Daily News | Phil Martelli, in charge (again, temporarily) at Michigan | Mike Jensen
Phil Martelli had been a head coach for 772 college basketball games at St. Joseph’s. He’d been an assistant before that on Hawk Hill, and for the last three seasons under Juwan Howard at Michigan. He’d finished a Wolverines game that Howard had been ejected from last March.“It messed me up, to be honest with you,” Martelli said Friday over the phone, referring to how he “tossed and turned” the night of Howard’s postgame altercation at Wisconsin Feb.
The fact is, if Michigan hadn’t won a couple of the five games without Howard, the Wolverines would have themselves a nice postseason waiting in the NIT. They’re not in the clear yet, but a victory over Rutgers on Feb. 23, first game after the Feb. 20 Wisconsin debacle, gave Michigan a little breathing room. Then there was a loss to Illinois. Which made a visit from Michigan State that much bigger.“It just brought back memories of Fran Dunphy,” Martelli said of facing Izzo.
“Nobody comes to me – do you think we have to win this game?” Martelli said of the players. “It never comes up. … You know the league is a wear and tear, and then the spotlight was really on the players.” “I was the first in line,” Martelli said of that now infamous handshake line. “I got all the way through the Wisconsin players, their coaches and support staff, their managers. I turned to go to our locker room. I heard the crowd noise before I saw anything.”
Meaning, still sorting out the events at Wisconsin while preparing for Rutgers. “We couldn’t be spending two days on, where were you on the court?”
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy holds last scheduled COVID briefingNew Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy held his last regularly scheduled COVID briefing today. megbakertv reports.
Read more »
Rory McIlroy calls fallout from Phil Mickelson's Saudi golf league remarks 'unfortunate'Despite Phil Mickelson’s comments about the Saudi-backed golf league which would rival the PGA Tour, Rory McIlroy said Wednesday that “Lefty” deserved a second chance.
Read more »
Gov. Phil Murphy Unveils Property Tax Rebate Plan For New Jersey Homeowners'We want this to mean lasting relief that keeps families in their homes.' New Jersey homeowners could get a break on the country’s highest property taxes.
Read more »
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy looks back at 2 years of COVID-19: 'There's no playbook for this'After New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy held his last weekly COVID-19 briefing Friday, he sat down with MegBakerTV to look back on the past two years of the pandemic as we transition into an endemic.
Read more »