Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard will return to the sideline on Saturday, the team announced Fridaythree months after undergoing heart surgery.
Howard went under the knife on Sept. 15 to remove an aortic aneurysm and repair his aortic valve. The surgery was a success, but came with a recovery time of six to 12 weeks. Michigan later said Howard had no timetable to return while adding he was doing “fantastic.”
Howard will now return a little over 13 weeks after the procedure, in a non-conference game against Eastern Michigan at home. Tip-off is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. CT.
Juwan Howard cleared after reported confrontation with Michigan strength and conditioning coach
Howard’s time away from the court wasn’t without incident, however. The Athletic reported earlier this week that Michigan’s human resources was investigating an alleged confrontation on Dec. 7 between the coach and longtime Michigan strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson. The confrontation reportedly stemmed from a disagreement between a trainer and Juwan’s son, Michigan senior Jace Howard.
That disagreement eventually escalated into the elder Howard and Sanderson exchanging words. No punches were reportedly thrown, but the two were separated. That’s no small incident when Michigan reportedly has a zero-tolerance policy in place following Howard’s infamous punch of a Wisconsin assistant in 2022.
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel said an internal review found nothing to warrant discipline for Howard in his statement announcing the coach’s return, via Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman:
“Juwan Howard will return to the Michigan bench Saturday (Dec. 16) against Eastern Michigan in his total capacity as head coach. Coach Howard, his doctors and our medical experts remain aligned in taking this next step as he recovers from a September heart procedure.
“We greatly appreciate associate head coach Phil Martelli’s guidance of our program on an interim basis to start the season. I want to personally thank Phil for what he has done in the past few months to lead the program. We will continue to benefit from his wisdom moving forward.
“The return of our usual coaching structure comes after a review of an incident involving several individuals during a team practice last week. Based on a thorough internal review, nothing was found to warrant disciplinary action for anyone involved. As such, we will move forward with a focus on our team and our season.”
In Howard’s absence, the Wolverines have been led by assistant coach Phil Martelli, the former longtime head coach of St. Josephs. Michigan currently holds a record of 5-5, with a 1-1 mark in conference play.
