04/19/24
February 20, 2022
Juwan Howard Takes Swing at Wisconsin Coach After Game: After a 77-63 win by No. 15 Wisconsin over Michigan, head coaches Greg Gard and Juwan Howard got into an argument during the handshake line that turned physical when Howard made an open-handed shove at a Wisconsin coach's face. Howard was mad that Gard called two timeouts in the final minute after the outcome was no longer in doubt. The coaches still owe each other a handshake.
posted by rcade to basketball at 08:13 PM - 3 comments
That's two of these sorts of interactions from Howard in the last two to three years, by my hazy count. Completely unacceptable behavior. Zero excuse, either -- I've watched the tape a dozen times and the Wisconsin coach barely touches his wrist when Howard walks by and stiffs the handshake.
And the "I felt threatened" language is laughable. You're a giant of a man, with three or four people standing in front of you who you had to stretch over to throw that punch/slap... what exactly was threatening you??
posted by Goyoucolts at 12:00 AM on February 21, 2022
So Howard obviously has issues controlling his emotions and should be disciplined. But he is a pretty decent coach. He does not get premier talent and has a very good record in one of the 3 toughest conferences in men's basketball, the others being the Big East and Big 12. There are at least 2 other perennially overrated programs (hint: SEC and ACC) that have the top recruiting classes every single year but fail because of poor coaching.
Possibly Howard needs to take a step back and be an assistant for a good program. Have to add that Gard's move was complete douchebag material and he knows it.
posted by cixelsyd at 07:05 PM on February 21, 2022
When you land a top recruiting class of 5 stars and McDonalds men like Juwan did, then your team ends up being strictly mid pack and isn't even going to make the NIT, frustrations are bound to surface.
Howard has looked bad before and he looked bad today. He's already got people higher up the UM chain of command apologizing for what happened while he keeps his jaw locked. There's bound to be some sort of disciplinary action coming.
Based on the current coaching contract market, at least Michigan isn't grossly overpaying him to underproduce the way some NBA teams did.