Having 'done this before,' Phil Martelli, 67, relaxed, ready to coach Michigan men's basketball

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — In a hallway in the guts of Crisler Center, an anxious Michigan athletics employee walked Phil Martelli to the news conference. More than once, she offered to help: Do you need me? Can I do anything?

Martelli, his shoulders relaxed and his demeanor confident, assured her that he was OK. And with that, he strode purposefully into the room and toward the podium.

«I know what I'm doing. I've done this before,» he said Tuesday.

The 67-year-old Martelli, having spent nearly four decades in big-time college basketball, will fill in for Michigan coach Juwan Howard for the rest of the regular season. Howard was suspended five games and fined $40,000 by the Big Ten Conference after hitting a Wisconsin assistant coach in the head during the handshake line after a loss Sunday.

Martelli aims to bolster the Wolverines' chances at an NCAA Tournament bid after the team started the season with high expectations for March. His first game will be Wednesday night when Michigan (14-11, 8-7) hosts Rutgers.

Now in his third season as the Michigan associate head coach, following 24 years of guiding Saint Joseph's and 10 more there as an assistant, Martelli is no stranger to leading a team through late-season pressure. He maintained his approach will be to continue on the path created by Howard.

«What we have in place is the way we're going to play,» Martelli said. «I don't have the offensive mind that (Howard) has. I don't have that in my DNA.»

Assistant coach Howard Eisley will serve as offensive coordinator in Howard's absence, Martelli said. Eisley will call sets from a «really effective and massive» playbook that he and Howard have put together.

And Martelli made this clear: Michigan will continue to participate in