The Michigan Wolverines are suffering. They have a 6-9 tally and occupy the 10th spot in the Big Ten. Their condition is aggravated by the fact that the head coach Juwan Howard has made the news for having temper issues and entering into an altercation with the team’s management. Following the latest development when the associate head coach Phil Martelli was asked to be the head coach during the game against the Penn State, a lot of fans are speculating if this would be the end of Howard’s coaching career.

As if the season’s start wasn’t controversial enough when Howard had been late in joining as a head coach, this new development of giving Martelli his position even when he has been cleared in full capacity only points to doomsday for the Wolverines. A closer look into the events will give us a better perspective on the Michigan’s position in this year’s NCAA season.

Juwan Howard’s altercation with Jon Sanderson

As per Free Press, Howard was involved in an altercation with the strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson. As per the Economic Times, Sanderson chose not to travel with the team for their game against the Iowa Hawkeyes. As per Free Press, Juwan’s son Jace who is also a senior forward with the Michigan Wolverines spoke to the news outlet and confirmed that it was “obviously a misunderstanding.”

The initial rumors of the altercation being physical in nature were completely false as per Free Press but Sanderson however had filed an HR claim over the issue. Normally Sanderson used to help the team warm up before the contest but was nowhere to be found before the game against the East Michigan.

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As per Free Press, one report had claimed that the issue between Howard and Sanderson happened over the former’s son Jace. Jace had been sidelined due to a stress fracture injury. However, the injury lingered longer than what had been expected and Jace could not be a part of the matches. Jace then made a few comments about the trainer. 

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On  the other hand, Jace’s condition was serious which made him travel to Los Angeles where he met with Dr. Neal ElAttrache to get a “second opinion.” In his own words “I was told it was a stress fracture but actually it was a tendon tear, like a small tendon tear” and therefore he “wanted to get some more clarity”

Juwan Howard returns and Wolverines’ performance

Juwan Howard was cleared to return to court in the capacity of a head coach during the game against the East Michigan. He was not plying his trade in the usual position post his heart procedure in September. As per The Athletic, Howard wanted to get his aortic valve repaired.

After his coming to his position, Howard propelled the Michigan Wolverines to defeat the East Michigan by a respectable margin of 83-66. They took an unassailable lead in the first half by smashing 49 points when the East Michigan could only pot 32. The second half saw both the team’s having a neck-to-neck competition and finishing on 34 points each.

It was the lead of the first half that helped the Wolverines cruise to an easy victory over their counterparts. The fans had expected things to improve for the Wolverines but on the contrary the Wolverines lost their next four games and are hungry for a win.

The Wolverines have an abysmal 6-9 record and are placed at the 10th sport in the Big Ten. They have lost most of the major matches namely against the Long Beach State, the Memphis Tigers, the Oregon, the Indiana, and now the last four games. In Howard’s absence, associate head coach Phil Martelli used to serve as the interim head coach. Although the record under Martelli wasn’t great enough yet he made a return to the head coaching position and in a very interesting way. 

Martelli’s return

The Michigan Wolverines were to lock horns with the Penn State at the Palestra in Philadelphia on Sunday. Howard made way for Martelli to coach the team in this game as per the Michigan basketball team report (h/t: Clutch Points). For the unversed, Matelli was born in Media, Pennsylvania only a few kilometers away from Philadelphia. Hence, Howard decided to try Materlli as the “honorary head coach.”

Howard was not out of the game entirely as he was seen taking charge of a huddle during the timeout. On the hand, Martelli had announced the starting lineup for his team. The move to everyone’s shock didn’t pay off well since the Wolverines tumbled down in front of the Penn State. The Penn State defeated the Wolverines by a 79-73 margin in an unlikely win.

The Wolverines looked to have the upper hand in the game during the first half when they smashed 37 points while the Penn State smoked 27. The next half saw the Lions thrash 52 points in response to the Wolverines 36. Therefore, the Penn State covered their trail and also upended the Wolverines in the process. 

The Michigan had fared better than the Penn State in terms of field goal percentage with a 50% stat. They also edged past the Penn State narrowly with respect to three-pointers with 33.3%. Where they lacked was the free throw percentage with 65%. And also had a better rebound tally with 39 rebounds as opposed to the Penn State’s 31. The Michigan also had a better assist number of 17. But still lost the game in the end which was really disheartening for the Wolverine fans.

Now that fans know the real reason behind the incidents, all they can pray for is the Michigan Wolverines to come back stronger and find the formula that ticks their team as a whole.

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