UM's Juwan Howard on ejection: 'You can't let emotions get the best of you'
Michigan coach explains exchange with Maryland coach that led to his ejection in the second half Friday.
The Detroit News
Indianapolis — Michigan’s Juwan Howard made his postseason coaching debut Friday.
However, Howard didn’t make it to the end of it as he was ejected in the second half of Michigan’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinal win at Lucas Oil Stadium following a fiery argument with Maryland coach Mark Turgeon.
With 10:44 left in the game, Howard and Turgeon exchanged words and had to be separated during a media timeout. Howard had to be held back by the coaching staff as he was hit with two techs and tossed from the game. Turgeon also received a technical.
According to Howard, the heated exchange all started when Turgeon was yelling at him for being out of the coaching box when he was walked toward midcourt and was trying to talk to the officials about the play before the stoppage.
“My version, because there’s always going be so many versions — my version, his version — but at the end of the day, I’m going to tell you the truth how it all happened,” Howard said after the 79-66 win that puts Michigan in Saturday's Big Ten tournament semifinals. “I noticed that (Galin) Smith went for an offensive rebound and it went off his hands last, but the referees called the ball out of bounds and I think it was their possession. I’m like no, that’s not how I saw it. So, I was out of the coaching box and I went down to explain it was off of Smith. I mean, it’s tough to communicate when it’s loud and also you have a mask on.
“Turgeon saw that I was out of the box. He's telling the referee look at my feet, I’m out of the box, and I’m like, ‘Come on, man. This is what we’re doing today? You’re worrying about my feet being out of the box?’”
Howard and Turgeon jawed back and forth, but tempers flared when Turgeon took a couple quick steps toward Howard and he took offense to it.
“He said to me, ‘Juwan, I’m not going to let you talk to me. You don’t talk to me ever again,’ and he charged at me,” Howard said. “And that right there, I don’t know how you guys were raised, but how I was raised by my grandmother and also by Chicago, because I was raised by Chicago, I grew up in the South Side, when guys charge you, it’s time to defend yourself, especially when a grown man charges you.
“That right there, I went into defense mode and forgetting exactly where I’m at, because that’s not the right way how to handle the situation when you come at and charge someone. I didn’t charge him, so when he charged me, I reacted, and I reacted out of defense. That’s it. Words was exchanged, and then I got tossed. That’s the story.”
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According to Turgeon, Friday’s kerfuffle was a culmination of simmering tensions between the two sides.
Maryland's Mark Turgeon on encounter with Juwan Howard: 'I stood up for my team'
Terrapins coach tells his side of exchange with Wolverines coach that led to Howard being ejected in second half on Friday.
The Detroit News
“I’ve been doing this for 34 years and I’ve called the conference office, called the commissioner about what transpired in the first two games,” said Turgeon, who didn’t specify what the issue was. “And I said I wasn’t gonna take it in the third game. So I stood up for my team, I stood up for me. There’s a rumor out there I said something about the banner. All I said is, ‘Don’t talk to me. Don’t talk to me.’ Nothing about a banner. Never backed down. I just stood there and said, ‘Don’t talk to me.’
“The commissioner of the league, the league was well aware of what’s transpired in the first two games and they’ll handle it from here. I thought I was as professional as I could try to be in the moment standing up for myself, 34 years of doing it the right way and for Maryland basketball. That’s all I did, just stood up for myself and my program and said ‘Don’t talk to me,’ and it escalated.”
Howard said he never heard from the league office about Turgeon’s concerns following the two regular-season meetings between the teams and didn’t sense friction building.
During a postgame interview with Big Ten Network, Michigan assistant coach Phil Martelli acknowledged there was friction in the first game but no problems in the second encounter.
In the Dec. 31 win at College Park, there was four technicals called in the first half — one on each team’s bench, one on Turgeon and one on freshman center Hunter Dickinson, who flexed and glared at Maryland's bench several times. Then in the Jan. 19 rematch in Ann Arbor, there were three technicals assessed in the second half — one on Maryland guard Darryl Morsell after he was upset with an official for not calling a foul when he was hit in the face on a layup and one on both benches.
Sophomore wing Franz Wagner and senior guard Chaundee Brown both said they didn’t know what was said. They were both walking in the other direction and toward the Michigan bench when verbal altercation occurred.
The Wolverines responded after the ejection, rattling off a 14-5 run to build a 13-point lead that never dipped below six points over the final seven minutes.
"We just knew we had the game in the bag and basically we just wanted to do that for him," Brown said. "We know that he always has our back and we have his back."
Howard said he wasn’t pleased with his actions and apologized to his team afterward.
“That’s now the way you handle situations like that under adverse moments. Can’t let your emotions get the best of you,” Howard said. “I love how our guys stepped up and supported their coach, because they know I’m always gonna support to them. But I’m going to always take ownership when I’m wrong and admit when I’m wrong. That’s not the right way how to handle that situation.”
During an interview on BTN, Big Ten commissioner Kevin Warren said the incident was reviewed and there will be no further action after Howard's ejection.
Slam dunks
Senior guard Eli Brooks returned to the starting lineup after suffering a left ankle injury in last weekend’s regular-season finale at Michigan State.
According to Howard, Brooks was a game-time decision and didn’t practice leading into Friday’s game. He finished with 16 points and made four 3-pointers in 36 minutes.
"I think those couple airballs explain to guys that I was not telling you a story or I'm not telling you the truth about Eli didn't practice,” Howard said. “While his teammates the last few days have been preparing to play, he didn't have any rhythm. I was trying to keep him on a minutes restriction, but Eli is a competitor. He's a warrior. He figures it out. We just need more Elis like that in basketball because this kid is special.”
… Senior forward Isaiah Livers played a season-low 15 minutes and was scoreless on 0-for-5 shooting, with four of those shots coming from 3-point range. It was the first time Livers finished a game without a point since Michigan’s Sweet 16 loss to Texas Tech two seasons ago.
“He was giving his best to the game and trying to affect the game in any kind of way possible,” Howard said. “Now we're going to do our best to look at film and see what is best to move forward to help Isaiah be ready for the next game."
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @jamesbhawkins
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