Wolverine TV: Phil Martelli on Juwan Howard, Michigan basketball vs. EMU
Michigan Wolverines basketball interim and associate head coach Phil Martelli met with the media Friday afternoon ahead of his team’s game against Eastern Michigan. Watch video of his press conference in the player at the top of the screen or on our YouTube channel.
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Martelli didn’t have much to say when asked about the reported incident between Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and strength and conditioning coach Jon Sanderson in practice last Thursday. The HR department is reportedly reviewing the situation.
“Everything is is in Warde’s hands. That’s as much as I have on it,” Martelli said, referring to University of Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel.
He essentially had the same response to questions about why Sanderson didn’t attend Sunday’s game at Iowa or if he was at practice this week.
Howard has been on the bench as an assistant in recent games, still recovering from a Sept. 15 heart procedure.
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“I think that there’s still maybe a thought there’s clearance,” Martelli said. “I don’t know enough about it because of the privacy thing, but there will be … there’s nothing that I have at whatever time it is, 4 o’clock. But all progressions, all benchmarks are being met. And I do think that this is between … I think not only his doctors but I think Michigan, the medical staff at Michigan and Warde and Juwan’s family to decide what is the next appropriate step. The next appropriate step would be for him to quote-unquote run the game, but I don’t know [if he will tomorrow] at 4 o’clock.”
The Michigan assistant was asked about players have handled the entire situation. The team won by double digits, 90-80, at Iowa just days after the Howard / Sanderson incident.
“The players’ response was … I don’t want to go ‘exceptional,’ but I thought the players’ response to being on the road, to bubbling — if that’s the right word, all that was bubbling — I thought it was just extraordinary. It spoke volumes about their growing maturity and their belief in each other, that you can win a road game. Road games are hard to win anyway, and in that setting there was a certain air of desperation for Iowa. As I stood on the sideline, I was really impressed with the response — the pure basketball response — by these players.
Michigan and EMU tip off at 2:34 p.m. ET Saturday afternoon at Crisler Center.
