Tom Izzo expresses care for Juwan Howard amid health concerns

Tom Izzo and Juwan Howard will do battle again when Michigan State and Michigan square off Tuesday night. But Izzo expressed care for Howard’s health amid the Michigan coach’s fight to return to the sidelines this year.

Howard underwent emergency heart surgery back in September and he ended up missing the beginning of the season. Izzo was certainly more concerned about his counterpart’s health rather than their matchup.

Izzo was asked about meeting up with Howard during a recruiting trip, but the Spartans coach acknowledged he wanted to check in on the Wolverines leader.

“We were in the gym together and it was right after you know, he still wasn’t 100% back,” Izzo said. “And rivalries aside when things are like and death … I did call him early in the year, I mean, you know, Phil Martelli on their staff is a very, very good friend of mine and he took over, but you know, I think we all are human. 

“And I always say the rivalry is a rivalry. That shouldn’t be a rivalry when people’s lives are in question, at least serious, and not where you’re out that length of time. We talked more about that and more about the state of college basketball than we did about our teams.”

After beginning the season away from the team, Howard steadily worked back into a full-time head coaching role. But the road back to full health is a long one, and Howard is still traveling it.

“I’m trying to get better, healthy. I’m trying. Every day is a battle,” Howard said. “It’s beautiful to get an opportunity this morning to go to physical therapy, three days a week.”

Howard heaped some praise on his physical therapists, nurses and doctors overseeing his care, giving them credit as his “teammates.”

“There are a lot of people, same folks that are dealing with some of the issues I’m dealing with, but we all share a common goal. We pray for one another and we cheer for one another,” Howard said.

Howard echoed Izzo’s comments that it is rivalry. Of course, it takes a backseat when someone’s health is on the line.“It’s great to have a rivalry game in-state,” Howard said. “This is always a fun time. Fun time for the entire state to really tune in and see two teams that do a really good job of competing for the bragging rights. We’re looking forward to the competition, which we always do. We expect it to be a very home-welcoming environment when we arrive tomorrow.”