KU basketball’s Jerrance Howard selected for prestigious seminar

KU basketball assistant coach Jerrance Howard has been selected to participate in a prestigious virtual networking seminar, according to a release sent out this week.

Howard was selected for the 2020 TopConnect Virtual Seminar, which is slated for June 11 and 12. The seminar, originally under the name Villa 7, dates back to 2003. According to the release, it “identifies the top basketball assistant coaches in the country and connects them with mid-major Athletic Directors, providing tremendous networking opportunities for both parties.” 

“TopConnect also develops programming that allows these top assistant coaches to hear from a wide variety of successful leaders,” the release continued. “Prominent head coaches, panels of mid-major Athletic Directors, major media and sport influencers, the inner circle of college basketball and extremely successful business leaders share their leadership experiences.  The three-word mantra of ‘Connect. Prepare. Lead.’ identifies the purpose of TopConnect.”

Presenters at the event this year include reigning men’s basketball national coach of the year Anthony Grant (Dayton), Hall of Fame women’s basketball coach Muffet McGraw and several others, including Steve Forbes of Wake Forest.

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According to the event’s release, there will also be conversation on the search process for coaches, as well as a media perspective from various national college basketball analysts. 

“Since the inception of Villa 7 (now TopConnect), the program has spawned numerous Division 1 head coaches,” the release continued, “including Anthony Grant (Dayton), Buzz Williams (Texas A&M), Shaka Smart (Texas), Steve Forbes (Wake Forest), Rodney Terry (UTEP), John Groce (Akron), Kevin Keatts (NC State) and recently Greg Gary (Mercer), Brett Nelson (Holy Cross) and Bryan Mullins (Southern Illinois).”

The seminar invitation is not the first honor to be received by Howard this summer — or at least the first recognition of his coaching prowess. ESPN semi-recently put out a list of the top-40 college basketball coaches and assistants under the age of 40. Howard landed at No. 21 on the list. 

Here is what ESPN’s Jeff Borzello wrote of Howard’s inclusion on the list: 

“Howard has had a reputation as one of the nation’s best recruiters dating back to his time at Illinois. … The Peoria native is well-connected in Chicago and the Midwest but also had success at SMU under Larry Brown. Bill Self, who coached Howard as a player at Illinois, hired him in 2013, and Howard has continued his recruiting prowess in Lawrence.” 

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The KU assistant has helped the Jayhawks in recruiting several different areas, including the state of Texas and greater-Chicago area.

With Howard as lead recruiter, KU has landed current roster players Marcus Garrett and Jalen…