Phil Martelli talks Michigan basketball roster rebuild, Hunter Dickinson

To say college basketball has changed a bit in recent years would be one of the understatements of the decade, to date. With name, image, and likeness (NIL) now taking center stage and the transfer portal (and one year transfer without having to sit a year) open for business, it’s rare to see a team return fully intact from one year to the next.

Some, though, get hit harder than others, especially those that know how to develop young players. Such is the case at Michigan, where freshman Jett Howard and sophomore Kobe Bufkin are projected to be first round NBA Draft picks after declaring for the draft, while All-Big Ten center Hunter Dickinson left for Kansas after three years after reportedly receiving a large NIL guarantee.

In addition, sophomore wing Isaiah Barnes opted to hit the transfer portal, as well, leaving the Wolverines another spot to fill, while wing Joey Baker opted to start his pro career rather than apply for a sixth year.

Rather than sit and feel sorry for themselves, Juwan Howard and his Michigan coaching staff quickly got back to work. They landed three players from the transfer portal — Alabama wing Nimari Burnett, Seton Hall stretch forward Tray Jackson, and North Carolina (and former 5-star prep) Caleb Love — and were still searching for more to fill the roster as of May 12.

Though the U-M coaches couldn’t talk about the new additions until they were officially signed, associate head coach Phil Martelli provided insight into the staff’s mindset in the ever-evolving world of college basketball.

“I think you could spend time complaining about it, or you can navigate it. To me, that’s what we’re trying to do,” Martelli said. “We’ve moved into a transactional world from a relationship driven world. I always thought recruiting was relationship driven. Now, it’s, ‘what can we do for you, what can you do for us?’ and then we’ll revisit it in a year.

“So, it is what it is. If you take a step back, you see the collision between immediate eligibility, NIL, and the COVID year … how it’s changed college basketball, and it’s changed how you make up your team, how you run your program. It certainly doesn’t feel the same. I think as we come out in the wash so to speak, we’re going to find out who it benefits.”

To be clear, he said, he doesn’t begrudge the student-athlete from trying to profit on their name, image, and likeness. On the contrary, he’s all for it. But NIL was never supposed to be a bidding war for talent, and to many, that’s what it seems to have become.

For a veteran like Martelli, it’s been tough to watch. It doesn’t benefit the fan or the game itself, he insisted, and it’s only short-term gain for the players. Recruiting now starts with keeping your own players first, and as they saw with Dickinson, that’s no guarantee.

“I think if you’re just now trying to make them happy … even more than happy, if you’re not in collaboration with them,” Martelli began. “If you’re not with them in pursuing their dreams; if you’re not in there concerned about who they are a person, or if you’re not in there with them demanding and assisting in their academic pursuits, it’s too late.”

But it can be a chore trying to keep up, too. Such is life today as a collegiate coach, at Michigan and everywhere else.

“The rumor upon rumor upon rumor … you can spend all day and then you can spend days of the week chasing false narratives. That is exhausting,” Martelli said. “That’s not a positive way to spend your time.

“So, I think you have to have established relationships from day one and not panicked relationships and say, for example, ‘what didn’t I know about Hunter? That’s not the reason he left.’ Or ‘what didn’t I know about Isaiah Barnes?’”

Instead, you move forward.

But nobody is blaming the Michigan coaches for what happened with Dickinson — at least they shouldn’t. He made what appears to be a business decision based on his earning potential, which might be as high now as ever.

“I would say this — in all my years as a head coach and being around college basketball, I have never seen a relationship like Juwan Howard and Hunter Dickinson. I’ve just never seen it,” Martelli said. “To see the best player the most acclaimed player, the most flamboyant player to be as connected as he was, for Juwan to coach him on such a personal level, and for Hunter to allow himself to be coached … because sometimes it wasn’t Hunter that was being corrected, it was the rest of the players. And if the main man takes coaching, then why wouldn’t the next person or the next person?

“So, that’s where I would leave it. It’s not personal. Hunter … yeah. I rode the ups and downs with Hunter … we had a lot of conversations. The basketball part, that was covered wire to wire with Juwan.”

And will be with the next crop that comes to Michigan, too, Martelli said. At a “no apologies” program, they’re back to looking for players who fit their “for competitors only” mantra, making progress both in the portal and with the 2024 and 2025 classes.

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