Juwan Howard isn’t in the good graces of many outside Ann Arbor right now, but count one of his former players among those willing to stick his neck out for the Michigan Wolverines head men’s basketball coach.
Howard is currently suspended for what will be the rest of Michigan’s season after taking a swing during a postgame handshake line last month, connecting with Wisconsin assistant Joe Krabbenhoft. That came after a tense exchange between Howard and Badgers head coach Greg Gard, who did put his hands on Howard first, which the Wolverines boss said was the impetus for the resulting punch, which sparked a brawl.
It was a messy situation, one that was widely condemned around the basketball community. But Heat sharpshooter Duncan Robinson, who played for Howard when he was an assistant with Miami, came to the defense of his former coach on “Pardon My Take.”
“I know Juwan well, I played for Juwan,” Robinson said. “Most of the Michigan people that I’ve talked to support him and are in his corner, while understanding that it was a mistake. But I think that there’s multiple people at fault, there were some escalators, I think there were some escalators.
“He got a legitimate punishment, five games likely the rest of the season,” Robinson continued. “I think the punishment fit the crime. … I also think you saw Juwan trying to just move on. He was trying to acknowledge the disrespect that took place and keep it moving, and there was that interaction.”
Gard ultimately was fined $10,000 for his role in the melee, while Howard, in addition to his suspension, was whacked with a $40,000 fine.
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