Category Archives: NCAA Basketball

Michigan Wolverines, NCAA Basketball

Phil Martelli’s new life at Michigan

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Some interviews are challenging, requiring persistent prodding to get the subject to open up and share something interesting.

My interview with Phil Martelli was not like this at all. Martelli, the former long-time head coach at Saint Joseph’s who is in his first year as an assistant on Juwan Howard’s staff at Michigan, is one of the best storytellers in college basketball.

Here is my story on Martelli, who for the first time in a quarter century is not the head coach, and for the first time in his life is not living in the Philadelphia area.

Phil Martelli: ‘The Godfather’ who has brought a taste of Philly to Michigan basketball

 

Michigan Wolverines, NCAA Basketball

A father lives to see his son fulfill his dream

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It’s been a while since my last update. I thought I’d sent one in December, but it never published, so today’s post will include several stories from this, my third season covering the Michigan basketball team for MLive/The Ann Arbor News.

The first is about a recent addition to the team, Brandon Wade, an Ann Arbor native whose dad needed a liver transplant a few years ago and is grateful to be alive to watch his son play college basketball.

Here are some others that might appeal to a non-Michigan audience:

Up close and personal with Juwan Howard for a game

How Michigan and Kentucky agreed to play a game in London

A former Michigan football player joined the Marines

You can find all my stories on my personal MLive page. You can also download MLive’s UM Hoops app to your phone. I’ve got a story about one of the more entertaining personalities in college basketball, Michigan assistant Phil Martelli, coming this week.

Thanks for reading!

Michigan Wolverines, NCAA Basketball

Michigan marches towards March

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If you’ve watched a Michigan basketball home game in the past decade, you may have wondered about the elderly gentleman sitting courtside, in the first seat next to head coach John Beilein.

I know I did. Turns out, it’s Al Glick, a wildly successful businessman and a proud support of the University of Michigan. I had a great chat with Mr. Glick, 92, at a recent game.

You can read the story at MLive.

Look for Al Glick during tonight’s game against Nebraska (7:00, ESPN). It is Michigan’s final home game of the season, and Charles Matthews will be honored as part of the Senior Night ceremony. From Kentucky to Ann Arbor, it’s been quite the college career for Matthews.