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.