New Michigan head coach Juwan Howard got a great one in assistant Phil Martelli. Martelli had options, but he went with a guy he feels will be an elite closer on the recruiting trail.
Martelli, in an interview with 97.5 (WPEN) in Philadelphia, said Howard's introductory press conference sealed the deal for him to join Howard at U-M.
"I spoke to him after his press conference last week and I said, 'Juwan, I know it was genuine and it was real, but the fact that you cried at your press conference ... first of all you grabbed me because I'm an emotional guy, but No. 2, you grabbed every mother of every recruit in this country," he said.
"'We can now go into every living room in this country because you're the real deal. You're not an NBA two-time champion. You're not a guy that played in two Final Fours. You're not a guy that played 19 years in the NBA. You're a real human being.'"
Saddi Washington, a holdover from John Beilein's staff and a highly respected assistant, and New York Knicks assistant Howard Eisley will round out Howard's staff, barring a change. None have been announced yet by Howard and U-M.
Martelli won 425 games at St. Joseph and made the NCAA Tournament seven times, reaching the Elite Eight in 2004. He was let go last year and had a tough time with it, but he insists he is looking forward "through the windshield and not in the rearview mirror."
He first spoke with Howard May 20, a day before Howard's official interview. It was then he was sold that Howard might be a home run hire.
"That first moment ... I went, 'This is real. If this comes to fruition, it's going to be a spectacular next chapter,'" he said, citing Howard's humble nature. "I was pursuing several different options, all in basketball, but that one call changed the whole equation for me."
He saw a coach wanting direction and help, knowing he needed help rather than a know-it-all hotshot. One reporter called it a "self-awareness," and that seems to sum it up. It's a compliment to a man who has accomplished a lot but still knows he needs to learn, and doing what he can to keep the program humming.
"I have to make sure I do the work and put him in a position. Tthe head coach is the closer," Martelli said. "And I have real belief that this guy is going to become one of the best closers in the country.
“My goal at this point in time is to see him standing on the sideline coaching in the National Championship game. Everything that I do will be dedicated to making that happen.”
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