According to The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn, Sanderson has filed an HR claim over the incident, which allegedly occurred last Friday. According to multiple reports and verified by multiple sources to 247Sports, Sanderson and Howard had at least a heated verbal exchange over “accountability” within the program.
“The confrontation between Howard and Sanderson stemmed from a disagreement between an athletic trainer and senior guard Jace Howard, Juwan’s 22-year-old son. Jace Howard has not played this season with a stress fracture in his right knee and tibia, and questioned why he’s yet to be cleared to play,” Quinn wrote. “Sanderson became involved in that dispute, and he and Juwan Howard exchanged words. According to a combination of witnesses and individuals briefed on the matter, no punches were thrown, but things became heated to the point where the two were separated.
“… According to one official with understanding of university policy, human resources is responsible for collecting and reviewing the facts of the incident, including Howard’s account, then creating a report for Howard’s superior, who will make the ultimate determination if any policy was violated. That will be Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel and the University of Michigan legal counsel.”
Sanderson has been Michigan’s strength and conditioning coach since 2009, as well as holding the same role for Michigan’s men’s and women’s golf teams. He has been widely credited for helping the Wolverines produce a staggering 17 NBA Draft picks and 11 first-round picks since 2011, all but four of whom were in Ann Arbor for at least two seasons. In a decade prior to his arrival, Michigan had produced just two NBA Draft picks, and one first-rounder.
An HR report being filed is notable because, since his slap of Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft in February, 2022, which resulted in a five-game suspension and $40,000 fine, Howard has been under a “zero-tolerance policy” by the athletic department. In addition to the altercation at Wisconsin, Howard was also ejected from a Big Ten Tournament game against Maryland in March, 2021, with claims from Maryland’s side alleging that Howard threatened then-Maryland coach Mark Turgeon.
Howard’s alleged incident with Sanderson is the latest setback in what has been an adverse year for Howard. In the spring, Howard’s Wolverines went 18-16, missing the NCAA Tournament and losing to Vanderbilt in the second round of the NIT. Shortly after, Michigan lost Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard to the NBA Draft, and three-year starter Hunter Dickinson to the transfer portal. Dickinson ended up at Kansas.
Over the summer, Michigan was aggressive in the transfer portal, landing graduate transfers Olivier Nkamhoua, Nimari Burnett and Tray Jackson. But several misses in both high school and transfer recruiting resulted in the Wolverines entering the season with just 11 of an allowable 13 scholarship players. One of those players is Jace Howard, who has yet to play this season.
Then, shortly before the season began, Howard underwent heart surgery Sept. 15, and has yet to serve as a head coach since. The procedure resected an aortic aneurysm and repaired the aortic valve. The procedure initially was slated to be a 6- to 12-week recovery. The 12-week mark was Dec. 8, the date of Howard’s alleged incident with Sanderson. Since the season began, Howard has gradually increased his workload. He was elevated to an assistant coach role Dec. 2 in an overtime loss at Oregon.
In terms of the team’s results, they have been largely mixed, as Michigan is 1-1 in Big Ten play, 5-5 overall and 3-4 against high-major competition. Currently, the Wolverines are ranked No. 65 of the NCAA’s NET rankings, which are used as a guideline for NCAA Tournament selection.
Leave a Reply