Phil Martelli reveals thoughts on replacing Juwan Howard during suspension

Michigan men’s basketball will play its first game on Wednesday night since head coach Juwan Howard was hit with a five-game suspension for his postgame altercation following Sunday’s game at Wisconsin. With Howard out of the mix for the time being, Wolverines’ associate head coach Phil Martelli will serve as the team’s acting head coach for the remainder of the regular season.

A veteran college basketball coach who spent 24 years as the head coach at Saint Joseph’s, Martelli is no stranger to the game – so stepping in for Howard isn’t anything new to him. Prior to leading Michigan for the first time on Wednesday, Martelli met with the media on Tuesday and offered his thoughts on becoming the Wolverines’ acting head coach.

“I am not Juwan Howard,” Martelli said. “I’m going to be me. So, a small thing: I’ve never sat down during a game. So, there’ll be a chair there, but it’ll be for him – it will not be for me. And I told the players that yesterday, that I’m not replacing Juwan Howard. What we have in place is the way that we’re going to play.

“I’m going to run the timeout the way that I run it, but I’m not going to mimic him. I didn’t mimic him in practice in yesterday and will not today.”

Like Martelli pointed out, he’s not going to coach just like Howard and will instead be himself – using his many, many years of coaching experience to lead Michigan for the rest of the regular season.

Michigan – which is currently 14-11 overall with a 8-7 mark in Big Ten play – tips off against Rutgers at 7 p.m. ET at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, with the Big Ten Network carrying the broadcast. According to ESPN’s Basketball Power Index, the Wolverines have a 77.7% chance to win.

Juwan Howard releases statement after suspension

Juwan Howard released a statement shortly after the announcement of his suspension. He apologized to everyone involved with the Michigan program along with Wisconsin assistant coach Joel Krabbenhoft — who was on the receiving end of Howard’s punch.

“After taking time to reflect on all that happened, I realize how unacceptable both my actions and words were, and how they truly affected so many,” Howard said. “I am truly sorry. I am offering my sincerest apologies to my players and their families, my staff, my family and the Michigan fans around the world. I would like to personally apologize to Wisconsin’s Assistant Coach Joe Krabbenhoft and his family, too.

“Lastly, I speak a lot about being a Michigan man and representing the University of Michigan with class and pride, I did not do that, nor did I set the right example in the right way for my student-athletes. I will learn from my mistake and this mistake will never happen again. No excuses!”

On3’s Griffin McVeigh contributed to this report.