The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1178918
44 THE WOLVERINE NOVEMBER 2019 2019-20 BASKETBALL PREVIEW It would be shocking, in fact, if he didn't make an immediate impact and start as soon as he's fully healthy. Assistant Phil Martelli insisted the rookie would have been a McDon- ald's All-American had he attended one of the elite prep academies in the United States, for example. "He's a guy that you come to prac- tice every day and you leave and you just scratch your head," Martelli said. "It's every day, I tell people, 'You have to see this,' and it's subtle. It's like, 'How did he know to help de- fend that? How did he know to go with the right hand?' "I don't want to put a lot of pres- sure on him, but he's a Rain Man in basketball. He's a savant." He's also miles ahead of his brother in one important area. "I texted Moe after the first cou- ple of practices, 'This dude actually plays defense. I don't know what you called it those first couple of years,'" assistant Saddi Washington added with a grin. — Chris Balas HOWARD TAKING A HANDS-ON APPROACH WITH U-M'S BIG MEN First-year Michigan head coach Ju- wan Howard obviously knows what it takes to play in the post at every level of basketball, having done so at U-M from 1991-94 and then for eight different NBA teams from 1994-2013. Still standing 6-9, the 46-year-old Howard has adopted a hands-on ap- proach with U-M's big men ever since practices began Sept. 24, according to senior center Jon Teske. "It's huge," the 7-1 Ohio native noted when asked how valuable Howard's tutelage has been. "When we split up into our individual groups of guards, bigs and wings, he's al- ways working with us. "He obviously played here and at the next level, so he knows what it takes. He'll demonstrate a lot of the stuff in drills — he dunked one last week and we all went crazy. "It's cool that he can still go out there and be himself." Although Teske played in the post quite often last year under former head man John Beilein, he also spent plenty of time on the perimeter en route to 77 three-point attempts (23 makes; 29.9 percent). "Definitely, I'll still shoot the three- ball and keep it [as part of my game]," he confirmed. "I'll be in the post, too, but also on the outside. If something breaks down, I'll go set a screen and they'll throw it in to me. "We'll play both inside out and outside in; regardless of what we do, we'll have to make shots to win games. Coach Beilein had us more on the perimeter, while Coach Howard now has us inside a bit more." — Austin Fox PHIL MARTELLI ADJUSTING TO LIFE AS AN ASSISTANT Michigan assistant Phil Martelli served as the head coach at Saint Jo- seph's from 1995-2019, but was re- lieved of his duties this past March following a 14-19 campaign. First-year U-M head man Juwan Howard was quick to bring him on board in Ann Arbor to act as his as- sociate head coach, and the 65-year- old Martelli discussed at Michigan's annual media day Oct. 17 what it will be like to be an assistant once again, for the first time in 24 years. "I don't know how many games I've coached — 24 years times 33, so whatever that comes out to," he began. "I've never sat down [dur- ing those games]. I'm not sure what it'll be like in the exhibition game [Nov. 1] either. "I won't overstep my bounds, though, because I'm not here for me; I'm here about winning a national championship." Martelli further noted that his only objective at U-M is "to help Juwan Howard coach on a Monday night in April." Michigan's experienced trio of vet- erans — senior guard Zavier Simp- son, senior center Jon Teske and junior forward Isaiah Livers — all played on basketball's biggest stage when the Wolverines advanced to the national title game in 2018, and Martelli admitted he likes the po- tential this year's crew possesses as well. The veteran coach, however, raved about his inherited group more for their maturity and respectfulness than their basketball abilities. "If I had these Michigan players at Saint Joe's, I'd still be the coach at Saint Joe's," he said. "I don't want to make light of it though, because it has been traumatic for my family. I've learned a lot about basketball since I've been with them. "… Their work ethic [is what ex- cites me most about them on the court], and their IQ is a close second. Both of those bode well for how this will all evolve." — Austin Fox Martelli has coached basketball every year consecutively since 1977, when he started off as an assistant at Division III Widener College, and was the head coach at Saint Joseph's for 24 seasons. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY