Michigan hires Phil Martelli, Howard Eisley as assistants

John Beilein was the veteran 
coach 
who 
filled 
his 
bench 
with 
younger, 
up-and-coming 
assistants. For new coach Juwan 
Howard, it was the opposite for 
his first hire.
It had long been rumored that 
Howard, a young coach with 
no college or head coaching 
experience, was looking for a 
veteran head coach to join his 
staff, and Howard has now found 
that person in former St. Joseph’s 

coach Phil Martelli, according 
to a report from NBC Sports 
Philadelphia.
At 64, Martelli is old for an 
NCAA assistant. He spent the 
last 24 years coaching the Hawks 
in the Atlantic 10 conference, 
where he led them to seven NCAA 
Tournaments, including a Sweet 
Sixteen appearance in 1996 and 
an Elite Eight run in 2004. That 
year, St. Joseph’s went undefeated 
in the regular season and Martelli 
won the Naismith and Associated 
Press Coach of the Year awards.
However, the Hawks made the 

tournament just twice in the past 
11 years, with five losing seasons 
in that span. In March, in the 
wake of several disappointing 
seasons, Martelli was let go, and 
as a former mid-major coach 
whose best days were behind him, 
he did not receive much interest 
for open head jobs.
But Martelli fit perfectly the 
assistant role Howard was looking 
to fill. Martelli was beloved in 
Philadelphia, and six of his former 
players went on to play in the 
NBA — including three first-round 
draft picks. He has also been an 

assistant before, holding that 
position at St. Joseph’s from 1985-
1995.
Michigan also has decided to 
complete its assistant coaching 
staff with the hiring of Howard 
Eisley, according to The Athletic. 
Eisley comes from a very different 
background than Martelli but 
his pedigree is similar to that of 
Howard instead.
A former teammate of Jalen 
Rose, Eisley is a Detroit native, 
graduating from Southwestern 
High School before playing at 
Boston College. Playing 12 seasons 

in the NBA and retiring in 2006, 
he entered the coaching realm 
in 2010 as an assistant for the 
Los Angeles Clippers. He also 
spent time as an assistant for the 
Washington Wizards and New 
York Knicks.
With the hiring of Martelli and 
Eisley, Howard has no more spots 
left to fill in his coaching staff. 
Saddi Washington, an assistant 
under Beilein, is staying on staff, 
but Luke Yaklich left to become 
the associate head coach at Texas 
and DeAndre Haynes was not 
retained by Howard.

ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor

Win or go home.
That was the scenario for the 
Michigan baseball team Monday 
after missing out on a chance 
Sunday to advance to the Super 
Regional. After losing to Creighton 
11-7, they faced the Bluejays once 
again 
for 
another 
chance 
to 
advance.
In the top of the fifth inning 

with no outs and the bases loaded, 
redshirt 
freshman 
right-hander 
Isaiah Page stepped onto the 
mound. 
The 
Wolverines 
were 
clinging to a 6-4 lead, but Page 
cooly forced the first two batters 
he faced to pop out and struck out 
the final batter swinging to get out 
of the jam.
Michigan didn’t seemed phased 
by the sudden-death atmosphere, 
eventually winning 17-6.
Freshman left-hander Walker 

Cleveland was on the mound for the 
Wolverines. But he didn’t last long. 
Creighton drew first blood in the 
second inning. Leadoff hitter Will 
Robertson took the 0-2 pitch deep 
for a solo-shot down the right-field 
line. The Bluejays added another 
run in the top of the third off an 
RBI triple which ended Cleveland’s 
day. Sophomore right-hander Blake 
Beers replaced him and retired the 
side.
The Wolverines responded in 

the bottom of the third with the 
bases 
loaded. 
Senior 
infielder 
Blake Nelson earned a walk to 
score sophomore outfielder Jesse 
Franklin, cutting the deficit to 2-1.
Creighton’s 
leadoff 
hitters 
continued their hot batting in the 
fourth with another solo home run 
down the left-field line, this time 
by Jack Strunc. Beers continued to 
struggle giving up a double to the 
next batter and later an RBI single 
to make it 4-1 after the top of the 

fourth.
But for each punch that the 
Bluejays landed, Michigan had a 
counter.
Two consecutive walks to open 
the bottom of the fourth forced 
a pitching change for Creighton 
as John Sakowski replaced Evan 
Johnson. But that didn’t stop the 
Wolverines’ bats. Sakowski gave up 
back-to-back runs after a double by 
Franklin scored two and a single 
by junior outfielder Jordan Brewer 
allowed two more to cross the plate. 
Brewer also scored when Nelson 
grounded out to third base, giving 
Michigan a 6-4 lead.
In the bottom of the fifth 
inning, a solo home run came from 
sophomore catcher Joe Donovan 
who had hit only six all year prior 
to Monday to extend the Michigan 
lead to 7-4.
The Wolverines blew the game 
wide open in the sixth and seventh 
innings, scoring ten runs and 
allowing only one to take a 17-5 lead.
The most satisfying play of the 
game for Michigan came in the 
sixth inning when sophomore 
infielder Jack Blomgren laid down 
a suicide squeeze to perfection. 
The Creighton infield was unaware 
of the large leadoff the runners on 
second and third had, allowing 
both to score. The timely play call 
by Michigan coach Erik Bakich 
put the Wolverines firmly in the 
driver’s seat.
Junior 
right-hander 
Jack 
Weisenberger entered the game 
in the ninth inning and closed the 
game out for the Wolverines.
The win propelled Michigan 
to their first Super Regional in 12 
years. They will face the winner of 
Loyola Marymount and UCLA.

‘M’ defeats Creighton, 17-6, to advance to Super Regional

AVI RAJENDRA-NICOLUCCI
Daily Sports Writer

10

Thursday, June 6, 2019
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

ALLISON ENGKVIST/Daily
Sophomore outfielder Jesse Franklin counted as the Wolverines’ first of 17 runs as they advanced to the Super Regional for the first time in 12 years on Monday.

