Does Michigan basketball have a maturity problem? Phil Martelli exposes key flaw
If Michigan basketball's season disintegrates in the next few days by cratering at Ohio State on Sunday and crashing out of next week's Big Ten tournament with another callow display, then Thursday’s loss to No. 25 Iowa will be remembered as the night the Wolverines' foundation cracked.
This has little to do with the on-court deficiencies Michigan exhibited in an 82-71 loss to the Hawkeyes — be it the poor individual defense on brothers Keegan (23 points) and Kris Murray (19 points), or the inability to contest perimeter shooters (Iowa shot 11-for-19 from 3-point range), or stumbling offensively with 13 points in the first 12 minutes of a game it never led.
No, this is reading the tea leaves from a set of postgame interviews unlike any other during Michigan’s season of vacillation.
“Some days we’ll come in aggressive and on-point,” power forward Brandon Johns Jr. said. “Other days we’ll come in lackadaisical and just play to get the game over with. We’ve just got to be on that consistent wave of just being ready to play, being ready to give all the energy and effort out there.”
The admission that players have done little more than go through the motions in certain games was among a handful of stinging remarks from Johns, Caleb Houstan and associate head coach Phil Martelli as U-M (16-13, 10-9 Big Ten) nears its breaking point. For months, the team was steadfast in its belief that pieces would eventually fall into place and a season drenched in expectation could still end with something to show for it. But a docile performance against Iowa triggered a fourth loss in seven games and induced the Wolverines to publicly acknowledge serious flaws.
Thursday’s introspection began with Johns and Houstan, who spoke to reporters before Martelli entered the room. Johns began by hitting all the right notes about players having faith, trusting each other and never giving up on the season, even as NCAA tournament chances flicker. Then he acknowledged the team’s problem with “the mental piece” of finding consistency — U-M has alternated wins and losses in eight consecutive games — and hinted at the idea that certain members of the roster aren’t doing everything it takes to win.
Houstan believed the defensive breakdowns that allowed Iowa to shoot 60% from the field and 70% from 3-point range in the first half were the result of poor communication and subpar effort.
“I just don’t think we came to play,” Houstan said.
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And then Martelli spoke. He opened his postgame news conference by shouldering blame for falling short on Senior Night and saddling the six honorees with defeat.
He lamented Michigan’s sluggish on-ball defense that was reminiscent of earlier low points this season. He asked players and coaches to look in the mirror between now and tipoff against the Buckeyes to ask themselves what more they can do.
All the expected topics were hit.
But Martelli veered in a new direction toward the end of an 11-minute interview when asked to explain the undulating nature of this year’s team. Martelli responded by rebuking the players for what he described as a lack of investment, which is a disheartening sign with games dwindling.
“It’s well established that Eli (Brooks) is the leader,” Martelli said. “But at this point in the year, you need some followers to step up, right? You can follow for a long time, but when somebody turns around and says, ‘I need you’ — and it could be leading on the bus going to Ohio State, it could be leading in (saying), ‘Hey, did you look at your film on your iPad?’
“We still have a really nice group of people in that room. I’m not sure that we have a hell-raiser in the room. If going into Sunday that has to be myself and Howard (Eisley) and Saddi (Washington), then that’s what we’ll do. But we have to have emotional commitment to the game. And calling it the way it is, we didn’t have emotional commitment to start the game.
“I am one that sees each day as a separate entity. And in this program, you’re asked to bring everything that you have for whatever we ask you to do. And we weren’t 1% better than we were on Tuesday. But now we’re getting to the point in the year (where) we can’t continue this pattern or we’ll be coming home real early in March. And none of us want that.”
Throughout the season, players identified possible turning points following strong performances that teased the group’s potential. There was a decisive road win over Indiana, a come-from-behind victory at Penn State, a 24-point slugging of Purdue, a comprehensive road win at Iowa, a cathartic blowout of rival Michigan State earlier this week.
Time and again the players were wrong; their inconsistency always returned. The Wolverines have won consecutive games once since Jan. 26 and their longest winning streak of the season is three. They likely need to win back-to-back games against Ohio State and their first-round opponent Thursday in the Big Ten tournament to qualify for the NCAA tournament.
So Martelli was asked: What would it say about this group of players if the corner never gets turned, if the uneven play continues in Columbus and Indianapolis to snuff out a season that began with so much hype?
“It means that they’re a group of nice, young guys,” Martelli said. “Nice being emphatic and young being emphatic. And I’m not talking about (numerical) age. There’s an emotional age that we need to increase across the board quickly.”
To whom and to what Martelli was referencing is unclear; he provided no further details. But the statement was harsher than anything head coach Juwan Howard would say about his team in public, even if the words were calmly delivered by the affable Martelli.
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Perhaps he has grown frustrated with Hunter Dickinson’s taunting of opponents, which Martelli asked him to stop during the second half against Michigan State. Perhaps he’s still irked by Moussa Diabate and Terrance Williams II throwing punches against Wisconsin. Perhaps he saw Frankie Collins and Adrien Nunez launching half-court shots during warmups Tuesday while their teammates worked at the other end of the floor.
Or maybe it’s none of those things. Maybe the emotional immaturity Martelli wants to eradicate is rooted in events or conversations that happened behind closed doors and away from reporters or fans.
Either way, the Wolverines went public with some deep-rooted issues at the worst time of the year.
Contact Michael Cohen at mcohen@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @Michael_Cohen13.