As Destiny Howell scanned the bookshelf in University of Wisconsin coach Robin Pingeton’s office, she noticed a rock. On it was an inscription of the Bible scripture Jeremiah 29:11.
Howell picked up the rock, looked at her parents and smiled. At that moment on the evening of April 14, she knew. Wisconsin was where she was meant to be. Two days later, she announced her commitment to the Badgers.
Jeremiah 29:11 was the verse Howell clung to when she tore her ACL right before her senior season in 2023. The rock had reminded her of the institution where she first made her name and a place she won’t forget: Howard University.
“I’m always going to have this gratitude for Howard University. It’s a place where I’m always going to have a super special part of my heart,” Howell told the Informer. “This place has helped me grow into the woman I am today. This experience is something I can’t get anywhere else, and I am not trying to find it anywhere else.”
Howell spent five seasons at Howard before announcing her transfer to Wisconsin last Wednesday. During her time as a Bison, she led the school to five straight Mid-Eastern Atlantic Conference title games, the 2022 MEAC championship and earned the 2022-2023 MEAC Player of the Year Award.
For Howell, a native of Queens, New York, transferring to Wisconsin is about growth.
“This decision wasn’t based on a bad experience at Howard University,” she said. “I knew that I had an opportunity to grow outside of my comfort zone, challenge myself and go somewhere that was a higher level that would allow people to no longer question my legitimacy because of conference difficulty.”
How Howard, Coach Grace Has Shaped Howell
While Howell also spoke with Tulane and Florida State University and visited St. John’s University in her hometown, she appreciated the Wisconsin coaching staff’s meaningful questions during their first dinner meeting. They weren’t just interested in her skills, but her life, inquiring about her relationship with her stepfather and biological father, and how her time at Howard, a historically Black college or university (HBCU), shaped her.
“Being able to have that time at an HBCU and now heading to Wisconsin, coach (Pingeton) wanted to understand how Howard made me the person and player that I am, because the person part is important to her,” Howell said. “She doesn’t want to say, ‘Wisconsin is going to do this better than Howard.’ She’s very accepting of my journey at Howard and loves that I got to experience this because I told her I don’t even know who I would be if I didn’t get to experience Howard first.”
The 6-foot guard emphasized there’s no Howard journey without Coach Ty Grace, who she said she’s forever indebted to for allowing her to play at Howard, often called the Mecca. She commended Grace for her honesty toward her as it pertains to areas of improvement and revealed that the coach constantly pushed her to be a leader, even in moments when she didn’t want to embrace that role.
Howell also praised the 2021-2022 MEAC Tournament Outstanding Coach award winner for her capacity to manage her players as people and not add pressure when they were having a rough day.
“Coach Ty challenged me to be a better person and player from day one. I didn’t see it until about my senior year when everything started to click post-ACL. Coach Ty was my mom away from home,” Howell said. “I’ve taken things from her that apply to how I want to lead at Wisconsin and just be an upstanding Black woman in society.”
Howell helped lead Howard to a 22-12 record this season and the second round of the Women’s National Invitational Tournament (WNIT). The graduate student-athlete averaged 14.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game this season. Her season total of 87 assists was a personal high, as were her 44 steals and 18 blocks.
Grace said Howell’s time at Howard prepared her emotionally, mentally and physically for the next chapter in her career. She commended Howell attaining a degree from Howard while maintaining discipline as a basketball player.
“She was the face of our program while engaging the community and building her brand off the court. I don’t know that she gets to do those things without Howard being an integral part of her development,” Grace told The Informer. “She means a lot to this program and University.”
Next Steps in the Big Ten
Now, Howell faces a new challenge in the Big Ten, one of the top-four collegiate conferences in the country.
This year’s NCAA women’s basketball tournament featured two Big Ten members, the University of Southern California and the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), participating in the Elite Eight. UCLA advanced to the Final Four.
Howell expects the Big Ten to be more fundamentally skilled and play at a faster pace than what she experienced in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference (MEAC). She looks forward to showcasing her talent against nationally ranked programs like University of Maryland and highly-touted players such as UCLA’s Kiki Rice.
While the conference will be different, her coach’s style of play won’t. Howell said she wanted to play in a system similar to Howard’s, so adapting wouldn’t take too long.
According to Howell, Pingeton’s style of play resembles Grace’s in that both play fast and are “somewhat free but controlled.”
“When Coach P explained the system, I immediately thought I could play. It was detailed and comfortable,” Howell said.
Coach Pingeton spent the previous 15 years as head coach of the University of Missouri women’s basketball team before accepting the same position at Wisconsin in late March.
Pingeton has three non-negotiables that she looks for in a player: one with a skillset who can make an immediate impact in the Big Ten; players that are passionate enough to develop their skills to adapt to her positionless motion offense; and those who can build a culture in the locker room. Howell fit all three.
“That aligns with who she is which allowed for an immediate connection from the jump,” Pingeton said. “She is a genuine lady with an incredible heart posture but also a really talented player. When you can get that whole package as a coach, you’re winning in a big way. We’re fired up about Destiny.”
Howell will move to Wisconsin in June to join a team that finished 13-17 last season. She said she wants to provide the Badgers with good shooting, the flash and flair of New York basketball, and to showcase her playmaking and three-level scoring abilities.
Howell believes the Wisconsin program will help her recuperate her efficiency after her field goal percentage decreased from 40.2% her junior year to 35.3% this past season. She also thinks she will become more poised as a player while at Wisconsin.
Her ultimate desire is to make it to the WNBA.
Pingeton produced WNBA talent during her time at Missouri, most notable being Indiana Fever guard Sophie Cunningham. Her history of building WNBA-caliber players gives Howell no doubt she could do the same with her.
“They (Wisconsin coaching staff) are going to push me to my limits, and they know I haven’t reached my ceiling yet,” Howell said. “I’m confident they can pull certain things out of me that help me get to the WNBA. The entire staff is invested in that goal for me, and I could see and feel that.”
As Howell starts her new journey and wherever life may take her afterward, one thing remains certain: Grace and Howard having her back.
“I’m extremely happy she’s able to get this opportunity and make her mark on a bigger stage and soon at the next level,” Grace said. “She’s like a daughter to me and I couldn’t be more proud as her coach.”
