Juwan Howard addresses return to Wisconsin following 2022 controversy

Juwan Howard is still regretting his actions late last season when he struck Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft in the handshake line.

On Tuesday, Michigan returned to Wisconsin for the first time since since the incident. Howard addressed the obvious elephant in the room after losing to the Badgers 64-59.

“I wish I could have that situation back because I never would have reacted the way I did,” Howard said postgame. “And I hurt a lot of people — my family, my team, obviously Wisconsin, the coaching staff,  the fans here and the Michigan fans. 

“I don’t ever want this to always be remembered as that moment. Yes, it’s going to be brought up a lot. Do I regret it? Yes, yes I do. Do I wish I could have it back? Yes, I do, because I would never have reacted the way I did. Even though that was me, that’s really not who I am as an individual.”

Howard revelaed that he spoke to Krabbenhoft and Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard at Big Ten media days and it now seems that the incident is water under the bridge on both sides. Howard has since apologized, the postgame handshake was able to go down without a hitch.

“My players know the love that I have for them and they understood when I had a conversation about the incident, I took ownership of it. I’m still growing,” Howard said. “I’m also vulnerable to let them know that those moments right there, you can learn from them and make sure you don’t make those mistakes. That’s the connection that we have.”

Wisconsin moved into Joe Lunardi’s ‘Last Four In’ category of the NCAA Tournament with the win. Michigan was No. 80 before the loss. Time is running out for the Wolverines and with five games remaining before the postseason, losing is no longer an option for Howard and Michigan.