March Madness: Juwan Howard shows incredible class to Rick Barnes and Kennedy Chandler

Say what you want about Michigan Wolverines coach Juwan Howard, but he handled his team’s March Madness victory over Tennessee basketball with incredible grace. Howard consoled the Vols’ star and also touted their head coach in the press conference.

Michigan, a No. 11 seed, upset the No. 3 seed Vols 76-68 to reach the Sweet 16. It was a heartbreaker for the Vols, who had every reason to believe they had a team that could make a run at a national championship this year.

At the end of the game, Vols point guard Kennedy Chandler was overcome with emotion and sadness over being eliminated from March Madness. Howard, before celebrating his team’s huge upset win, went out of his way to console Chandler and embrace him afterward.

Things like this are normal when the favored team wins. However, Howard’s team was the underdog and had every reason to be the ones celebrating after the game. Him taking time to speak with Chandler, who played his heart out with 19 points and nine assists, speaks to his character in a big way.

After the game, Howard was just as classy in his press conference. When talking about the Vols, he specifically mentioned Rick Barnes and touted the job he has done on Rocky Top, tipping his cap to him and calling him one of the best coaches in college basketball.

Again, Howard didn’t have to do that. He’s the up and comer coach still trying to prove himself amidst a litany of disrespect, some of it earned. Barnes is the veteran coach who had the higher-seeded team and had every reason to be expected to win this game easily.

Taking all of that into account, Howard deserves a lot of respect for speaking so favorably of Barnes in that moment. Perhaps it was returning the favor, as Barnes was one of the first to defend Howard after what happened earlier in the year. We wrote about that here.

It’s also true that Howard’s son was recruited heavily by Barnes, so they definitely have a deeper connection than many coaches might. Even with those facts, though, you have to give Howard a ton of credit for doing what he did and showing the class he did in this game.

March Madness losses are gut-wrenching. Wins in them are thrilling. It takes a lot in the height of that emotion to think about what the other team is going through, so Howard stepping up and thinking specifically of the Vols after this game is a huge deal. Very few coaches would show that.