AD says that Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard has been given the all-clear to return to be head coach.
In basketball, Michigan will play Eastern Michigan in Saturday at Crisler Center. Juwan Howard will be the head coach of the team.
This is the return to our normal coaching system after we looked into what happened last week during an ensemble practice involving several people.
“Juwan Howard will return to the University of Michigan bench on Saturday against Eastern Michigan to reprise his full role as head coach,” said Warde Manuel, the school’s sports director, in a statement Friday night.
“Coach Howard, who is his doctors, as well as our medical experts are still united in taking this next phase as he recovers following his September heart procedure.”
That was a big question just three hours before, when Phil Martelli, the acting head coach, talked to reporters on video call for 15 minutes.
The call was supposed to be a preview of the game, but it was also the first chance to ask a U-M official about a fight that was said to have happened between Howard and fitness coach Jon Sanderson.
“Thank you very much to associate coach Phil Martelli for taking over as interim head coach to start the season.”
Let me thank Phil for all he has done to run the program over the past few months. From now on, we are going to continue to gain from his knowledge.
We did a full internal review and didn’t find any reason to punish anyone. So, we will keep our attention on our team as well as our season going forward.
Whatever happened at practice last week between Howard and Sanderson, Sanderson is said to have complained to human resources.
As part of this investigation, he was being questioned by staff, who told MLive that nothing was found to be so bad that he should be punished.
Martelli was Michigan’s head coach on Sunday when they beat Iowa. This has been the case throughout the entire season. Howard had been sitting on the bench since the last game.
Sanderson wasn’t in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. He usually trips with the team as well as sits on the bench.
Howard went with Michigan into the Bahamas to the Battle 4 Atlantis on November 22. It was the first time during the year that he played from the bench, and Martelli continued to be the acting head coach.
Since then, the strange setup has continued, with Howard sitting on the bench as an assistant coach and Martelli being the head coach of the Wolverines until their win over the Hawkeyes on Sunday.
Ohio State is 5-5. Since Howard was hired, the program has gone through ups and downs. The best time was during the 2020–21 season, if Howard led Michigan to the Big Ten title and a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, where they lost in the Elite Eight.
The next year, Michigan came back from a bad season to make the Sweet 16 as a No. 11 seed. The Wolverines had been an NIT team last year and didn’t look like a very good team going into 2023–24.
Sanderson, on the other hand, wasn’t in the building as well as didn’t go with the squad like he usually does when they play away games. Sanderson is said to have made a complaint in human resources after the fight with Howard at practice.
A few hours before Manuel’s statement came out, Martelli talked to the reporters but didn’t say much about what was going on with Howard and Sanderson or their statuses.
Manuel made his choice on Friday night. Now, everyone in the coaching team should be back to their normal jobs.
Howard Eisley will be in charge of the offense, Saddi Washington will be in charge of the defense, Martelli will be the lead assistant coach, and Howard will be in charge of the whole thing.
Manuel said, “We really appreciate associate coach Phil Martelli taking over as interim head coach to start the season.”
To Phil: “Thank you for all you’ve done to lead the program over the past few months. From now on, we will continue to gain from his knowledge.