Wolverine Watch: Seizing The Day, And The Moments Along The Way

Phil Martelli is the Don Brown (long may he dub dudes) of Michigan basketball interviews.

He’s engaging. He’s informative. And he’s flat-out, tell-it-like-it-is honest. He probably wouldn’t boo Santa Claus like Philadelphia Eagles fans (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7C5Y4vH6h4), but he’d definitely let Frank Olivo know if his snowball dodging looked substandard.

Juwan Howard’s crowd-engrossing assistant embraces the moment, and urges the 7-0 Wolverines to do the same. He also expects them to get better in a trio of key areas, with the competition about to grow tougher than Philly fans sitting on icy bleachers.

Maryland might be 1-2 in the conference, but just burst Wisconsin’s bubble of invincibility at home, 70-64. The Terps are next on the holiday docket, at College Park on New Year’s Eve.

Then it’s Northwestern (3-0) in the Big Ten on Sunday. The Wildcats got everyone’s attention by upsetting Michigan State, then proved they could knock off good teams as well. In other words, undefeated or not, the Wolverines get better or get a snowball to the mug themselves.

Here are three ways Martelli says improvement can (and needs to) happen:

1. Develop Quality Depth — That might sound odd, for a team featuring the bench outscoring the starters early on. Or for a team that lost its starting center, and brought on a 7-1 backup to lead the team in scoring and rebounding, likely on his way to Freshman of the Year honors in the conference.

Hear Martelli out, though. He’s way beyond the surface on this one. The depth he’s talking about has everything to do with situational readiness against the teams the Wolverines are facing.

Take Maryland, for example. The Terps won at Kohl Center with a 6-7, 230-pound center playing 27 minutes. U-M needs the sort of flexibility to combat those match-ups, Martelli assured.

“Donta Scott plays the five,” Martelli pointed out. “Him playing the five last night changed that game around for them. Does that mean [junior forward] Brandon Johns plays more five, and he has to match up? How do we get that done?”

Johns is 6-8, 240, with enough flashes of his prep brilliance to score 20 in a win over Rutgers at Madison Square Garden last year, Martelli reminded. Michigan radio play-by-play man Brian Boesch insists Johns could very well win a game or two for the Wolverines this season.

Contributing heavily in a road showdown against the Terps would serve as a great start toward that end, and help check Martelli’s depth box.

2. Establish More Offensive Innovators — Michigan didn’t wonder where its offense began in Howard’s first season as head coach. X (point guard Zavier Simpson) marked the spot.

Now, it’s a whole new ball game, involving players like senior forward Isaiah Livers, sophomore forward Franz Wagner, senior guard Eli Brooks and senior transfer guard Chaundee Brown Jr.

“We’re still growing in that area,” Martelli said. “As everybody knows, we went through X. He ran everything, in terms of the offense.

“We have to be in position, this year, where offense can be initiated through Isaiah, through Franz, through Eli, through Chaundee. Everybody has to initiate offense. That’s certainly a growth area for us.”

It has to come with fewer mishaps as well. Martelli acknowledged Michigan’s average of 13.1 turnovers per game sits on the high side of where they’d like to be. It should improve, he noted, when a group that came together late shares more time on the court.

3. Becoming A Factor On The Offensive Glass — Dickinson averages just over two offensive rebounds per game. He’s the only one to make that sort of dent on the boards at that end, and it’s not really a surprise.

But it can change, and Martelli hopes it will.

“We have to become, and we will become, an even fiercer rebounding team,” he said. “We leave a lot of offensive rebound chances alone because we concentrate so much on transition defense.”

There’s one more point he wanted to make, with the Covid shadow looming over Crisler Center. Martelli recalled Howard telling all his players to make sure and contact family on Christmas Day in Nebraska.

It’s a carpe diem moment, like the season itself.

“We’ve done it to a point, and it’s a tribute to Juwan,” Martelli said. “We have to enjoy each day, because tomorrow may change.

“Tomorrow, we might be knocked off, to where we’re not going to play Maryland. You have to really focus on the joy each day is bringing us, giving us the chance to compete and play basketball.”

It’s the ultimate survive and advance.

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