Wolverine TV: Juwan Howard speaks for first time since being reinstated

Michigan men’s basketball head coach Juwan Howard spoke to the media on Wednesday afternoon to preview this week’s Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis. The press conference was Howard’s first public appearance since returning from his five-game suspension due to an incident at Wisconsin last month.

Howard opened his session with a statement on what the last few weeks have been like while he was sidelined. He also shared that he sought therapy while he was unable to coach Michigan down the stretch.

“I can come with 1,000 excuses [about the confrontation at Wisconsin] but I will not,” he said. “I take full ownership for my actions. [Every reason] would be excuses. That was not the right way to carry myself as a head coach at the University of Michigan. I was truly upset with myself and did soul-searching how I can improve.”

Howard was also thankful for how the Michigan coaches, support staff, student managers and more helped move the program forward without him.

“I am extremely happy about being back here. Today was a wonderful day to get back to coaching the team that I missed so much. I want to give a shoutout to our coaches Phil Martelli, Saddi Washington and Howard Eisley and all the support staff, too. I was excited to see everyone joining together all-hands on deck.”

Howard and the Wolverines open Big Ten Tournament play on Thursday at 11:30 a.m. ET against Indiana. The winner will advance to Friday’s game against No. 1 seed Illinois. This year’s event is being held at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in downtown Indianapolis and runs through March 13.

Watch the full Michigan press conference below

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