Michigan's Juwan Howard returns, has meetings with players

FILE - Michigan head coach Juwan Howard reacts to a play as associate head coach Phil Martelli watches from the bench during the first half of the team's Elite Eight game against UCLA in the NCAA men's college basketball tournament March 30, 2021, in Indianapolis. Martelli will fill in for Howard for the rest of the regular season. Howard was suspended five games and fined $40,000 by the Big Ten Conference after hitting a Wisconsin assistant coach in the head during the handshake line after a loss Sunday, Feb. 20. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings, File) (Darron Cummings, Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

ANN ARBOR, Mich.Juwan Howard has resumed his role as Michigan's basketball coach after serving a five-game suspension for hitting a Wisconsin assistant in the head.

Howard met individually with each player Monday, when the team did not have a practice.

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The Wolverines are on the NCAA Tournament bubble with a 17-13 overall record and 11-9 mark in the Big Ten.

With coach Phil Martelli filling in for Howard, Michigan closed the regular season with a win over then-No. 23 Ohio State on the road Sunday.

Howard will be back on the sideline Thursday in Indianapolis, leading the eighth-seeded Wolverines against ninth-seeded Indiana in the conference tournament quarterfinals.

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