Phil Martelli reveals humorous, NSFW heckling from Ohio State fans

Phil Martelli coached his last game as Michigan‘s acting head coach on Sunday – leading the Wolverines to a 75-69 road win at No. 23 Ohio State to close out the regular season, which likely punched Michigan’s ticket to the NCAA Tournament.

While Martelli can now return to his primary position of associate head coach for the Wolverines with head coach Juwan Howard now back after serving a five-game suspension, the veteran coach enjoyed his time serving as Michigan’s head man.

Following Sunday’s win, Martelli met with the media for his postgame press conference and shared with reporters that he was heckled by a young Ohio State fan during the game. Although most people don’t like being heckled, Martelli just laughed it off.

“That was a really cool atmosphere,” Martelli said. “Really, really cool atmosphere. There was a kid behind the bench – I don’t know if I’ll ever see him again, but I want to thank him because he kept telling me that I was bald. And I’ll be honest with you, I’ve gone along this whole time thinking I had a thinning hairline – not bald. So, I appreciate him letting me know that.

“The other words that he was using with bald … not on a Sunday, fella. Not on a Sunday.”

With Sunday’s win over Ohio State, Michigan finished the regular season with a 17-13 overall record and 11-9 mark in Big Ten play heading into the Big Ten Tournament.

WATCH: Phil Martelli thanks Michigan players after final game as acting head coach

Following Michigan’s win on Sunday, Phil Martelli spoke with the Wolverines and thanked them for allowing him to be their acting head coach for the final five games of the regular season – and the locker room echoed with cheers for the veteran coach as a result.

Thank you @PhilMartelli 💙💛

〽️🏀 | #GoBlue pic.twitter.com/XJ036zGDwW

— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) March 6, 2022

“We will go forward,” Martelli told the Michigan team. “Tomorrow will be a change. So, thank you for allowing me to be with you.”

After Martelli made his comments, multiple players can be heard saying, “Thank you, coach!” – making it obvious that the Wolverines enjoyed playing for him during Juwan Howard’s absence.