The Juwan Howard era in Michigan came to an end when the Wolverines announced that they had parted ways with him. Howard, who has been with the Wolverines for five years, has just had one of the worst seasons in program history.
When college basketball fans learned about the news, they reacted happily. Their happiness stems from seeing their favorite team perform terribly under Juwan Howard's reign. This is how fans reacted to the news:
Howard played college basketball at Michigan from 1991 to 1994 and has a career record of 87-72 with two NCAA tournament appearances and a Big Ten regular-season title in 2020-21.
While the program thrived under the former head coach, John Beilin, Howard was unable to experience the same kind of success. Michigan had a rough season, winning only eight games. The team also had to see an early exit from the Big Ten Tournament, causing them to suffer the highest number of conference and total losses in program history.
Their 8-24 record is tied for the second-worst single-season winning percentage in school history.
Juwan Howard was accused of instilling a 'culture of fear'
Juwan Howard was accused of instilling a "culture of fear" by a former strength and conditioning coach. Brought to light by Brendan Quinn and Katie Strang of The Athletic, Jon Sanderson's attorney, Steven Stapleton, wrote an email to Michigan athletic director, Warde Manuel, on December 11. 2023. The email read:
"There is a culture of fear within the MBB program and concern for retaliation by Coach Howard that has prevented staff from coming forward earlier, but now it is time to address that abhorrent culture."
The allegations made by Sanderson included Howard threatening to "slap the s**t" out of his son, Jett Howard. A coach on staff also said that he witnessed the coach "manhandle" Jett on the court. The attorney also alleged that Juwan Howard created an intolerable environment among staff and student-athletes.
Michigan announced on March 1 that Jon Sanderson resigned from his position as strength and conditioning coach. The decision came after an incident between him and Howard in the training room before practice on December 7.
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