Rumors have circulated for days about an alleged fight between Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard and strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson.
Rumors have circulated for days about an alleged fight between Michigan men’s basketball coach Juwan Howard and strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson. While the Michigan athletic administration has been silent regarding its inquiry into the incident, and the program has yet to comment on the topic, it appears Sanderson deemed the incident worthy of filing a human resources report about.
Sanderson, according to The Athletic’s Brendan Quinn, has filed an HR claim on the event, which allegedly occurred last Friday. Sanderson and Howard had a violent verbal altercation concerning “accountability” within the program, according to various accounts and confirmed by multiple sources to 247Sports.
“The altercation between Howard and Sanderson arose from a disagreement between an athletic trainer and Juwan Howard’s 22-year-old son, senior guard Jace Howard.” Jace Howard hasn’t played this season due to a stress fracture in his right knee and tibia, and Quinn questioned why he hasn’t been cleared to play.” “Sanderson got involved in the squabble, and he and Juwan Howard exchanged words.” According to witnesses and people briefed on the situation, no punches were thrown, but things became hot enough that the two were separated.
“… According to one official with knowledge of university policy, human resources is in charge of gathering and reviewing the facts of the incident, including Howard’s account, before compiling a report for Howard’s superior, who will make the final decision on whether any policy was violated.” Warde Manuel, Michigan’s athletic director, and the University of Michigan’s legal counsel Kobe Bufkin.
Sanderson has served as Michigan’s strength and conditioning coach since 2009, as well as the men’s and women’s golf teams. He has been largely credited with helping the Wolverines generate a whopping 17 NBA Draft picks and 11 first-round picks since 2011, all but four of whom spent at least two seasons in Ann Arbor. Prior to his arrival, Michigan had only produced two NBA Draft picks, one of which was a first-round pick.
An HR report was filed because Howard has been subjected to a “zero-tolerance policy” by the athletic department since his slap of Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft in February 2022, which resulted in a five-game suspension and $40,000 fine. In addition to the incident against Wisconsin, Howard was booted from a Big Ten Tournament game against Maryland in March 2021, with Maryland claiming Howard threatened then-Maryland coach Mark Turgeon.
Howard’s apparent confrontation with Sanderson is the latest setback in a difficult year for Howard. Howard’s Wolverines finished 18-16 in the spring, missing the NCAA Tournament and falling to Vanderbilt in the second round of the NIT. Michigan soon lost Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard to the NBA Draft, as well as three-year starter Hunter Dickinson to the transfer portal. Dickinson eventually ended up at Kansas.
Michigan was aggressive in the transfer portal over the summer, landing graduate transfers Olivier Nkamhoua, Nimari Burnett, and Travier Jackson. However, multiple missed opportunities in high school and transfer recruiting resulted in the Wolverines entering the season with only 11 of a possible 13 scholarship players. Jace Howard, who has yet to play this season, is one of those players.
Then, just before the start of the season, Howard had heart surgery on Sept. 15, and has yet to serve as a head coach since. The treatment restored the aortic valve and removed an aortic aneurysm. The treatment was originally scheduled to have a 6- to 12-week recovery period. The 12-week period was December 8, the purported date of Howard’s confrontation with Sanderson. Howard has gradually upped his workload since the start of the season. In an overtime loss to Oregon on December 2, he was promoted to assistant coach.
The team’s performances have been inconsistent, with Michigan going 1-1 in Big Ten play, 5-5 overall, and 3-4 against high-major opposition. The Wolverines are currently ranked No. 65 in the NCAA’s NET rankings, which serve as a guideline for NCAA Tournament selection.
