Michigan basketball head coach Juwan Howard will be away from the Wolverines program for 4-6 weeks after having heart surgery, according to a tweet from Jeff Borzello. Howard had a successful surgery that was a scheduled operation to resect an aortic aneurysm and also to fix an aortic valve. It will take around 6-12 weeks for Howard to make a full recovery, and while he is away from the program, Phil Martelli would be Michigan's interim head coach. Howard could return in as little as 4-6 weeks. Martelli has experience in this role and has served as the interim HC in other instances where Howard was unable to coach. Michigan basketball begins the regular season on November 7th against UNC Asheville. Hopefully Howard will have a speedy recovery and be back in plenty of time for that game.

Juwan Howard was brought in to coach the Wolverines before the 2019 season. That season was ultimately cut short due to COVID, but Michigan was a middle of the pack Big Ten team that season and was likely going to earn an eight or nine seed in the NCAA Tournament if it wasn't cancelled. It was a pretty average first season for Howard. However, his next season was outstanding. Michigan was one of the best teams in college basketball in 2020 and they went on to win the Big Ten title. However, Isaiah Livers, perhaps the team's best player, went down with a season-ending injury in the Big Ten Tournament. The team looked different after he went out, and Michigan ended up falling in the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament as a #1 seed.

The Wolverines haven't been able to replicate that success the past two seasons under Howard, and this next year will be a big one for the team. It is wonderful news that his surgery went well and it will be exciting to see Howard on the sidelines coaching this Michigan team this season.