Any thoughts on Martelli in person? From TV, he seemed to be more active on the bench than in the first few games of the season. Any sense on if he was helping with offense, defense, in-game/game theory decision making? And thoughts on the rest of the staff?
Also - regarding the Juwan floor towel incident, from TV it seemed more like he was pissed that the floor was slippery so he was wiping it up himself to prove a point compared to it being egoless. Not that it matters either way.
Agree that he was pissed with the floor thing but it was still an interesting moment.
We sit far away at Crisler, but Martelli definitely seemed to be up standing and a little more involved. He seemed to be the guy who was up and talking to Juwan about fouls, but more as someone telling him the situation rather than telling him what to do.
Superb and very encouraging piece of analysis. This team will have its share of struggle, but really looks like it has the pieces to be in every game it plays this season.
There might not be one player that Michigan can count on every night in its sophomore class (DeJulius is getting close) but Howard can count on at least one player stepping up every night.
Thanks for confirming what I kept thinking as I watched replays of the last three games.
Yep all good and right on point. Excellent!
Great stuff, thanks Dylan. Regarding Michigan being in the 96th percentile in opponent fg% inside 5 ft, just curious who some of the other teams are ahead of Michigan?
I loved it when they were standing on the sidelines with their arm around each other. I really think they have a special coaching relationship, and each knows the importance of the other. Martelli is in the unique position of being a sage helping a talented young coach grow and develop his craft. And Howard is selfless, egoless enough that he willingly embraces that wisdom.
As for the towel thing, there are certainly coaches who would have demanded that the moisture be cleaned up, but Howard just went out there and did it himself. Not many others would. Was he sending a message? Frankly, I think he was sending several messages. To the officials and those in charge of wiping up the floor, “Do your job and get that damn moisture wiped up before someone gets hurt!” To his team, “Fellas, I’ll get on my hands and knees and do whatever it takes for us to be successful!” And for those of us watching, wondering who Juwan Howard is, “Listen, I’m not too big, too important, to do a little manual labor.” I LOVED it!
Yep…a pissed Izzo in that situation would have lit someone up to go fix it instead of fixing it himself.
Unless I’m dreaming, condensation–water–on the floor was also a problem before, last year, no? If so that’s really unacceptable.
Not sure I’m completely following, but yes, condensation, moisture on the floor seemed to be a problem at that venue in particular, and it had caused players to slip and literally fall to the floor. One of our posters who was at the game pointed out that one of the guys charged with wiping up the floor was doing more dancing to the crowd than actual wiping, so I think Juwan was pretty miffed about it. As Voltron said, other coaches would have just thrown a fit and demanded that “someone” take care of it. Juwan…took care of it, and sent some messages in the process!
You’re not dreaming. I don’t know what methods actual athletic facilities in hot, humid locations use to prevent condensation, but those methods are definitely not being used in the Ballroom at the Bottom of the Sea. Their marketing budget must include a large pile of cash to entice high powered programs to put their players at risk and to keep the announcers from pointing out what a joke their facilities are for basketball.
Maybe they can use some of those bills to sop up the moisture.
What a bleak situation though with regards to the economics of the college game. Someone is going to get seriously hurt there…
Has slipping been an issue at the B4A in the past? FWIW, it was noticeably hotter outside down there this year than it was the last time Michigan played there.
Some of this stuff from Juwan must be a bit of a performance, but I’m cool with that.
In a way, everything a CEO/coach/leader does is performance to get the most out of his team. At first I thought he might kind of be all coach speak during the offseason but the connection he has to his team seems genuine.
Glad to hear. Is the impression I get from afar certainly.
I have heard second hand that it has, but don’t recall it from last time, and haven’t watched when Michigan isn’t in it. I would of course prefer that it’s not.
Dylan, for the chart on observation #4, which team is that with the crazy high efficiency?
I’ve watched the B4A tourney the last few years, and yes condensation on the court seems to be an issue more years than not. FWIW, same can be said for Hawaii tournaments … although in Hawaii it tends to be around the logo stickers on the court
Might be drip from the HVAC ducts overhead. I find it hard to believe the floor itself is below the dew point.