Michigan coach Juwan Howard needed a spark to help motivate his team ahead of their Big Ten sealing game against Michigan State on Thursday.
Who better than Spartan Drummond Green, the notoriously fierce competitor and master trash-talker?
Howard said he used a video of Green trash-talking Michigan to motivate his players just days after suffering a devastating loss to Illinois. The strategy worked: Michigan defeated the Spartans 60–59, winning the team’s first Big Ten regular season title since 2014.
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“They had a nice little video that I wanted people to hear,” Howard said in the postgame. “I think he really enjoyed watching it and hearing the words that were said.”
Howard declined to discuss the content or origin of the video, but players said it showed Green hoping to never win a “game” for Michigan.
“It was amazing (to win the Big Ten) and then it’s even sweeter to do that against Michigan State,” said Michigan grad transfer Mike Smith. “The coach showed us a video of Drummond Green. He was just saying that he wished we would never win a game. It just showed how aggressive this matchup is.”
Next up for the Wolverines: winning the Big Ten tournament, achieving a 1-seed in the NCAA tournament, and competing for a national championship:
Isaiah Liver said, “The Big Ten title … it’s a high achievement for me.” “We all play like a brother. I want (the national championship) as well. We’re going to win a Big Ten championship, have a March Madison run and fingers crossed, get that nattie.”
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