(ANN ARBOR) – Michigan freshman guard Jett Howard will declare for the 2023 NBA draft. Howard made that announcement Thursday to ESPN. He said the 2022-2023 season, was a great learning year for him, teaching him how to play within a pro-style offense and be effective, to get out of his comfort zone, and play with other good players. Howard, the No. 16 prospect in ESPN's NBA draft rankings, is rehabbing ankle injuries he suffered in both feet in Big Ten play, the extent of which wasn't publicly known until the end of the season, when Michigan elected to sit him for its two NIT games after consultation with an ankle specialist. Howard nevertheless had an outstanding freshman season, finishing as Michigan's second-leading scorer at 14.2 points per game, earning All-Big Ten third-team honors and being named to the conference's all-freshman team. Howard says he relished playing for his father, Juwan Howard, a former NBA All-Star and two-time NBA champion who won Big Ten Coach of the Year in 2021 after taking Michigan to the Elite Eight. Howard says his father didn't put any pressure on him to stay at Michigan another year, which made his decision to leave for the NBA much easier. Howard is expected to make a full recovery in time to conduct workouts with NBA teams picking in the lottery. The NBA draft combine will be held May 15-21 in Chicago, and the draft will be June 22 in Brooklyn, New York.