Why Michigan Coach Juwan Howard Comforts Tennessee Player Kennedy Chandler During NCAA Tournament Handshake
INDIANAPOLIS – The video went viral on social media before Michigan Coach Juwan Howard even celebrated winning the 2022 NCAA tournament with the players, and before he hugged former Fab 5 teammates Chris Webber and Ray Jackson as he headed into the locker room.
Howard was experiencing the handshake boundary – the same pattern that his actions got him suspended four weeks ago – when he stopped and hugged Tennessee protect freshmen Kennedy Chandler.
Howard hugs and talks to an emotional Chandler after his 11-seeded Wolverines pestered 3-seeded Volunteers 76-68 to move to Sweet 16 for the fifth year in a row.
“He spoke to keep my head up,” Chandler said. “It’s been tough for me and he knows I want to win. I know him. I’ve been playing with his son since 4th grade. So I’ve known him for a long time. He is. He’s a great coach. I love him. He told me to keep your head up and you play hard, that’s what he told me.”
It’s fitting that there’s been so much attention at this point, considering what Howard suffered after he hit Wisconsin assistant coach Joe Krabbenhoft in the head following an animated exchange in the catch-line. hands behind the game on February 20th. This time, Howard didn’t just perform well. athletically ahead of his opponents, he also took on the role of father to Chandler as the Tennessee guard played AAU basketball with Howard’s youngest son, Jett.
“Kennedy is an elite player, and he’s one of the best defenders in the country,” Howard said. “I got to know Kenny when my youngest sons Jett and Kennedy played at AAU, and they won the LeBron James tournament in Ohio. So we had a relationship then.
“Just watching his maturity, I’m always impressed. We recruited him and unfortunately we weren’t so lucky. But to see the output, the effort, the growth. Such growth and ability to succeed on the floor and the way he leads his team in such a special way – I gave him words of encouragement. It expressed his feelings, that he matters. mind. As a coach, you appreciate that.”
Emotions are sometimes what Howard has been since that last February incident. The Wolverines played the final five games of the season without their coach, taking a double-digit lead over Indiana in the Big Ten and 15 points or less to beat seventh seed Colorado State in the opening round. NCAA tournament on Thursday. before beating the Volunteers on Saturday. Michigan also won two games in a row for the first time since mid-February.
“There really isn’t any doubt that this team is special,” said the guard Eli Brooks, who scored 23 points. “We have a good group of guys with the same motivation, the same passion. And that’s to Juwan, the coaching staff, for finding the guys you like to be around. Not a second. which one must dodge, and [everybody] bought into the system and we’re on Sweet 16. So it’s fun to see. “
Howard, who led the Wolverines to the Sweet 16 for the second time in three seasons as a coach – the 2019-20 campaign was cut short due to the pandemic – celebrated a first-round win with former Fab 5 team-mate , Jalen Rose . Webber and Jackson were there to assist in the second inning.
“It was a beautiful moment to be here and with the men I fought with, Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Ray Jackson, and then seeing my big brother, Mark again. Hughes, who helped recruit me. Howard said, “Mark told me in high school that the years I spent in Michigan would be my years as a man; that if I continue to stay here and grow, I will achieve a lot of success and become a champion.
“I will never forget this day, and I appreciate all the support. They, behind the scenes, have been with me since day one.”
