How big is Martelli’s impact on Michigan’s X’s and O’s?
I, like everyone else, am thrilled with this team and its leadership. I hope Howard is the coach for decades to come. However, I am curious how much of the play calling is Howard’s vs. Martelli’s. I haven’t seen this topic discussed all that much, and I am curious what the blog thinks. I feel that Martelli could be an integral part to this team’s success, and would love to see him stick around for a few more seasons.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:35 PM ^
I discussed this in the previous post but ya martelli great hire allowing Howard to learn from him but make the final decision
January 5th, 2021 at 1:37 PM ^
Yeah, I noticed it right after I posted. What are the odds two Martelli threads going up so close together lol
January 5th, 2021 at 1:47 PM ^
Big chance.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:36 PM ^
Not sure but is everyone familiar another reason Martelli is so valuable to the team? The top of his head serves as the backup whiteboard for Juwan.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:19 PM ^
Also, he was llikely invaluable for a rookie college coach on the NCAA admin side of things. Couldn't ask for a better choice.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:23 PM ^
After a brief career as Ray Romano's dad he is really fitting in nicely at U of M. Also word is he isn't bald at all and is trying to get all the benefits that come with being follicly challenged. Posts on twitter showing him with a full head of hair on family vacations not long ago.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:59 PM ^
win the game!
January 5th, 2021 at 1:37 PM ^
I'd imagine there is a shared influence on Xs and Os, kind of like Harbaugh and Gattis or not.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:06 PM ^
Kind of like Urban Meyer and Ryan Day. How much is Meyer still coaching OSU from behind the curtain? There’s a reason Meyer was at the Sugar Bowl and it wasn’t to sit and enjoy the game.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:37 PM ^
He is gone as soon as he gets a HC offer.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:39 PM ^
He’s 66 years old... I don’t really think he’ll be getting any calls for a head coaching job
January 5th, 2021 at 1:40 PM ^
Mack Brown is 69.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:47 PM ^
What's your point? Old coaches do get hired for head coaching gigs, but its not very common. Also, Phil Martelli is not Mack Brown.
This is a case of the exception proving the rule.
January 5th, 2021 at 3:32 PM ^
I found one scientist somewhere who says global warming is a myth; therefore, global warming is a myth!
January 5th, 2021 at 2:10 PM ^
nice.
January 5th, 2021 at 3:20 PM ^
Mack Brown is also a coaching legend and previously coached for the school that hired him. ZERO other teams were even considering Mack Brown for a job. That’s not really a good example considering it took the perfect scenario for it to happen.
Phil was fired by the only school he’s ever been a head coach at. So not like they’re going to call him back. And really nobody is interested in hiring a coach in the latter half of their 60’s.
January 5th, 2021 at 3:23 PM ^
On top of that UNC was pretty heavy ridiculed at the time
January 5th, 2021 at 2:22 PM ^
Deleted...Never mind
January 5th, 2021 at 1:39 PM ^
I think Juwan and Phil just work really well together. Phil is a great teacher and likely helps translate Juwan’s pro sets into digestible bites for 19 year olds.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:41 PM ^
Watch the interview with Coach Howard after Nwestern; look at the NBA sets that M is running in the B1G. Consider the implications of your query. Believe me, Coach Howard is the boss.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:50 PM ^
Well said.
I think where Martelli's experience is MOST valuable is his experience running a college basketball program. All of the day to day, executive things that you don't see on the floor. Coach Howard has tremendously detailed knowledge of basketball strategy from his long and illustrious NBA career as both a player and coach, but this is his first time running a college basketball program and there is little doubt he leans on Martelli's experience to mentor him in this area and offer suggestions.
And that's not to take anything away from Martelli's excellence as a basketball coach and teacher of the game, either. What I am saying is that 1) they have extremely complementary experience and skillsets as coaches, 2) I'm beyond glad that they've teamed up, and 3) anybody who thinks Coach Howard is just a figurehead for recruiting is delusional and let's face it probably a little bit racist (go ahead and bring on the downvotes, but examine that shit in your heart with honesty and you know it's true... no judgement though, all of us can be better)
January 5th, 2021 at 1:55 PM ^
"I think where Martelli's experience is MOST valuable is his experience running a college basketball program."
^^^^^This.^^^^^
It's slightly insulting of the OP to suggest that Martelli is "calling the plays."
January 5th, 2021 at 7:33 PM ^
Howard said after the game that it was his call to put Wagner on Nance and that his assistants probably thought he was crazy.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:37 PM ^
" 3) anybody who thinks Coach Howard is just a figurehead for recruiting is delusional and let's face it probably a little bit racist (go ahead and bring on the downvotes, but examine that shit in your heart with honesty and you know it's true... no judgement though, all of us can be better) "
I'm glad you said #3.
I've noticed that many fans are hesitant/reluctant to acknowledge the Xs/Os acumen of non-white coaches. When was the last time you heard a PoC coach/manager be called a genius?
(And this transcends American sports. I follow futbol and this is an annoying recurring problem there too. Ex: South American futbol managers are shortchanged in favor of European managers even though SA managers are far more likely to field teams with a more exciting, more dynamic, attacking style of play.)
I don't understand why fans don't realize the following:
PoC players are smart enough to execute advanced strategies & tactics in real-time in the heat of games. So why do fans have trouble believing PoC would struggle to coach these strategies & tactics in the comfort of practices or from the sideline?
What's also annoying is when a PoC develops a cool play, tactic, strategy, innovation, etc. but doesn't get recognition for it (until a white coach runs it and then people are curious to find out its origin).
Fortunately, things are starting to change. I recently read an article about Brennan Marion - the creator of the GoGo offense. It's a good read.
January 5th, 2021 at 3:17 PM ^
Brennan Marion pretty much utilize modern spread with old school running principle. What is old is new. What is new is old! A lot of NFL and college offense borrowed a couple plays from Go Go Offense so it's starting to spread around the country
January 5th, 2021 at 3:42 PM ^
People do it with players as well. One of the commentators said it during the last game. He said something like Beilein brought in high IQ players and Juwan brought in nba talent. As a PoC, these statements are annoying. Like Juwans players are great players, but are not as smart.
January 5th, 2021 at 3:13 PM ^
Carolina, I appreciate your response here. In regards to #3, I did not suggest that he is only good for recruiting. And I certainly meant no implications regarding race. This is his first head coaching gig, and I figured it would come with more of a learning curve. He is clearly a sharp guy, and I have no doubts that he has an extremely intelligent basketball mind. It’s just gotta be helpful to have a guy that’s been around since the creation of the sport to provide some expertise.
January 5th, 2021 at 3:48 PM ^
Wait, so we've now gone from racism to ageism? Oh no... /s
To your point, though, one question I would have in general is how much of the in-game play-calling (offensive sets, defense, calls on the fly vs. in TOs) does the head coach make vs. assistants? I'm sure it varies by program, but are there generalities here?
Just listening to the Stu interview on the sleepers podcast, he mentioned Beilein being so detail-oriented that he would sometimes lose track of what's going on in a game on D b/c he's thinking about what went wrong with the previous offensive possession and how to fix it for the next time. Point here is that Beilein had to learn to delegate certain aspects of the game management to his assistants.
How does Howard approach the delegation of game management to his assistants? What roles do they play?
January 5th, 2021 at 4:22 PM ^
That Stu interview was great. It was worth taking the hour break out of my work day.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:59 PM ^
This.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:04 PM ^
There's an analysis on YouTube (it might be paywalled now) from one of those coaching blogs comparing Howard's sets to those of the Heat. There was a lot of overlap. There was also a fair amount of continuing what Beilein was doing (not surprising considering Saddi is still here and it was successful). Martelli himself has said the offense (and particularly the ball screen offense) that UM is running is derived from an primarily influenced by offenses similar to what Howard and Eisley were a part of as coaches in the NBA.
But it appears folks are in unwilling to credit Howard for the X and O success unfortunately.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:05 PM ^
yeah, i agree... while I agree that Martelli is a big part of the staff, i think it has to do more with all the stuff off the court as much as on the court.
Michigan runs a ton of pro actions - UMHoops goes through all the variations... i remember one article about how many variations of the 'horns' sets they go through...That's more Coach Howard imo than Martelli
January 5th, 2021 at 2:39 PM ^
Yep.
I've lost track of the number of times I screamed at my TV for Beilein to run horns. He never did. And yet...under Howard we're running it exceptionally well.
January 6th, 2021 at 2:16 PM ^
I was skeptical of Juwan at first because he had never been a head coach before. All coaches say that it's a huge jump from the assistant's chair to the HC's. I'm not skeptical anymore. Juwan is completely running this show, and he is running circles around opposing coaches tactically. Plus, his players obviously respect him and want to play hard for him. Add in his recruiting prowess and his love of the university and you have a perfect head coach for Michigan. Turns out there's a reason why NBA clubs were starting to show interest, and why tremendous professional coaches like Riley and Spoelstra saw so much in him.
January 5th, 2021 at 4:29 PM ^
I am far from the basketball theory expert of many others on this board, but from what I do know, it seems abundantly clear to me that Howard (not Martelli) is the architect and driving force behind the team's approach. The connection between what Michigan does and the systems Howard has played/coached in or against in the NBA are very clear. I think Howard graduated from his playing career with an advanced degree in basketball strategy and theory and then piled on a PhD and post-doc work in his assistant coaching run in Miami.
I think folks are right about Martelli helping out with ops advice and he also probably helps bridge the gap between the NBA and college games. I'm guessing he also serves another set of eyes when figuring out what the opposition is doing or is going to do. Finally, I'm guessing he also helps teaches the sets the team runs. As others have pointed out, this team is already deep into the playbook. A team doesn't learn that quickly with only one teacher.
While Howard has no doubt benefitted from Martelli's extensive experience, I think Howard has opened up a whole new world for Martelli. If Martelli does get a head coaching job again, I think a lot of it will be because of his time in Ann Arbor. If Martelli were to leave after this season for a HC position, I think he will be a better coach than he was before he came to Ann Arbor. Considering the depth of experience and success that Martelli had before he came to Michigan, that's an impressive statement.
Assuming the early indications are not a mirage, not only do I think Howard will have a very successful coaching career, I think he will have a successful coaching tree. As much as I think he is very much in charge, you don't do as well as fast as he is without surrounding yourself with other talented people and allowing them to do their thing.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:43 PM ^
I think it might be less than you would think. The sets we have been running on both sides of the ball seem to be mostly NBA type sets. I think where Martelli really helps out is helping Juwan with seeing the game from a HC perspective and with in game adjustments due to his vast experience and given that he's dealt with probably every offense and defense in the book. It's been encouraging this year mostly seeing Juwan running the huddles during time outs compared to last year where Martelli seemed more involved and also we've seen less of Martelli with his arm around Juwan's shoulder.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:00 PM ^
and also we've seen less of Martelli with his arm around Juwan's shoulder.
Martelli's arm can reach Howard's shoulder?
January 5th, 2021 at 1:43 PM ^
Martelli with X's and O's and Saddi with recruits. Pay them both a lot and keep them in AA.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:45 PM ^
He’s like 130 years old and has 95 years of coaching experience. He’s our Yoda.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:53 PM ^
He is also much younger than Chewbacca as well
January 5th, 2021 at 1:51 PM ^
Juwan's also coming out of what's generally acknowledged as one of the 2-3 best prepared, most offensively innovative staffs in the NBA. I think that's the primary answer,
January 5th, 2021 at 2:01 PM ^
Agreed, maybe people didn't realize it because the Heat really had their huge break out the year Juwan left, but Spoelstra and his staff are maybe the best basketball minds in the NBA. I thought the worry about Juwan's Xs and Os were always overblown
January 5th, 2021 at 3:16 PM ^
Yes, agreed. This post was less about questioning Juwan’s abilities and more about inquiring about Martelli’s. At the very least, they seem to be working well together.
January 5th, 2021 at 1:53 PM ^
I didn't follow Martelli that closely when he was at St. Joe's but from what I gather, this is not that similar to the offensive system he ran there. It's more influenced by Erik Spoelstra's in Miami.
Not sure about the defensive end - he may have some influence there? But I think what he brings most of all is helping Juwan learn how to structure and plan out everything over the course of a season. Coaching in the NBA is mostly about X's and O's, but college also includes a healthy amount of player development that you have to find time to work in. That's where having an ex-college head coach is big. And course he's probably helped Juwan get used to recruiting, helped him learn NCAA rules, etc.
January 5th, 2021 at 3:20 PM ^
Juwan is the defensive coach who also coach the bigs at Miami so he knows how to run defense. Michigan has done a good job of it with limiting 2 pt shooting % this season. I think Diabate is his ideal big which is long, rangy, athletic big who can switch and protect the rim which give his defense an extra dimension that none of the Michigan bigs have in over a decade.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:01 PM ^
Without a doubt Juwan Howard is running the type of offense and defense he wants to run. He is recruiting the types of players he wants.
I think what should be recognized is the significant impact Howard Eisley, Martelli, Washington have in game planning and prep. I believe it was reported last year that Howard rotates the responsibility for game planning/prep amongst the three. The consistency with which Michigan is prepared for each game speaks volumes to Howard's expectations and the capabilities of those three men.
January 5th, 2021 at 3:21 PM ^
The assistant coaches and other supporting staff rotating is normal for most coaching staff from what I've seen in college level. They often split responsibilities with advanced scouting reports on their opponent.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:05 PM ^
Not that much. What Michigan's running are very much the most popular NBA sets. Then go look at St. Joe's most recent Martelli teams and ask if they share at all any type of statistical profile, or if those teams were any good at all? The answer to both is no. They just iso'd up with mediocre guards. Martelli is good to teach Howard how to run and manage a program, run a good practice, etc.. He wasn't known as an Xs and Os savant. It's likely that if any assistant has a lot of say on the offense it's Eisley, who I believe Juwan noted works on the offense while Saddi works on the D.
The Martelli thing is a huge Sparty talking point, because they can't see how a successful young, black coach can be good at Xs and Os. As if he didn't come from one of the top NBA organizations that is currently the envy of the league in a lot of respects.
Martelli got fired for a reason. he wasn't a particularly good coach. He was pretty good, and better 15 years ago. But certainly not this good.
January 5th, 2021 at 2:24 PM ^
Think Martelli might be working with more talent here....
January 5th, 2021 at 2:33 PM ^
For sure. But you don't need talent to install an offense. Beilein spent a career running his offense regardless of the talent level. Play style wise, it isn't similar