March Madness is right around the corner.
Teams with shaky postseason odds are already feeling the pressure.
Now a basketball coach could be finished after one ugly incident.
Michigan Wolverines basketball coach Juwan Howard is in hot water.
After a bad loss to the Wisconsin Badgers, Howard refused to shake the hand of Badgers coach Greg Gard.
The tense moment escalated when Howard struck a Wisconsin assistant coach, which nearly led to a full-scale brawl.
After the game, Howard was completely unapologetic, but his tone shifted after being suspended by Michigan for the rest of the season.
Howard said in a statement:
“After taking time to reflect on all that happened, I realize how unacceptable both my actions and words were, and how they affected so many. I am truly sorry. I am offering my sincerest apology to my players and their families, my staff, my family and the Michigan fans around the world.”
Last year, Howard lost his temper and went after Maryland Terrapins head coach Mark Turgeon.
This was strike one for Juwan Howard last year.
He went after then Maryland head coach Mark Turgeon.pic.twitter.com/hcD7QDtev8
— Scott Abraham (@Scott7news) February 20, 2022
Howard was considered the most level-headed member of Michigan’s Fab Five 30 years ago, so his outbursts have caught many off-guard.
His statement continued:
“I would like to personally apologize to Wisconsin’s Assistant Coach Joe Krabbenhoft and his family, too. Lastly, I speak a lot about being a Michigan man and representing the University of Michigan with class and pride, I did not do that, nor did I set the right example in the right way for my student-athletes. I will learn from my mistake and this mistake will never happen again. No excuses!”
After the game, Howard said he was frustrated by Gard calling a timeout with 14 seconds left in a blowout.
However, Michigan was full-court-pressing Wisconsin even though the team had emptied the bench and put in walk-ons.
Gard called a timeout because his backups were struggling to beat the press.
If Gard showed “poor sportsmanship” by calling a timeout, then so did Howard by pressing walk-ons during a blowout.
Howard also first called a timeout with under a minute left.
Juwan Howard has some explaining to do #IUBB @BarstoolUofM pic.twitter.com/c2Qr6jY778
— Barstool IU (@IUBarstool) February 21, 2022
Michigan could still fire Howard, but for now, he’s lucky to get let off the hook with a suspension.