Michigan Basketball: Reports have Phil Martelli joining Juwan Howard
Phil Martelli, the former Saint Joseph head basketball coach, is heading to Ann Arbor to become Juward Howard’s assistant coach, per reports.
Multiple reports have surfaced indicating the former Saint Joesph head basketball coach, Phil Martelli, will be joining Juward Howard in Ann Arbor to coach Michigan basketball for the upcoming season.
According to Rivals Chris Balas ($), Phil was looking for a head coaching position elsewhere; however, the position at Michigan basketball was the best opportunity for him and that the deal is essentially completed pending the announcement from the University.
Phil Martelli has offer to be Michigan assistant coach, sources say https://t.co/C3PHNqRPPb
— The Philadelphia Inquirer (@PhillyInquirer) May 30, 2019
The Philidelphia Inquirer confirmed Phil was offered the job while the legendary coach and media personality Dick Vitale congratulated Juwan for putting a “1st class staff together”. He also mentioned the hiring of Howard Eisley – which no one else is reporting at this time.
Yes @umichbball JUWAN HOWARD putting a 1st class staff together Fantastic hire in PHIL MARTELLI / also Howard Eisley has a .wealth of hoops exp.
— Dick Vitale (@DickieV) May 30, 2019
What we do know for sure is that this would be Howard’s greatest decision so far as a head coach. Martelli has been mentoring young basketball athletes since 1977 and has been the head coach of the Saint Joseph Hawks since 1995.
As the head coach for Saint Joesph, Phil won three Atlantic 10 Tournament championships and four regular-season championships. His awards include the AP Coach of the Year, Naismith Coach of the Year, Henry Iba award, Jim Phelan Award, Adolph Rupp Cup, NABC Coach of the Year, and four-time Atlantic Ten Coach of the Year.
While Martelli has his fair share of failures lately, he has experienced some spectacular success in recent history. His best season with the Hawks culminated in a 30-2 overall record reaching the Elite 8 with star point guard Jameer Nelson.
What Martelli will bring to Michigan is much-needed head coaching experience and a history of success. During his final three years leading Saint Joseph, Martelli’s squad put up seasons of 14-19, 16-16, and 11-20 which doesn’t sound that great; however, the year before that the Hawks won 28 games to just 8 losses and they added in a tournament win.
Overall, Martelli’s head coaching record is listed at 444-328 including a total of seven NCAA tournament appearances.
The 64-year-old was fired in March and released a statement shortly after indicating his burning desire to “challenge” student-athletes elsewhere.
“Through the pain and numbness, I am excited. I am fired up. I need to be on a sideline and working with hungry student athletes who want to be challenged to put smiles on people’s faces and joy in their hearts — the challenge of becoming champions.”
This hiring comes after the announcement of Luke Yaklich leaving to coach at Texas. DeAndre Haynes also announced via Twitter that he will no longer remain on staff and he was unsure of his future.
As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. My time here at the University of Michigan was nothing short of a dream. pic.twitter.com/91Y8FiJ53O
— DeAndre Haynes (@CoachDreHaynes) May 30, 2019
As I mentioned before, Dick Vitale reported the hiring of Howard Eisley which would bring another level of nostalgia to this Michigan basketball program as Fab Five member Jalen Rose was High School teammates with Eisley at Southwestern High School in Detroit. Eisly went on to play at Boston College and had a notable professional career.
Eisley has been an assistant coach in the NBA since 2010 when he joined the Los Angelas Clippers. Coach Eisley moved on to the Wizards and has been with the New York Knicks assistant since 2016.