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New Michigan Coach Juwan Howard Makes A Very Smart Move

Hiring Phil Martelli may prove to be his best early decision at Michigan

By JD King

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Saint Joseph’s v Oregon
SPOKANE, WA - MARCH 20: Head coach Phil Martelli of the Saint Joseph’s Hawks looks on in the first half against the Oregon Ducks during the second round of the 2016 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at Spokane Veterans Memorial Arena on March 20, 2016 in Spokane, Washington.
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

One of the more intriguing hires of the year was Michigan’s hiring Juwan Howard.

The former Fab Fiver has been out of college basketball since he departed Ann Arbor for the NBA and while he’s a well regarded NBA assistant, he has no college experience.

The NBA is more demanding of players but college is far more demanding of coaches and coming in with no experience is difficult, as Chris Mullen found out at St. John’s.

So one of Howard’s first moves was really smart: he’s hired former St. Joe’s coach Phil Martelli as an assistant coach.

Not only is Martelli a fine basketball coach, he’s a fine man. As an older coach, he’ll be able to get Howard up to speed on the college game and help in every possible facet of the program.

It bodes well for Michigan’s future. Damn smart move.

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