The Michigan men’s basketball team’s 83-66 win over Eastern Michigan Saturday held a lot of extra meaning for Juwan Howard. Three months removed from successful open heart surgery, the Wolverines’ head coach was incredibly thankful to be back on the sidelines in full capacity.
“It’s a blessing, truly a blessing,” Howard said postgame in his opening statement. “I have to thank God, first, also giving a big, big shoutout to University of Michigan Medical, my doctors, Dr. Patel and his crew, the nurses. … Also I’d like to thank my wife. That’s the best nurse that I have. I didn’t know that she went to medical school, but she was with me from the first day, all day. … I had so many people supporting me. And I never second-guessed that, but that’s what got me through the process.”
Howard continued for another minute, thanking his coaching staff one by one as well as the managers, support staff and players, in addition to everyone else in his life who sent him support. That gratefulness was continuously expressed throughout his postgame press conference, as he repeatedly thanked everyone who had a part in his recovery. He was thanking them not just for their support, but also for their expertise. Howard made sure to mention how important the advice of his medical staff was in keeping him from rushing back too soon.
“I’m just so happy that I found the problem because I’ve been stubborn, I’ve been an athlete before and we’ve been taught to really suck it up when there’s pain that you feel. Or if you’re out of breath, take a deep breath and keep pushing yourself,” Howard said. “And there was a time when I was out of breath and I’m like, ’Okay, well I know how I’m supposed to feel and I’m not feeling normal.’ And I’m just so happy I was not stubborn at the moment. I asked to set up a doctor’s appointment and with that, finding something that really scared me. … I had no idea of what I was truly facing because basketball has been my life, but to hear open heart surgery. And I was like, ’Okay, well bring it on.’
“… After the surgery was over, I was like, ‘Whoa.’ I felt like I had got hit by a Mack truck. And it took some time, 15 days in the hospital, 15. And with those 15 days, I got a chance to reflect on how badly do I want this, to get healthy.”
While Howard isn’t fully recovered yet, the time he took with the recovery process is what allowed him to be fully on the sidelines Saturday. He still has physical therapy three times a week and understands that, while he doesn’t know what exactly being 100% back as head coach entails, he has to continue to work to preserve his health — particularly in such a high-stress profession.
Howard started his return slowly, at his doctor’s suggestion, returning first to practice as a spectator. He then started communicating with his coaching staff at an increased rate. Just being back in the gym “felt like a reward” to Howard, and he quickly was able to take on even more.
Then came sitting in on his first practice, which he admitted made him feel a bit fatigued. As he continued to spend time around his team and program, he felt himself getting stronger. After starting to occasionally add his voice to practices, the next step was running practice himself, which he began doing right before the Battle 4 Atlantis. There, he returned to the bench, but solely as an observer, not yet an official coach. When Michigan traveled to Oregon, Howard was on the sidelines as an assistant coach, but he still hadn’t fully reclaimed the reins. After three games as an assistant, he felt ready to fully return, which he did Saturday.
It wasn’t a completely straightforward process to return, however. A reported altercation between Howard and strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson sparked rumors about his standing in the program. But Friday night, when Michigan announced Howard’s full return to the program, athletic director Warde Manuel stated that a thorough internal review found nothing to warrant disciplinary action for any party. Howard calmly declined to comment on the incident beyond what Manuel said in his statement.
With the incident now seemingly fully behind Howard and Michigan, his focus can now be on what’s in front of him. That includes taking care of his own health, something he learned the importance of through his recovery process.
“I would say for me and for my family, and for the team and for this university, ‘Take care of my health.’ ” Howard said. “Health is power, health is everything. You don’t have health, you don’t have nothing. And that means that proper sleep, eating right, that’s a part of taking care of my health. And I just embrace this working out plan that my doctor and nurses gave me, it’s really helped me get stronger.”
Finally fully back on the sideline, Howard was overwhelmingly thankful on Saturday. Not just for his health and those who helped him through the process directly, but for every single thing that allowed him to get back to where he is now.
After a long recovery process, Juwan Howard is back as the head coach of the Michigan men’s basketball team. He’s coaching the game he loves at the school he loves, and he couldn’t be more thankful.