Defend the Block 394 - Mike Martin Transcript
7/28/2026 9:00:00 AM | MGoBlue Podcasts
Brian Boesch • 00:00
Back in the spring of twenty twenty four, as Dusty May was rounding out his first Michigan staff, he had plenty of conversations with individuals who were very much on the radar to be an assistant at the University of Michigan. People like Kyle Church, Drew Williamson, Akeem Miskdeen. But the first name that was reported to be a part of the staff for Michigan was Mike Boynton Junior There had not been a ton of overlap in those two individuals careers, but it was obviously looked at as quite a success to get an individual who had just been a conference head coach and got that job at thirty five years of age to come to Ann Arbor off an eight and twenty four season. As Mike Boynton Junior has built this staff instead of in the spring, in the summer of twenty twenty six, there were always going to be some familiar names from the staff that Michigan won a national championship with.
Brian Boesch • 00:51
And, really, if you think about it, it's probably been a few more names, familiar faces that are still with the program. That's been a success for Michigan with Dusty May heading to the NBA. But again, a hire comes about that's a little bit off the beaten path. Not a whole lot of past experiences or relationship with the man. We'll talk to here on this edition of Defend the Block. Mike Martin, like Mike Boynton Junior did more with less in a good chunk of his seasons as a head coach. And Boynton being a thirty-five-year-old hire as a head coach that is pretty old compared to when Mike Martin was a first-time head coach. He took over his alma mater at Brown at the ripe age of twenty-nine. He was unable to get that Brown program to the NCAA tournament as a head coach. It's something he'll talk about in our conversation, but he poured everything he could into his alma mater and was, at least in recent years, open to a change.
Brian Boesch • 01:54
He felt like this was the best chance to do it at the University of Michigan and to do it with a staff that had to come together pretty late. So for Michigan to be able to get Mike Boynton way back in twenty twenty four, that was a coup. The belief around the program and from Coach Boynton is that this is a similar coup that Michigan was able to attract a Division One head coach to come to Ann Arbor to join in a late-in-the-game situation, a staff and a program that's trying to keep the momentum going from a Monday night in April victory just a few months back. Can't wait to share the conversation with Mike Martin, new Michigan assistant coach. It's coming up here on Defend the Block.
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Jeff Laurence • 02:39
We're talking Michigan basketball. Welcome to Defend the Block, where we'll take you inside the basketball programs with interviews, analysis, and so much more. Now, here's your host, Brian Boesch.
Brian Boesch • 02:53
Pleasure to visit with one of the new assistants here for Michigan men's basketball, Mike Martin. Coach. Thank you. How has it been? When did you first get into Ann Arbor for the first time?
Mike Martin • 03:02
Brian, thank you. It's a thrill to be here. I was on a flight last Tuesday morning, so I think the announcement was Monday, and I was on a flight first thing Tuesday morning and have been trying to learn as much as I can and meet as many people and have really enjoyed spending the time with our staff and with our players. That's been. That's been the highlight. And obviously there's so much more for me to explore in Ann Arbor, but the. The gym has been a great place to be over the last week.
Brian Boesch • 03:31
We'll get into the to-do list and what you've already scratched off, but I'll start with simply why. Why this after one heck of a run at your alma mater as a head coach?
Mike Martin • 03:41
Yeah, you know, I think a few things. First, I had a great fourteen year, you know, run as a head coach, and I was hired really young. You know, have been in the business now for twenty-one years, fourteen as a head coach, only seven as an assistant. So that's kind of usually the other way around. Michigan in. And prior to this, I'd had some conversations with some people that I respect and some mentors about, like, potentially making a move like this. This one just checks every box, right? It's an amazing academic institution. We have an incredible brand. Obviously, I believe in Mike, in our staff, and I'm thrilled for the opportunity to work with everyone here and with the roster that they've done an amazing job keeping in place. Right. First putting together and then keeping in place through the trans. So Michigan is a place that you leave something that you're really happy.
Mike Martin • 04:36
Right? I was really happy at Brown and wasn't looking to leave. But this is the kind of opportunity that you have to listen to, you have to pay attention to, and it's just made so much sense for, for my family and for me.
Brian Boesch • 04:49
Had this been something on your radar of if there's the right opportunity? Maybe I do investigate a high major assistant position if the, the fit is right.
Mike Martin • 04:59
You know what? It hadn't been on my radar for the longest time, and then a mentor of mine reached out about a possibility a few years back and, you know, it's the first time we kind of thought about it, and I've only been in the Ivy League prior to this. I haven't been at this level, and there's so much for me to learn. And obviously, as a competitor, you want to try to compete at the highest level. And there's no higher level than Michigan basketball, right, in the Big Ten and all that we are able to participate in here. So, yeah, I think, again, I've probably had a few conversations over the past few years about this kind of move, but none of them made as much sense as this one.
Brian Boesch • 05:39
What did you try to glean from those initial conversations with Mike Boynton Junior to get you to, again, there's a lot about Michigan that's appealing. There's also unique transition that is currently in progress, and now you're a part of it. So what were the important things that you wanted to talk to Coach Boynton about?
Mike Martin • 05:58
Well, first off, Mike, an amazing human being. Right. So, like, he is a family man, right. Who has an incredible reputation in our industry. So I want to make sure I was, you know, going to join a staff that has that kind of, you know, holds himself to those kind of standards. So feel really good about Mike as a person, but then I really feel great about him as a coach. Right. And he has amazing experience as a head coach, as an assistant coach. I've been really impressed with the other staff members here, right. Throughout my conversations leading up to starting here and then certainly since I've been here. So, yeah. And then, I think, you know, I'm trying to add as much value as I can. Right. There's a lot for me to learn. There's a lot for a lot of catching up to do, so to speak. Right. Joining a program that is coming off a national championship. There's not a whole lot to.
Mike Martin • 06:55
To change. Right. We just want to keep, you know, getting better and growing every day. But. And I Jo. And you know, I think four weeks into summer workouts. Right. So there's a lot of catching up to do. But feel good about the role and the responsibility that Mike has envisioned. And, yeah, trying to soak it all in and do everything I can to make this program the best it can be.
Brian Boesch • 07:15
Coach mentioned you guys watched film together. Was that before you had agreed, and can you just take fans into what the conversation was like about digging into the actual basketball? There's a lot of other things that goes, that go into coaching in college basketball, but ultimately the basketball is why you guys do this. So what was that like?
Mike Martin • 07:34
Yeah, that's that's the. That's the drug for us.
Brian Boesch • 07:36
Right.
Mike Martin • 07:37
Being on the court and being in the film room. That's. That's why we do what we do and investing in trying to impact lives. Yeah. You know, I think it was really like, let's. Let's look at the roster that we. We have, starting with Elliott and Trey, obviously as good of a backcourt, I think, as there will be in college basketball, and, you know, kind of looking at their games and analyzing, you know, all the things that make them great and how they fit into the incredible SP system and style of play that have been implemented here. And then we looked a little bit at, you know, some of the. The front court guys, too. Right. And what they've done at their previous stops and excited about the incredible potential we have there. So it was really more kind of just getting a sense for how things have been done here and also really diving into this year's personnel and this year's roster.
Mike Martin • 08:28
You know, their strengths and some areas where we can grow.
Brian Boesch • 08:32
So where do you think you can impact winning? As you've started to get into the information, the film, the program culture as a whole, how can you affect winning at Michigan?
Mike Martin • 08:44
I think first, just by building great relationships and continuing to be there for our student-athletes and our players, letting them know that they always have someone who will be there for them and cares about them and has their back.
Brian Boesch • 08:59
Yeah.
Mike Martin • 08:59
And then, I think, you know, like, I've. I've had fourteen years where I was, albeit at a much different level. I was running my own program. Right. So I've had to make a lot of decisions, I think, as an assistant coach. Now, having had that experience, I can hopefully anticipate some things. Right. And kind of be, you know, someone that, you know, has some ideas for Mike along with all the other guys on staff. And yeah, I'm a competitor, and I'm, I'm fired up to help these guys get better every day and prepare them for the season that we have in front of us.
Brian Boesch • 09:35
One more about the relationship and maybe the ways you can help Mike Boynton is you got your head coaching job at twenty-nine. He got his first one at thirty-five. There has to be some unique discussions, conversations about that, as now you both get acclimated to a new role, you as an assistant and him as a head coach for a second time. How much different are you from when you took that job at twenty-nine? Like, how much do the battle scars and do the wins, the experience, help in all of this?
Mike Martin • 10:04
Yeah, you know, when you, when you, when you get your first opportunity at that age, you think you know it all, right, and you have all the answers, and you quickly find out you don't. So there's definitely some moments of humility. Right. But through it all, I think I've developed great confidence in, you know, who I am. Right. And what I believe in and how I can help prepare a team and how I can help individuals improve. And now that I am in this role, I think that I'll be able to continue to feel really good about decisions when I have to make them, but also be there to, you know, make suggestions and help. Along with the rest of the staff members, put into place a plan that makes the most sense for Michigan.
Brian Boesch • 10:52
We're with Mike Martin, new Michigan men's basketball assistant coach, here on Defend the Block. To accept this position, you had to leave a place and a spot that meant a ton to you. What were the most difficult hurdles and maybe the, the things that were holding you on to staying there as long as you did, and maybe that could have swayed you to stay had this not felt as much of a fit as it was.
Mike Martin • 11:16
Yeah, we love, we love Brown. It's my alma mater. My wife played soccer there. My kids have grown up there. We loved our community in Barrington, Rhode Island, where we live. We love the Providence community. So that was hard. You know, I would tell you from a career in, you know, as a basketball coach, the fact that we were six seconds away from just the second NCAA tournament in program history two years ago, and unfortunately, Danny Wolfe made a great play and a great assist to help his Yale team at the time beat us at the buzzer. The fact that we didn't get there before I left, that was hard. And then just this current team, like, we, we, we felt much better about what we were going to be this coming season at Brown and the fact that in the Ivy League, there's no summer practice. So at the time of my decision, I had players all over the world. So it was a five-minute Zoom call.
Mike Martin • 12:11
And unfortunately, in today's world, they already had heard about it on social media. That was really hard. I've since followed up with all of them, right, one on one and had, you know, those conversations, and we'll continue to be there for those guys, but that was challenging, for sure.
Brian Boesch • 12:25
We talked about some of the things you've already tried to do and what you're looking forward to. What is on your to-do list for the coming days and weeks. Immediate at the top. You want to make sure you're doing by, say, the end of the summer workouts and as the team heads out to Europe.
Mike Martin • 12:42
Yeah, I mean, I think the biggest thing from it, you know, being the coach at Michigan is learning all of our terminology. Right. And how we teach and how we coach and, you know, got a really good feel to this point, like some of the, you know, the ways we want to play. Right. Stylistically. And how do I try to continue to learn in, in those ways, how do I continue to build great relationships with these guys? Some of these guys I actually knew a little bit before I got the job. Whether it be connections in the basketball world or us trying to recruit some of them before, you know, early on in their time. So, you know, continuing to develop those relationships, continuing to meet new people in and around campus and in the department and then as a father and a husband, trying to find a place to live and get ready to move the family.
Brian Boesch • 13:37
And are there things that, you know, you'll have to do by, say, the opener, but you just can't quite prioritize right now because of the onslaught of things you have to try to accomplish?
Mike Martin • 13:48
Yeah, I'm sure there are. And you know, I think what my focus is right now again is on the people we have here, the players we have, and, you know, trying to add as much value as I can every day on the court in recruiting, in, you know, and just kind of trying to be the most all-around coach I can be. And, you know, we'll try to get to, you know, those other priorities as time goes on.
Brian Boesch • 14:15
Impressions of the team again, very early on in your process and acclimation, but anything that has stood out to you in some of the workouts you've been able to watch.
Mike Martin • 14:25
This is a team that I think has a real high, really high basketball IQ. You know, I think they've already quickly found ways, solutions to a lot of different things offensively, like how we're being guarded and, and trying to find different solutions to different coverages. It's a hard-working group. I mean, it's rare that you walk outside of this office and onto the practice facility and there's not someone in the gym, right. Trying to get better, trying to grow. It's a competitive group and I think there's great potential. We've got a long way to go for sure, but we're excited about the European trip. Right. And all the value that that's going to add to the program, and yeah, just really excited about the size and the skill and the IQ of the
Brian Boesch • 15:09
personnel on the roster, staff-wise. The fact that obviously there was an elevation after Dusty left with coach Boynton to the head coach role and that three of the assistants are going to be individuals who are part of that national championship, championship staff. How has that reality benefited you in your acclimation? Just getting to know Kyle, Akeem, KT, and then obviously Mike.
Mike Martin • 15:30
Yeah, it's been huge. And throw Brandon Gilbert and Jacob and all the other guys and it's been. And, you know, the fact that there's staff continuity from a national championship team, I think, is huge for me as I try to kind of integrate with what we're doing, as I try to learn. Those guys have been amazing, you know, just being able to have conversations and pick their brain about, you know, things that we see in practice or things that we see on film so that I can be better at, you know, teaching and coaching the guys we have.
Brian Boesch • 16:01
Coach Boynton alluded to the fact that, you know, as somebody who has such a defensive background, he's looking for. For help on the offensive side. Has that discussion been had yet with, with you and anybody else being more offense-focused, or is it still too early for that?
Mike Martin • 16:16
Yeah, we've had some conversations about that and I think, you know, I'm excited about that challenge and excited about that opportunity, understanding that again, what, what we do here at Michigan has had a lot of success. So let's, let's continue to try to teach the way we have the last couple years when they've been national champions. And, you know, how can we continue to improve? In small ways, but stylistically, I mean, there's. And especially when you think about Elliot and Trey and their experience and their IQ, there's so much good that is being done, and I just want to try to add to it however I can.
Brian Boesch • 16:56
When you work with smart players, you did at Brown, you will here at Michigan. How much of an impact can that have? I mean, Mike has mentioned, you know, guys like Trey and Elliot can be like another coach on the floor. How palpable is that?
Mike Martin • 17:10
Yeah, especially early for me. I'm asking those two guys a lot, and I see things that they do and it's like, man, their IQ is so advanced and their feel, I mean, you think about all the games they've played, even, you know, Trey's only a sophomore, but they played forty games, regular-season games, couple high-level exhibition games. They've had so many reps and they've seen so many different coverages and so many different styles. I'm leaning on those guys just as much as I'm leaning on the staff. So yeah, when you, when you have guys like that and then, you know, some of the transfers that we've added and some of our freshmen, I'd put in the, you know, same category, really high IQ players who have experience and have an understanding of how to attack whatever the defense throws at us.
Brian Boesch • 17:54
Big Ten impressions. The last time that Brown faced Big Ten teams back in December of twenty two, playing at Michigan State and Northwestern. How much are you able to digest whether it's Big Ten, SEC, some of the other leagues across the country, when you are the head coach in an Ivy League spot.
Mike Martin • 18:09
Yeah, you're so focused on your team and your league and, you know, what's ahead of you that, you know, really is when your season ends is when you can start watching more college basketball. Now I will say, especially the last couple years, there's been a ton of big teams advancing far in the NCAA tournament. So I've got a ton to learn about the league. What I know is that the coaching and the talent and the physicality is just, I think it as good as it gets when it comes to college basketball in this conference. So excited to, you know, one of the biggest difference changes for me is going from an eight-team league to an eighteen-team league.
Brian Boesch • 18:47
Sure.
Mike Martin • 18:47
And you know, the Ivy is so small and the familiarity is so, so great. But yeah, there's a lot, there's a lot for me to learn, but the respect and the admiration that I have for this league is immense.
Brian Boesch • 18:59
Lastly, talked about your family a little bit. How much have they influenced, helped you, encourage you in all of this? Because when you do uproot from a place that means so much, there's obviously some sacrifices and challenges that they inherit because of that.
Mike Martin • 19:14
Yeah, I wouldn't be able to do this if it wasn't for my wife, Kristin and my three daughters, Keira, Avery and Teagan. Yeah, they're incredible. Right. In terms of their support for this type of opportunity. Again, leaving a place that we love, leaving a place where we're really happy, but knowing the incredible possibilities here at a place like Michigan in Ann Arbor. So, you know, it'll, it'll certainly continue to be a major transition for our family, but one that we are, you know, all in on and super excited about.
Brian Boesch • 19:48
Well, looking forward to meeting the family and seeing what you do here in the, the next few months, getting ready for the season. Coach, appreciate the time.
Mike Martin • 19:54
Thank you, Brian.
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Brian Boesch • 20:03
It has been a hectic stretch for Mike Martin, so very appreciative. He carved out almost twenty minutes for us here on Defend the Block. Coming up next week, we've got two players for you, Mustafa Cham and Ricky Lybert. Excited to share those conversations with you, and we'll get to know some more of the newcomers as we continue along. August, September, and then once October rolls around, we'll have some exhibitions to talk about before, of course, the start of the season in early November. For Coach Martin, I'm Brian Boesch. Thanks, as always, for listening to Defend the Block and Go Blue.
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Jeff Laurence • 20:36
Thanks for listening to today's edition of Defend the Block, part of our Michigan Athletics Podcast network, M GO Blue Podcasts. The preceding has been a Learfield presentation of the Michigan Sports Network.
