ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Today, the Michigan Wolverines downed the Eastern Michigan Eagles at the Crisler Center, earning their sixth victory of the season and getting back above .500 heading into next week’s Quad 1 game against Florida. Earlier this week, it was reported that there was an altercation — which was not physical but still intense — between head coach Juwan Howard and Michigan basketball assistant coach Jon Sanderson, the team’s strength and conditioning coach. After today’s win, Juwan spoke with the media for the first time this season (due to his heart issues), and gave some insight into where things stand.
After Eastern Michigan win, Juwan Howard still unsure about status of Michigan basketball assistant Jon Sanderson
The alleged altercation between Juwan Howard and Jon Sanderson occurred about a week ago ahead of last weekend’s win over Iowa — since then, Sanderson has not been with the team. In fact, even today against Eastern Michigan, Jon Sanderson was nowhere to be found.
Warde Manuel releases statement on Howard, Sanderson incident
On Friday evening, Michigan Athletic Director Waerde Mnauel released a statement, saying that the University of Michigan investigation did not find any serious infractions from anyone involved, and there would be no further punishment. Additionally, he announced that Juwan Howard — who has been out with heart issues all season — would return today against EMU as head coach.
Juwan Howard says the there is still a review happening
On Saturday, after Michigan basketball beat Eastern 83-66, Juwan Howard gave more insight, stating that the status of Jon Sanderson remains unknown and that there is still an ongoing review from the university.
“I would just piggyback to what Warde (Manuel) said — refer to his statement. I think it was clear; it was precise,” Juwan Howard said this evening. “There is still a review (from the University of Michigan) happening at this moment.”
That last part about the review is interesting, seeing as it seemed the investigation had entirely concluded and the Michigan basketball program was looking to put all of this behind it. That said, it appears that U-M is still looking over the facts, according to Juwan Howard. Below is an excerpt from yesterday’s statement from Manuel.
“… Based on a thorough internal review, nothing was found to warrant disciplinary action for anyone involved. As such, we will move forward with a focus on our team and our season.”
Status of Jon Sanderson remains unknown as Michigan basketball gears up for another Quad 1 game
But what about the status of Michigan basketball assistant coach Jon Sanderson? Well, Howard does not seem to know where things stand there.
“I am not sure (what Sanderson’s status with the program is),” Juwan Howard said.
He then stated that Manuel’s statement would answer just about any questions about the incident.
So, for now, Michigan basketball and Juwan Howard will likely be without Jon Sanderson as the school looks to wrap up its investigation into the altercation and move on to a Tuesday matchup against a very formidable Florida team.
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