JUST IN: Michigan Officially Announces Juwan Howard's Return

After missing the early part of the season due to heart surgery back in September, Michigan head basketball coach Juwan Howard is set to make his return this weekend.

It's official, Juwan Howard will be returning to the sidelines this weekend. After missing the first part of the season due to a heart surgery back in September, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel announced that Howard will be making his return this Saturday against Eastern Michigan. 

Additionally, Manuel indicated that he had reviewed the incident between Howard and strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson, and that nothing he saw was worthy of any disciplinary action against the head coach.

You can read Manuel's full statement below:

Statement from Warde Manuel, Donald R. Shepherd Director of Athletics

12/15/2023

“Juwan Howard will return to the Michigan bench Saturday (Dec. 16) against Eastern Michigan in his total capacity as head coach. Coach Howard, his doctors and our medical experts remain aligned in taking this next step as he recovers from a September heart procedure

“We greatly appreciate associate head coach Phil Martelli’s guidance of our program on an interim basis to start the season. I want to personally thank Phil for what he has done in the past few months to lead the program. We will continue to benefit from his wisdom moving forward.

“The return of our usual coaching structure comes after a review of an incident involving several individuals during a team practice last week. Based on a thorough internal review, nothing was found to warrant disciplinary action for anyone involved. As such, we will move forward with a focus on our team and our season.”