There are a million reasons why talented teams don't play well. I saw this problem very early in the season, I didn't believe Michigan had a player with the "basketball IQ" to lead this team on the floor. When you take a bunch of disparate puzzle pieces and try to put them together, sometimes they just don't fit. Juwan Howard is frustrated that his puzzle looks bad.
I had the same feeling during the 2020 football season. Sometimes a season just needs to end.
If you have a pulse and near any device, you understand what happened Sunday afternoon. It's a bad look for Juwan and the Michigan Basketball program. He never should have slapped that assistant coach and just walked away. He did and now he and his program will have to pay of it.
Wisconsin will call foul and that they didn't evoke the fight. The timeouts where bush league and Greg Gard knows it. I would have had more respect for him, if he had come out and said that in the press conference. He also should have kept walking in the handshake line and not tried to engage Juwan in a conversation of "why". Should that cause a fight? No, but he also needs to understand he carries some of the blame.
I watched a Showtime documentary recently on the tragedy that happened at Baylor and their basketball program. I saw a head coach lie, cover up, cheat, and do anything he could to save his job and win basketball games. Even years after the fact. Some basketball coaches have the ability to be a complete prick and then smile and lie during a press conference.
The aftermath of the altercation will not be pretty. Juwan and some of his players are looking at suspensions. The heat of the moment got the worst of them. Wisconsin will also have one or two. The Big Ten, will have to sort things out like open hand vs. closed, who threw punches, you threw the first punch, and length of suspensions. Both teams should have known better, and both will be penalized. Michigan will be hit the hardest and rightfully so.
If you have ever competed in a sport, you know how Juwan feels. Everyone has been on the opposite side of big loss. It's not fun and you want to fight the world. At the end of the day, we call athletes "warriors" and call games "wars" and surprised when something like this happens. It shouldn't happen, but it does, and it will in the future.
I don't think Juwan will be fired but he is going to face a severe penalty. This pretty much puts a wrap on the year and Michigan will be competing with a limited squad. It's a bad situation and a bad season.
Sometimes a season just needs to end.
- BTW, Spring Practice for the football teams starts today!
16 comments:
It's hard to pass judgement because we don't know what was said between both sides. It's easy to say that Juwan needed to be the bigger man, but having been in similar situations in rec leagues, where we were being clowned and the other team was chirping, yeah, I gave someone a free taste of my knuckles. Not really proud nor was I ashamed. Did it get me banned from the league? You betcha. Was it worth it? You betcha! The guy I cracked was the type that like to take cheap shots and talked a lot of smack while hiding behind his teammates. He made the mistake of shoving me in a scrum without anyone in between and I introduced his ass to the gym floor. To say my team and their team had bad blood was an understatement as every time we played there was a scuffle. But that seemed to be the norm for whoever the other team played. I get it, there's no comparison to a rec league and the B1G, except everybody has a point where they're not going to be pushed past. I have no problem with what Juwan did. He did the crime, now he needs to do that time!
I am not unknown says- Howard was Beautiful yesterday! What a MAN! Basketball is for fucking sissy’s anyway … This sport is regulated by tap fouls and people falling down…. Howard showed a sport some balls and no one can deal with it…. Extend him for 20 years and put up a statue of the SLAP!
One of the best takes on the situation I have read so far. Did Juwan lose his cool...Absolutely!!! But Gard has to take some responsibility for his actions as well. If someone does not want to talk let him be. Juwan does not owe Gard an explanation about his feelings in the moment, he should have walked past and addressed his thoughts in his press conference.
I am not unknown says- 100! Exactly… that is what the Press conference is for… great take….
“Unknown” seems like a glitched Macedonian bot farm.
Season is lost, but maybe the kids will take from this that you have to fight (on the court) a lot harder and with passion if you want to win.
Should not of grabbed Howard and start yelling at him...do not aggravate an aggravated man. They should have let coaches fight to the death, then Wisconsin's coach would then realize do not grab a tiger by the tail... Howard should have been the better man, but wanted to finish what he did not start. No susspensions for any Michigan man.... for further reference watch the fight scene in the replacements, the coach was mad bad said do not let it happen again. So often in football the retaliator gets caught and Blamed... GO BLUE!.... Next time knock him out! Whisky Wisconsin sucks the big one!
why is it that bball players are so big yet fight like girls? C'mon Juwan, if you're going to hit a man...hit the man! This slap fighting BS that bball players do is girlish. Juwan needed to be more of a leader and head coach of a major program and walk away. Bury that fury inside until the next meeting and then unleash it. Realize this team is just not good enough and focus on fixing it.
But if you're gonna throw blows, then throw a blow and not a slap!
Rudy, BB players are not known to be great fighters. Ever see a fight in the NBA? Will remind you of a girls slap fight. I'm already tired of the coverage and everybody wanting him fired for throwing a punch. It wasn't a punch, he bitch slapped the assistant.
I didn't see anything that warranted Howard to do what he did. There's an old saying in sports that if you don't like what the other team is doing in the game stop them from doing it, or deal with outcome like a man...
Some quick thoughts: The time out and the man/press defensive look may not have been necessary but for whatever reason both coaches had a right to do what they did (in spite of a long standing gentlemen's agreement) and that was that. If Juwan was angry about it then "so what, let him be upset," Greg Gard should have let it go even if Juwan said, "I'll remember that shit." Gard could have called Juwan later and tried to explain it, because Juwan was obviously angry and sometimes it's better to let people go and cool off "then" and try to work it out later, but he didn't.
Second, when someone is angry YOU DON'T TOUCH THEM! Especially when they are angry at YOU. I can't stress that enough. Juwan was trying to continue on his way and Gard insisted on continuing and that was strike one. Moreover, Juwan shouldn't have said anything when he was continuing with his "blow by" of Gard. Keep your mask up and keep it moving. A strike for Juwan.
Third, the Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft (watch the film closely) was being HELD BACK away from Juwan because he was going after Juwan. Then the assistant coach said something to Juwan baiting him and then Juwan reacted. Not much has been made about what the Wisconsin Assistant coach Krabbenhoft said or the fact that he himself had to be restrained from coming after Juwan. This is a vitally important point because in the heat of a discussion between Juwan and Gard, Krabbenhoft inserted himself in the dynamic in such a way that he had to be restrained by his own people, which resulted in him saying something apparently incendiary and further resulted in Juwan's physical response. Juwan wasn't talking to Krabbenhoft!
Now let's be clear, it doesn't matter what Krabbenhoft said or the fact that he was also physically going after Juwan, Juwan should not have struck anyone. It obviously (through the media) makes Juwan's response the "subject" of the incident. I am not pleased with Warde Manual's response in that his calling Wisconsin and through his media statement has obviously settled on Juwan's guilt regardless of the mitigating circumstances or investigations. Now the media is indicating that because of Juwan's brush up with Maryland's coach Turgeon that now Juwan has a history and a pattern is forming.
I believe that there's enough blame to go around with all involved and I can only hope that the Conference hold's Gard and Krabbenhoft accountable for their part in this confrontation. IMHO!!!
I think the assistant may have dropped the N word...
For those that have not seen this video already, this is a good breakdown on how things really whet down. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d4tCb9YTTFk
The worst part of this is that now Michigan, a team struggling to get a tournament invite will likely be without key players in important games because of the actions of their coach. That is what is unfortunate who cares if juwan gets fired or suspended he chose that path. The young men that have played basketball most of their lives will likely miss the NCAA tournament because of juwans undisciplined Actions Great job coach!
Another thing that really unnerves me that I can't shake while we're waiting for the punishment to come down from on high against Michigan is that of the AD Warde Manual who was so willing to give up his coach and players to look good himself. When you look at the video of the Wisconsin post game interview you see Greg Gard sitting next to his AD. The Wisconsin AD indicated that he had made a preemptive strike regarding this incident by immediately calling the B1G office and reporting Michigan and Juwan Howard requesting that they be disciplined because they were totally in the wrong. The Wisconsin AD would not own or acknowledge any culpability from his head coach or assistant coach in this incident. Furthermore, the AD would not go into any detail regarding the incident, he would only say that the video speaks for itself, when clearly there is "some" ownership in this incident with the Wisconsin head coach and assistant coach. (He must be an attorney or spoke to one.)
Yes, again, Juwan should not have struck the Wisconsin coach there's no argument there, however, my point is that even when you review the video you can see some degree of fault on behalf of Wisconsin's coaches for at least instigating the problem but yet their AD stood by his coaches right or wrong, while Warde showed that he is not someone you'd like to be in a fox whole with during battle. Should Juwan be held accountable for his part of the skirmish? Yes, without question, and Juwan, the players and the coaching staff needs to know that, but they also need to know that their AD has their back (6) publically just like the Wisconsin AD has the back of his staff; and please don't give me this B.S. about "Michigan's integrity, etc etc etc., and that is why Warde did it." Your own people need to feel that you are in THEIR corner and not your opponents' and this time Warde Manual came up short. IMHO!!!
I am not unknown says- If only Harbaugh would have slapped Urban one time…. Boy oh boy I may have an ounce of respect for him if he did, any player in America should want to play for Howard now, he has proven he will fight for them and himself…. No better example, and for all of you saying he should not have hit him… why not? Because Howard is a BB coach? In that moment it was about those men… nothing to do with BB… Howard was showing his players how to be a MAN… and that’s what coaches are for… coach life… this team has NO chance of winning anything… but they will all learn a life lesson now… another thing… anyone wonder why it wasn’t Howard that got slapped? Because that asst. coach knew better… he was doing what all BB wimps do… talk shit and act like spoiled over privileged fucking punks…Basketball…. Hey everyone… read a book… go fishing or hunting… this is a waste of life …
Leave this trash at home...
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