The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1499505
JUNE/JULY 2023 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 27 2023 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE ness. On the contrary, he's all for it. NIL was never supposed to be a bidding war for talent, but — to many — that's what it seems to have become. For a veteran like Martelli, it's been tough to watch. It doesn't benefit the fan or the game itself, he insisted, and it's o n ly s h o r t - te r m ga i n fo r the players. Recruiting now starts with keeping your own players, and as they saw with Dickinson, that's no guarantee. "I think if you're just now trying to make them happy … even more than happy, if you're not in collaboration with them," Martelli began. "If you're not with them in pursuing their dreams, if you're not in there concerned about who they are a person, or if you're not in there with them demanding and as- sisting in their academic pursuits, it's too late." But it can be a chore trying to keep up, too. Such is life today as a collegiate coach. "The rumor upon rumor upon ru- mor … you can spend all day and then you can spend days of the week chasing false narratives. That is ex- hausting," Martelli said. "That's not a positive way to spend your time. "So, I think you have to have established rela- tionships from Day 1 and not panicked relation- ships and say, for exam- ple, 'What didn't I know about Hunter? That's not the reason he left.' Or, 'What didn't I know about Isaiah Barnes?'" Instead, you move for- ward. REBUILD IN PROGRESS And that's what How- ard and his staff have done, building a roster around the players that returned. While it will be hard to replace the scor- ing from the "big three," there are three players — possibly four — return- ing with starting experience, beginning with second-year point guard Dug Mc- Daniel. The 5-foot-11 McDaniel was pressed into duty after graduate student Jae- lin Llewellyn went down with a knee injury. He averaged 8.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game and shot a better- than-expected 35.5 percent from three- point range. Senior forward Terrance Williams II also returns with something to prove after a disappointing junior season, while third-year Will Tschetter (2.3 points, 1.4 rebounds in 2022-23) started eight games. Sophomore center Tarris Reed Jr., too, played significant minutes, averaging 3.4 points and 3.9 rebounds in 12.6 min- utes per game. "I do think we have some young guys who now realize how hard it is," Mar- telli said. "I don't think they're sitting around saying, 'Woe is us — we had an All-American, now we don't have an All-American.' Or, 'I was playing with two pros last year.' No. "I just don't think young players are built like that any- more. I think it's more that it was disappointing, because last year at this time every young player on this team would have said, 'Yeah, of course we're going to the NCAA Tour- nament. We're Michigan.' I think there's an awareness of how that opportunity is not gifted to you … it has to be acquired and earned. Calling it the way it is, we didn't earn it last year." Time will tell if this group will. The first step, though, is knowing who ex- actly is going to be on the roster. An- other factor in the new era of college hoops is the frequent turnover and often late additions of teammates. The players returning still don't know who they're going to be playing with — and in the case of the transfers, don't really know much about them personally. I t 's d i f fe re n t w i t h f r e s h m e n w h o h a ve been recruited for years. They visit campus, get to know the players and ea c h o t h e r, a n d t h ey come in with a sense of familiarity on both sides. That's not the case with the portal transfers. And while it's natural to think the players remaining might have a defiance to prove everyone wrong about this year's team, Martelli said the first step is knowing who is going to be in the corner with them. "I would say this group is wondering … 'Who else are we going to add, and what are those guys like?'" Martelli said of the team's mindset. "Be- cause they don't know those guys coming in, nor do we as a staff. We don't know what they're like on a day-to-day basis in the Former North Carolina guard Caleb Love headlines the trio of transfers who will join the Michigan roster in 2023-24. He averaged 16.7 points and 2.8 assists last year for the Tar Heels. PHOTO COURTESY NORTH CAROLINA ATHLETICS ❱ Associate head coach Phil Martelli "I think you could spend time complaining about it, or you can navigate it. To me, that's what we're trying to do."