Personal
Born September 1978 in Ogden, Utah ... parents are Bruce and Melody Howard ... fourth child of six children ... three brothers and two sisters ... married Monica Nelson on May 8, 2003 ... served an LDS Church mission to Toronto, Canada, speaking Mandarin Chinese ... brother Stephen played for Alaska-Anchorage ... zoology major.
At BYU
CAPSULE: Howard played in 14 games last year in limited action ... The tallest player on the roster, he has a nice touch for a big man ... He has made 8 of his 11 field goal attempts as a Cougar ... A hard worker, he has a knack for the ball and could be a factor in inside this year, especially with the Cougars' losses in the post ... He has not had the opportunity to play a lot of consistent minutes (he played a career-best 12 minutes at San Francisco last year) since last playing for his high school team in 1996.
FRESHMAN (2000-2001): Howard played in 14 games in limited action ... averaged 0.9 points and 0.6 rebounds in 3.5 minutes per game ... made 5-8 field goals (.625) and was 2-2 from the line on the year ... scored in five of 14 games he appeared in despite limited opporunities and grabbed a rebound in five games ... scored a season-high 4 points in loss at the University of San Francisco in 12 minutes of play ... scored 2 points in four games, all home wins over Elon College, Florida International, Idaho and San Diego State ... also had season-best 3 rebounds in win over San Diego State ... had 2 rebounds in loss at Arizona State.
REDSHIRT (1999-2000): Howard was forced to take a medical redshirt year after his right knee required surgery ... played in BYU's first four games and was 3-3 from the floor (1.5 ppg) and averaged 2 rebounds in 4.8 minutes.
Before BYU
Was a three-year letterwinner at Davis High School ... team took second in state in 1996 after winning region in 1995 and 1996.
Summary
Howard is an experienced reserve who helps make the center position a solid one for the Cougars in 2003-04 ... He has played in 63 games over his career, including 24 appearances last season ... He knows how to utilize his size to be a factor and has been a key contributor in significant situations when called upon ... He played a key role in the second half of the season in 2001-02 when he made 4 starts ... The tallest player on the roster, he plays with energy and has been a valuable defensive and rebounding presence ... He has a nice touch, shooting a career 34-59 (.576) from the floor ... He has career highs of 11 points, 7 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Stats
CAREER HIGHS:
POINTS: 11 vs. Toledo
FG: 4 vs. Toledo
FGA: 6 vs. Toledo
FG%: 1.000 (3-3) v. UCR (99-00), at SDSU
3FG MADE: --
3FG ATT: --
3FG%: ---
FT MADE: 3 vs. Toledo
FT ATT: 5 vs. Toledo
FT %: 1.000 (2-2) (three times)
REB: 7 at SDSU (2002)
ASSISTS: 1 (3 times) last vs. Creighton
STEALS: 1 (six times)
BLOCKS: 3 vs. Kansas State
MINUTES: 22 at CSU, v.UCI (2002)
Howard played in 14 games in limited action ... averaged 0.9 points and 0.6 rebounds in 3.5 minutes per game ... made 5-8 field goals (.625) and was 2-2 from the line on the year ... scored in five of 14 games he appeared in despite limited opporunities and grabbed a rebound in five games ... scored a season-high 4 points in loss at the University of San Francisco in 12 minutes of play ... scored 2 points in four games, all home wins over Elon College, Florida International, Idaho and San Diego State ... also had season-best 3 rebounds in win over San Diego State ... had 2 rebounds in loss at Arizona State.
Howard appeared in 21 games, including four starts, averaging 1.8 points and 2.2 rebounds in 9.5 minutes per game ... played double-digit minutes in 11 games, including each of the last nine ... a career 21-33 (.636) from the floor in his two seasons, including 13-22 (.591) in 2001-02 to share top field goal percentage honors with freshman Jared Jensen ... shot 60 percent from the free throw line ... had career highs in nine categories at SDSU, including points (8) and rebounds (7) ... while his offensive numbers were good against the Aztecs, his biggest contribution was on the defensive end where he was able to significantly slow down SDSU's Randy Holcomb, who had a huge first half prior to Howard entering the game ... had an important dunk and rebound late, along with a free throw, in BYU's come-from-behind win vs. Utah ... started three of the last four games of the season ... got his first start since the season-opener at CSU, playing a career-high 22 minutes while scoring four points on a career-high four shots (2-4) and pulled down 6 rebounds ... had his first career start in the season-opener at USD, playing seven minutes with one rebound ... had three points and five rebounds in NIT win over UC Irvine ... sprained his left knee vs. UC Irvine and was limited to 11 minutes at Memphis in the NIT second round.
Howard played a key role vs. Toledo in the season-opener, coming off the bench for a career-high 11 points while starters Jared Jensen and Rafael Araujo were in foul trouble or ineffective ... set or equaled career bests in six different categories vs. Toledo (points, field goals, field goals attempted, free throws, free throws attempted and assists) ... appeared in 24 games ... scored in eight games (Toledo, Rice, SUU, OSU, ISU, at Utah, vs. UNM, vs. CSU) ... grabbed a rebound in 12 contests (Toledo, Kansas State, Arizona State, SUU, Pepperdine, OSU, ISU, Wyoming, CSU - 3 times, UConn) ... had a career-best 3 blocks in the second game vs. Kansas State ... went 2-4 vs. Rice, including a dunk, to score 4 points in 10 minutes ... played double-digit minutes in three of the first four games but did not log 10 or more minutes in any game after that ... played nine minutes at CSU, including a big block late in the game to help preserve a win ... had a follow-and-one three-point play at the end of the first half vs. Oklahoma State to bring BYU within five points at the break ... gave BYU a great effort in his nine minutes off the bench in the team's MWC Tournament semifinal loss to Colorado State, scoring two buckets, including a strong dunk, in the late going to keep BYU close and pulled down a season-high 5 rebounds.
Howard was forced to take a medical redshirt year after his right knee required surgery ... played in BYU\'s first four games and was 3-3 from the floor (1.5 ppg) and averaged 2 rebounds in 4.8 minutes.