Michigan basketball: Phil Martelli on big man improvement

Associate head coach Phil Martelli will coach the Michigan basketball team until Howard returns, and he was in good spirits at Oct. 17 media day. There, several new faces met the press with high hopes and expectations for what will be a much different team in 2023-24.

RELATED: ITF HOOPS EXTRA: Michigan basketball rumblings, thoughts from media day
RELATED: Michigan basketball: Jace Howard says 2023-24 squad ‘most professional team I’ve been around’

Gone are two, first round NBA draft picks in wing Jett Howard and shooting guard Kobe Bufkin, as well as a transfer in big man Hunter Dickinson (Kansas) who averaged 20 points per game. Sophomore Tarris Reed Jr. will try to pick up the slack in the middle, while transfers Nimari Burnett (shooting guard, Alabama), Tray Jackson (forward, Seton Hall), and Olivier Nkamhoua (power forward/center, Tennessee) will join the returnees to fill in the gaps. 

“Tarris  — the blessing the young man has being in the lab with Juwan in he summer, and now Jay Smith, Jay’s approach,” Martelli said. “Tarris Reed to me … he’s a better foul shooter. Now, he has to do it with bright lights and crowd.  But he’s shooting the ball better from the foul line. He’s a more confident face up shooter. His left hand has really developed. Over the last 4 or 5 days there’s been a growth. Earlier in the practices he was getting banged and not finishing his layups. Now he’s playing through that. He has really good feet for a guy his size … but the last couple days he’s started to get back into shot blocking. He’s made real strides and again, with the cheat sheet of Juwan Howard. 

“His defense was good last year. His defense this year has stayed at that level. With the teaching that Saddi puts in, the scheme, the pattern, it befits his abilities at this point.”

Jackson, meanwhile, has impressed Martelli with his scoring ability and his length. He averaged 5.2 points per game a year ago and never really found his niche at Seton Hall. He’s making strides on both ends and will have a role on this team. 

How big remains to be seen, but he’s invested and taking coaching, having proven to be a great teammate.
“Tray’s a really, really, really good shooter, and he has that walk … that left-handed walk,” Martelli said. “I don’t know what it is about them, but their shoulders tip differently — they carry themselves differently. He goes back to that versatility. When you talk to Tray, he tells you he played backup center in the Big East last year. I think he’s getting more conformable in his own skin, which is a good thing for us. 

“I go back to that versatility with him. How are you going to guard him? Could he play on the wing? He has the shooting ability to play on the wing. Could he play as a thin power forward? He could. What I like about him is that his growth … he’s a quieter guy, but I’m impressed with his willingness to trust. Sometimes when these guys transfer, they come into a new situation where maybe they don’t trust.”

Jackson will play the three and the four, but Nkamhoua can play up to three positions, including backup center. He’ll be out there at the 5 when they play small, and he has the body and mentality to do it. He’s possibly the Wolverines’ best player overall.

“He is a grown man,” Martelli said. “Physically, his shoulders are really wide. He willingly shares with you what he sees, what he thinks. He’ll ask questions. He speaks to his teammates, and I think the biggest thing he brings is he’s played 130 college basketball games at the highest of levels. He’s a very, very interesting dude.”

He can score inside and out, but he’s best in one area, the Michigan assistant added.
“Power, power, power. Power basketball,” Martelli said. “He can score with his back to the basket; he can take you and shed you at the basket. He has a versatile game, a developing perimeter game, but he is versatile.”

These three and redshirt sophomore Will Tschetter, who has made big strides and gotten stronger and more confident in the offseason, will hold down the fort in the middle in a strong Big Ten. All bring different traits, but they’ve all got the mentality to compete, Martelli insisted, and he’s anxious to see them in action.