Meet Pe'Shon Howard
Living away from home is often the most drastic change a freshman faces in college, but for Maryland-bound combo guard Pe’Shon Howard, homesickness shouldn’t be an issue.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pound Howard left his Los Angeles home four years ago, spending his freshman year of high school at St. Edward in Cleveland followed by sophomore, junior and senior years at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Va.
“It’s big because I think I’ll be able to adjust early,” Howard said. “I start school early, and I think it’ll be good just being on the national stage and being able to help the team early.”
Howard and his father – who works on movie sets in Hollywood – moved to Cleveland for his ninth-grade year. Then legendary Oak Hill coach Steve Smith came calling. Howard said Smith initially wanted him to play for the Warriors as a junior, but his debut was moved up a year when another recruited point guard went elsewhere.
At Oak Hill, Howard was thrown into the starting lineup of the nation’s most high-profile high school program. The quick introduction to an almost college-like existence wasn’t easy for Howard.
“I was on board, but mentally, it took a lot to adjust,” Howard said. “Coach always helped me with attitude and how I carried myself. And on a big stage like that, you have to be kind of grown up all the time. So it was just a matter of adjusting. ... It probably still hasn’t all clicked. Probably the biggest adjustments [I made were] just this spring.”
Now Howard has three years of high-level competition under his belt, making him a likely candidate for significant time in the Maryland lineup. He’s receiving daily updates on pickup games in College Park from coaches and future teammates.
“I’m kind of ready for it to start happening. I want to be there for myself,” Howard said. “[The coaches] just told me to come in and be aggressive. They want me to have a big role early and [maybe] try to lead the team. I’ll come in and do what the coaches want me to do.”
Here’s an introduction to Howard:
Name: Pe’Shon Howard
Birthdate: Dec. 10, 1990
Birthplace: Los Angeles
Hometown: Los Angeles
Nicknames: P and Mr. Do-It-All
Height: 6'3
Weight: 195
Position: Point guard and shooting guard
High School: Oak Hill (Va.) Academy
Senior statistics: 14 points, 5.5 assists, three steals
Rankings: Rivals.com -- Three stars. Scout.com -- Three stars, No. 28 point guard. ESPN.com -- Three stars, No. 40 shooting guard, 92 rating.
Other schools considered: UCLA, Virginia, South Florida
Favorite pro basketball player: Kobe Bryant
Favorite pro basketball team: Los Angeles Lakers
Favorite all-time Terp: “Steve Francis, Juan Dixon, Steve Blake. And I might say [Terps assistant coach Keith] Booth because he’s coaching me.”
Favorite music: Jay-Z, Kanye West, Trey Songz, Drake
Favorite book: The “Harry Potter” series by J.K. Rowling
Favorite movie: “He Got Game”
Favorite TV show: “The Boondocks”
Favorite food: Chicken
Favorite high school class: Math
Favorite thing about College Park: "Comcast."
Hobbies: “Pretty much just basketball and studying. If I’m not doing that, then I’m just relaxing and resting up.”
Intended major: Undecided
Something that not many people know about you: “Probably just how much I like school. I have a 3.8 and ever since I’ve been in high school I’ve been on the A or B honor roll.”
Best basketball moment: “My first game on ESPN my sophomore year. You always watch games on ESPN and you always see pros on that. It was just kind of special to me.”
Role model: “My dad because he’s always been there for me and he made me who I am.”
Why Maryland? “Because I like Coach Gary Williams, the ACC is the best conference, I have a chance to play right away, and the system favors my style of play.”
Comments
he will be the next point guard at md. not bowie, not stoglin... but pe'shon howard
make no mistake about it! he has great passing skills, great court sense, tough, knows when to drive and take it to the basket or when to kick it out to someone on the wing or drop it off to someone down low. terrific with the ball on the break or in the half court. his half court point guard skills are much better than vasquez. may not be the scorer vasquez was but overall a better point guard.
Posted by: freddy from boca | May 20, 2010 3:08 PM
I met this kid a few weeks back before the md/duke game... great kid, should be fun to watch, great character, solid player
Posted by: terps | May 20, 2010 4:07 PM
Freddy-I like Bowie and predict that he is going to be a solid point guard for us this year. People forget how good he is because he barely played much last year backing up Hayes and GV. As long as he learned to go to his right and not miss lay ups, then he will be a beast......
However, I did see the Capital Classic, and Pe'shon looked REAL good. Took it to the hoop with ease, made some sick passes, drained a couple 3's, went to his left and right, and even dunked a fast break home. The only thing he lacked was defense, but it was an all-star game, so whatever....hopefully he plays better D in real games (which I hear he does). I definately think that he is going to be good early and one of our best players in a couple of years.
Don't forget about Sterling Gibbs, haven't seen much video on him, but have read articles, and apparently he is suppose to be a pretty ridiculous PG also.....so the future looks bright at that position for years to come.....now all we need our some BIGS to help out JWILL!!!
Posted by: Ryan | May 21, 2010 7:55 AM
He is text messaging about pick up games instead of playing them? "Virtual" updates doesn't help the team. FREDTERP
Posted by: FREDTERP | May 21, 2010 7:57 AM
to ryan. i just don't think bowie has the instincts to play point. and you can't teach instincts. i don't think bowie has the "feel" when driving and drawing the d to him and than pass off or fake the pass and go the basket. he's more lower your head and drive. bowie to me is more effective when they let him go strong to the basket or if they actually try to isolate him down in the blocks where he is good with his back to the basket and can use his athletic ability to turn and jump, usually turning towards his right and of course using his left hand to shot. they ran some plays for him like that last year.
Posted by: freddy from boca | May 21, 2010 3:12 PM
agree w/ freddy
Bowie will get some minutes at the point but hopefully not the bulk of them. He can barely dribble w. his right hand. But his three point shooting really improved in the final month of the season. He'll get most of his minutes at shooting guard
Posted by: oncewarrior | May 24, 2010 12:11 AM
howard has the opportunity to be great. he has the size and i think the attitude to be a strong point guard.
bowie is better than advertised. he actually defends the 3 point line, and was the most aggressive man defender on the team. he is a runner and his spot minutes never got him into any flow. it was only at the end of the season when he got consistent time then all of terp land remembered that he was a decent player.
how is he better than vasquez?
he attacks not only the lane, but the player sticking him, he is quicker, both offensively and defensively, and has learned to move without the ball being a bench guy. bowie will probably start this year unless stoglin or howard are just NBA ready right now.
Posted by: space | May 24, 2010 9:45 AM
I think Freddy is partially correct in his analysis of Bowie. That is, he is a slasher whose strengths are, well, his strength, quickness, aggressiveness and ability to get to the rack and (generally) finish. He has also steadliy improved his outside and free throw shooting over his career. He is certainly not the passer Vasquez is, but with his ability to drive, that should hopefully open up passing and shooting lanes for Williams, Gregory, et al.
With that said, I think everyone who predicts that Bowie will not be the Terps' primary point guard next season simply does not understand the nuances of playing high major college basketball, playing basketball for Gary Williams at Maryland or the value of ACC-game experience. Unless and/or until another player--Howard or Stoglin--far outshines him for a protracted period of time, Bowie will be Maryland's starting point guard. Bowie is the Terps' strongest on-the-ball defender and, with regular starter's minutes, should shine this season. Howard and Stoglin should get significant minutes and learn while playing behind him. Also, having Howard, Stoglin and Parker to along with Mosely and Tucker will only assist him and the Terps' backcourt as it will allow the team to distribute ball-handling responsibilities among multiple players within its guard rotation during crunch time and when presented with pressing defenses.
Posted by: Terp'nTexas | May 26, 2010 10:12 AM