Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard involved in confrontation with strength coach

The Michigan men’s basketball program is dealing with another incident involving head coach Juwan Howard.

A program source confirmed a confrontation that involved Howard and longtime strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson occurred during a practice late last week. However, the altercation wasn't physical, despite several reports on social media suggesting otherwise.

It’s unclear what led to the confrontation or what it was about. According to The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn, the incident is going through a university review process and Howard is under a zero tolerance policy that was instituted by the school after he struck a Wisconsin assistant in February 2022.

Sanderson, who usually travels with the team, didn’t make the trip to Iowa for Sunday’s game at Carver-Hawkeye Arena, but Howard did and was on the bench. Sanderson did not respond to a message left by The News. According to a program source, Sanderson remains with the program.

Howard’s status with the team became a hot topic on social media Sunday night following Michigan’s 90-80 win when a tweet from @JomRothstein — a parody account impersonating college basketball reporter Jon Rothstein — said Howard would be “stepping down as head coach effective immediately.”

Rumors then swirled that Howard struck Sanderson during an argument that turned physical. However, a program source said those claims are inaccurate.

Regardless, there still was a verbal confrontation between Howard and a staff member that reportedly has been flagged, marking Howard’s latest incident during his tenure.

The most egregious occurred at Wisconsin two seasons ago, when Howard struck Badgers assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the head in the postgame handshake line. That led to Howard being suspended for the final five games of the 2021-22 regular season and fined $40,000.

The season before that, Howard got into a heated verbal exchange with then-Maryland coach Mark Turgeon in the second half of a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal. Howard had to be restrained by several members of the coaching staff and escorted off the court after he was ejected.

Howard, who is in his fifth year at the helm of his alma mater, has been working his way back from mid-September heart surgery and has been gradually increasing his time on the practice court, in the film room and in the office.

He returned to the bench for the first time this season during the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament, though he was ejected at the end of the first half of Michigan’s third and final game in the Bahamas for arguing with a referee.

Howard has since officially served as an assistant coach the past three games, while Phil Martelli has continued his duties as the acting head coach. There’s been no timeline for when Howard would return to his role as head coach.

Howard hasn’t spoken with local media since the postgame press conference following Michigan’s second-round NIT loss last season. That could possibly change this weekend when Michigan hosts Eastern Michigan. Jalen Rose, Howard’s close friend and former Michigan teammate, tweeted on Sunday night: “Juwan Howard did not and is not stepping down as (head coach). He is enthusiastically hoping to return Dec. 16.”

However, it remains to be seen if any disciplinary measures will come from the latest incident and if it will affect any coaching plans moving forward.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

@jamesbhawkins