Report: Confrontation between Juwan Howard, Jon Sanderson going through Michigan review process

Juwan Howard reportedly got into a confrontation with strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson, according to Brendan Quinn of The Athletic.

The Michigan basketball head coach was on the sideline for the win over Iowa, but Sanderson was not present. The incident reportedly happened at practice earlier in the week.

Howard remains under a zero tolerance policy after striking a Wisconsin assistant coach in 2022.

“According to a university official with direct knowledge of the matter, Howard’s status as Michigan head men’s basketball coach is unchanged,” Quinn wrote. “A confrontation between Howard and longtime U-M strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson in a team practice late last week is being explored and going through a university process.

“It is university procedure for such a review to be conducted outside of the athletic department. Multiple sources say claims of punches being thrown in the aforementioned altercation are inaccurate.”

Howard is currently in transition back to head coach after undergoing a heart procedure during the offseason. Phil Martelli remains interim head coach.

“Sanderson did not travel to Iowa with the team for Michigan’s game at Iowa today,” Quinn wrote. “He did not return a call for comment. According to a university source, Sanderson currently remains part of the program. Worth noting: Howard remains under a zero-tolerance policy instituted by U-M after striking a Wisconsin assistant coach in February 2022.”

This isn’t the first time Howard’s name surfaced for non-coaching reasons over the last few weeks. Howard was ejected from the game against Texas Tech while he wasn’t even coaching.

Howard underwent heart surgery over in September and he has been working his way back ever since. At the time of the operation, the university said he could return to full strength in six to 12 weeks.

Juwan Howard is entering his fifth season as the head coach at Michigan. The Wolverines are coming off of an 18-16 season.

Howard has had a successful run overall, with his best year at Michigan coming in 2020-21 when the Wolverines finished 23-5 and advanced to the Elite 8.

Prior to getting into coaching, Howard starred at Michigan and had an excellent NBA career. He was a member of the Fab Five, before being drafted No. 5 overall in the 1994 NBA draft. He spent 19 seasons in the NBA.