Howard lettered in baseball and basketball at Deshler High School. He was an outstanding member of the Tigers baseball squad, but on the hardwood is where he excelled. At 6'5" he was the best big man in the area, averaging 17.7 points per game as a senior. He was selected to the All-Tri-Cities, All-TVC, All-District, and All-State teams. During the spring of his senior year, despite not being a regular member of the Tiger track squad, Coach Howard Chappell asked him to throw the shot in the TVC track meet. He finished second in the meet, despite never throwing in competition before. He was signed to a basketball scholarship to the University of Alabama and started as a sophomore for the Tide. Alabama Coach Eugene Lambert said, "while he led the team in rebounds and was capable of scoring from anywhere, it was his fierce desire to compete and win that made him a special player."