m not really sure how open it’s going to be, but they know that’s the thing (being looked at).”

“They know how we feel about the inability to show us the style of play, so they’re going to do everything they can leading up to the decision to try to show us what that would be, even if they don’t have the time to actually show it in live action. So, they’re working on that.”

The Michigan Insider has learned that Howard & company will have their chance to make a fresh impression on Kessler when they host him on an unofficial visit this weekend. Also expected to be on hand are five-star Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy shooting guard Jaden Springer and four-star point guard commitment Zeb Jackson.

Since a decision from Kessler isn’t far off, the timing of his return trip to Ann Arbor is crucial.

“We want it to be made before he starts his senior season,” said Ewing. “We really just want him to be able to focus on him and on really enjoying his teammates and his opportunity to win the state championship for his high school.”

“If he knows where he wants to go to school (he can do that).”

To be that school the Wolverines will obviously have to clear the style-of-play hurdle, but there are several factors giving them a boost as they attempt to do so.

“The positive is I think Michigan speaks for itself as far as the university,” said Ewing. “Walker loved it when we went there. He loved the people that we met. He really, really enjoyed the time that we got to spend with the team, while we were there. We’ve been on a lot of trips, but I think Coach Beilein did an amazing job of making sure that the recruit that is being recruited has time to interact with the team that is there. That is who he’s going to be playing with, you know? And so, I think that resonated with Walker.”

“The reason why Michigan is still so very interesting and so high up on his list is because the person that they replaced (Beilein) with is an incredible person,” Ewing added. “Juwan Howard is an incredible person. His reputation across both the NBA and college precedes (him), and he is also a big man that played a long time in the NBA. So that too is something that is very, very appealing.”