OT - Juwan Howard is last man standing from 1994 NBA Draft

Submitted by JeepinBen on

Today Jason Kidd announced his retirement from the NBA. Following his co-rookie of the year Grant Hill's retirement that means Juwan Howard is now the last member of the 1994 Draft that's still active.

Who knows if Juwan will play next year, but a tip o' the cap to him all the same.

JHendo

June 3rd, 2013 at 2:25 PM ^

I was a ballboy for a decent amount of games during the 2nd season of the Fab Five (spent most of my time being a ball boy for the women's team), and I concur 100%.  He was by far the nicest and most approachable of the group and would actually go out of his way to interact with us.  It's no surprise that while his skills and athleticism are declining, the Heat still want him around in some capacity.  

Not that any of the other 4 didn't deserve a championship ring, but Juwan deserved it even more.  I don't like the Heat at all, but I'd love to see him get a 2nd ring this year to make up for the 2 he should've had in college.

Dr. Steve

June 3rd, 2013 at 2:04 PM ^

Most people do not know what a great person Juwan is. He was raised by his grandmother and she made him promise to stay in school and graduate with his class. Unfortunately she died during his freshman year. Juwan stayed in school through his Junior year, but during the next year (his rookie NBA year) he took enough classes and credits to graduate with his class. I think that this has never been done, before or afterwards by anyone in any college sport.

In addition, when Juwan had spare time he spent it with the kids at the Children's Hospital in AA.

He is someone that we can all be proud of.

Dr. Steve

 

willow

June 3rd, 2013 at 5:35 PM ^

I've read that Juwan Howard was the first NBA player who graduated after leaving early to turn pro.

I do know that Dave Gallagher who graduated in about 1972 finished an MD while playing pro football.  I think that is very cool.

From his biography

Born and raised in Piqua, Ohio, where he lettered in high school football, basketball and track, Dr. David Gallagher continued his pursuit of both his education and his love of sports at the University of Michigan. There the All-American defensive tackle became the recipient of the National Football Foundation and Hall of Fame Scholarship and played in the 1972 Rose Bowl.

Beginning his studies in Zoology at the University of Michigan, Dr. Gallagher chose to earn his M.D. there as well, attending school part-time while he played professional ball, first with the Chicago Bears and New York Giants and finally with the Detroit Lions. Degree in hand, he served his residency in Orthopedic Surgery at Henry Ford Hospital, assisting the team physicians for the Detroit Tigers and Lions.

jshclhn

June 3rd, 2013 at 2:09 PM ^

Good for Juwan - always a very likeable athlete.  Something tells me he's not coming back - only 51 regular season minutes and 0 in the playoffs - I don't think he even dresses most nights unless there's injury/suspension.

He's known for motivational speeches - hope he has a career as a coach.

TheBlueBaller

June 4th, 2013 at 10:01 AM ^

I think he will have a great career as a coach. Besides his speeches, he is just such a smart player of the game and he understands basketball so much. I think he could coach college or NBA, but I think he would be more successful in college. I mean, look at his college days with the Fab Five and how he did a great job of bringing together those guys. He wasn't even the best player on that team, yet he was a great leader. I think he could take those talents and use them coaching a college team, and he would be successful

trueblueintexas

June 3rd, 2013 at 8:38 PM ^

Always loved the hard working post player. Nookie will always be one of my favorite players at Michigan because you always wanted to root for him to succeed given his childhood experience.