Jace Howard has and will continue to get plenty of questions about his dad. That was the case when

Joanne Howard was a player. That was the case when Juan Howard took the job at Michigan,

and that certainly is the case now that Jace plays under Jawan here at Michigan, Joanne's alma mater.

Now, Jace handles all of those questions and deals with all of the attention of that

topic with class and dignity. And while that is a common topic, it's an easy discussion point

outside the program. Within the program, Jace was known as and has really excelled at being a great

teammate. You better believe he wanted to play and play more last season,

but it was tough for any freshman not named Hunter Dickinson to get consistent playing time a year

ago, and that was the four-person class that Michigan brought in the best in the Big Ten per

pretty much all publications. So Jace, like many others, including other freshmen like Zab Jackson and Terrence Williams,

they found different ways to be helpful to affect winning.

Scout team stars, vocal presences on the bench, and all while being thankful for the veterans

who showed them the ropes, and this their first go-around in college.

In other words, as we talked about with Jace, being great teammates.

Again, externally, Jace's last name will continue to be a primary storyline in his career,

maybe until he goes and plays three decades in the NBA and one-ups his dad in that regard.

But internally, Jace isn't worried about that.

He is carving his own path out.

And to his teammates, it doesn't matter what Jace's last name is and who his dad is.

That's not easy to do considering the backdrop to Jace's situation.

We have a long chat with Jace.

I hope you enjoy getting to know him here on this week's edition of Defend the Block.

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