Juwan Howard sends heartfelt message to Michigan State after shooting
Michigan and Michigan State faced off in a rivalry game on Saturday, but Wolverines coach Juwan Howard knows it’s what happened before tip-off that had the most impact and importance. Hearts were heavy throughout the state and nation after a shooting on the Michigan State campus left three dead on Monday.
The Wolverines did several things to stand in solidarity with the Spartans, including wearing warm-up shirts that read “Michigan basketball stands with MSU” and lighting up the arena green. The emotion during those pregame moments was visible on Michigan State coach Tom Izzo’s face during a moment of silence and the playing of the pregame anthems.
Speaking postgame, Howard talked about why those pregame gestures meant so much to both sides.
“It was very classy of the University of Michigan to show how much we as a community care about the Michigan State community,” he said. “It was such a tragic loss of those young men and young women. Also to those that are fighting to get healthy, because there were others who got shot. I was looking over at coach Izzo and how emotional he got during ‘Lift Every Voice and Sing.’ I started to get a little emotional myself. I understand that it really hit close to home to him and some of his players.
Saturday was the first game that Michigan State played since the shooting. The Spartans were originally scheduled to play Minnesota on Wednesday, but that game was postponed.
Once the game got going, it resembled any other of the countless meetings between the two teams. They fought back and forth to the end as Michigan notched an 84-72 victory behind a combined 35 points from guards Dug McDaniel and Kobe Bufkin.
Juwan Howard stated after the contest that he believes simply playing the game was important for Michigan State to bring back a sense of “normalcy” for the players.
“I agree with them this weekend as far as playing the game,” Howard said. “It does help get you a little normalcy and try to take their mind off what they suffered through this week. Overall, I really admired how our players were very considerate. As you can see with the shirts we wore and also the Michigan State flag as well as their school song, I think that was really big for them. It doesn’t surprise me how people here at the University of Michigan have a big heart.”
Michigan State will play its first home game since the shooting at 9 p.m. ET on Tuesday against No. 14 Indiana. As for the Wolverines, they hit the road to face Rutgers on Thursday.
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