Michigan's Juwan Howard Takes 'Full Ownership' of Altercation at Wisconsin

Michigan coach Juwan Howard got back to work on Tuesday after his five-game suspension concluded, and he met with the media prior to Thursday's game against Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament.

Before Juwan Howard brought his Michigan team to Indianapolis to take on Indiana in the Big Ten Tournament, he met with the media for 20 minutes to duscuss the five-game suspension he just went through after a postgame altercation with a Wisconsin assistant coach on Feb. 20 

“I can come with a thousand excuses, but I’m not,” Howard said Wednesday in his first public comments since the incident. “I take full ownership for my actions.”

Howard was suspended and fined $40,000 after striking Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the head following Michigan’s 77-63 loss in Madison on Feb. 20. Three players — Wisconsin’s Jahcobi Neath and Michigan’s Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams also served one-game suspensions for their roles in the altercation, and Wisconsin coach Greg Gard was fined $10,000, but did not receive a suspension.

Howard said he went to therapy during his suspension, recommendation from his bosses at Michigan. This is not his first altercation.

“When I talk about my team being one percent better, that applies to me, too,” Howard said. “During that two weeks, I got a chance to do some soul searching, to evaluate how I can get better.”

Michigan went 3-2 while Howard was away. They are the No. 8 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, and enter the event with a 17-13 overall record. 

They seem to be in the NCAA Tournament field for now, but another win against Indiana on Thursday — the game is at 11:30 a.m . ET at Gainbridge Fieldhouse — would help their cause.

After the dust-up, Howard knows that people will be watching. 

“I know there’s going to be a big microscope on me every time I coach,” he said.

To watch the full video of Howard's press conference, CLICK HERE

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