On February 21, Beijing time, 49-year-old University of Michigan coach Zhu Wang-Howard rushed to the top of the national hot search. He slammed his opponent's assistant coach Kraben Hooter over the head with his hand after a match, triggering a clash between the two teams. Chinese fans should be familiar with Howard and often call him "Second Uncle Huo". Howard played for the Rockets and was a former teammate with Yao Ming.
According to ESPN, The head coach of the University of Wisconsin, Gard, had a verbal altercation with Howard during the handshake at the end of the game, and several players and assistant coaches also intervened, and Howard pointed at Gard and grabbed Gard's sweater. During the clashes, Howard also slapped the head of the University of Wisconsin assistant professor Craben Hooter, intensifying the contradictions between the two teams. A multi-person clash broke out between the two sides, and multiple players beat each other up.
The reason Howard was upset was that the University of Wisconsin requested a timeout with 15 seconds left in the game, when the University of Wisconsin was already 15 points ahead and the winner was in hand. "Frankly, I don't like the suspension they call," Howard said after the game, "I don't think it was necessary at that time, especially with such a big lead... I think it's not fair to our players, that's the way it is. ”
Howard also said he hit people because someone on the University of Wisconsin side put a hand on him, but he did not say who did it. "Someone touched me and I think it's very undeserved because we're communicating with each other and that's why the conflict escalated."
Gard said the reason for asking for a timeout was that he wanted the team's bench players to play a full offense. At the time, the team had only 4 seconds left in the half and he wanted to reset by 10 seconds. "Howard didn't like me doing that, and I won't say anything else, but the video at the time said it all." In the end, the University of Wisconsin beat the University of Michigan 77-63.
This isn't the first time Howard has clashed with the opposing coach since taking over the University of Michigan in 2019. At last year's Big Ten Championship, Howard also had a verbal altercation with the coach at the University of Maryland, when he rushed to the other side but was pulled by his assistant coach. Subsequently, Howard was expelled from the game.
Howard played 19 seasons in the NBA, averaging 13.4 points, 6.1 rebounds and 2.2 assists per game, and played three seasons with the Rockets. After retiring, he served as an assistant coach for NBA teams and became the coach of the University of Michigan in 2019.