Phil Martelli on trying to keep momentum moving forward down final stretch

Phil Martelli is tasked with righting the ship at Michigan following the Juwan Howard controversy. While his time as the Michigan head coach will be limited, he has the impossible task of keeping the Wolverines on track, and handling the blowback of Howard’s actions.

Evidently, nothing is impossible for Martelli. In his first game as the acting head coach, Michigan took care of business against a Rutgers team that’s been one of the hottest in the nation. The Wolverines need all the wins they can get prior to March, and their 71-62 victory over the Scarlet Knights is huge.

After the big win, Martelli was asked how Michigan can keep their momentum moving forward.

“I don’t know. I really don’t,” stated Martelli. “Because I will suggest to you that Tuesday’s practice was not — Tuesday’s practice was that like, dip. Monday was solid. Tuesday was the dip. And what I think, with all that’s going on — with all that went on, and then all that’s going on — how many wins do we need? And you have five games — no we don’t. We don’t. We had yesterday and today. Now, we’re off tomorrow. And when you have a leader, like Eli Brooks, we’ll have their attention on Friday. To play an afternoon game on Sunday against a nationally ranked team.

“But in this league, tonight is tonight, and tomorrow, we’ll deal with that. But we do have off. Which is a big deal. It’s a big deal to have a day off. Everybody needs to breathe. Everybody around here. Administration. Staff. Players. And now, Friday can be about basketball.”

Evidently, Phil Martelli is takings things step by step. The Wolverines are in good hands with him taking the lead as Juwan Howard serves his suspension.

Phil Martelli on moving forward without Juwan Howard: ‘I would put it to you this way, I’m here to serve.’

Phil Martelli was called upon to lead Michigan through a dark time. As Juwan Howard serves his suspension for his actions against Wisconsin over the rest of the season, it’s Martelli who the players and fanbase are looking towards.

It’s been an uneven season for Michigan, but Martelli is looking to lead the Wolverines to the NCAA Tournament. However, he’ll have to handle a bevy of issues over the next month — having his team ready for must-win games while handling the blowback from Howard’s actions. However, he proved he was up to the task on Wednesday, leading the program to a huge victory at home over Rutgers.

Afterwards, Martelli gave an interesting answer when asked how the team will move forward without Howard.

“I would put it to you this way, I’m here to serve,” stated Martelli. “To be acknowledged for serving, is very much appreciated. But I will share this with you, and I shared this with the players, the last statement I made to them before I went on the court. Warde Manuel did not ask me to try to coach the team. Right? Try. He said do it. So I did it.

“And I don’t mean that singularly. Like, we did it. And the players did it. Because no one said try. They asked us to do it.”

Evidently, it’s simple for Martelli — he’s just doing his job. Phil Martelli and Michigan have a chance to make a huge statement on Sunday, welcoming No. 15 Illinois to Ann Arbor for a gigantic showdown.