Dusty May told ‘Inside Michigan Basketball’ this week he expects Danny Wolf to head to the NBA next season. With both he and Vlad Goldin likely to move on after the season, we assess who the Wolverines’ most important returners are for 2025-26:
It may have been an elephant in the room situation, but Dusty May called out something we all knew was possible after this 2024-25 Michigan basketball season — Danny Wolf is expected to head to the NBA.
The Michigan Wolverines’ head coach joined the Inside Michigan Basketball show and touched on the strong possibility of Wolf turning pro after the season.
“There are obviously going to be a few holes that need to be filled when you lose Vlad Goldin, and we anticipate Danny Wolf being an NBA player next year,” May said.
While losing those guys is a bummer — yet somewhat expected — not all is lost. Michigan will still have several players returning to Ann Arbor next year to keep the positive momentum going. In no particular oder, here are the three most important returning players next season.
PG Tre Donaldson
We said no particular order, but Donaldson is the most important player returning for next year. He’ll be the only returner that averaged more than 10 points per game in 2024-25. On countless occasions, Donaldson has been the one to hit a big shot late in the game to keep the Wolverines ahead. This is a guy May trusts running his offense — averaging the most minutes per game of anyone on this year’s team — and is extremely consistent.
More importantly, Michigan may rely on Donaldson to command the offense even more in 2025-26 with Wolf likely gone. The big man pick-n-rolls will probably be behind us given Wolf’s unique skillset, so guard play, specifically the utilization of Donaldson, will happen more often as the offense likely goes through a bit of a reset.
G L.J. Cason
Speaking of the importance of guard play, Cason’s progression this offseason may be the difference between Michigan being a top-10 team or a top-25 team. He’s been impressive down the stretch, notably keeping the team in games against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship and in the Round of 32 against Texas A&M .
Before this run from Cason, May expressed regret for not playing him more: “I pushed some of the wrong buttons with him this year, trying to really expedite his process,” said the Michigan head coach, “But man, he stayed the course and he’s got a great circle around him that never pointed him in a different direction away from the team.”
Players have commented on Cason’s confidence in the past, and it seems when Cason gets going off the bench, he continues to stay hot in-game. If that translates to the starting lineup, watch out, because the Wolverines might have a dynamite scorer on their hands next season.
PF Will Tschetter
I’d be very surprised if Tschetter is not in a Michigan uniform next season. This dude has bled maize and blue since the minute he walked into Ann Arbor, being one of two players recruited as freshmen to Michigan that stayed through the coaching transition from Juwan Howard to May.
Tschetter even lost 20 pounds last offseason to better fit May’s scheme, relying more on his agility and playing the true stretch four position rather than a large post. He’s a Michigan man through and through and would play a huge role off the bench next season.
As Wolf and Goldin exit, Michigan is thin when it comes to size. Sam Walters would be the only other option taller than 6-foot-6 on the roster. The Wolverines will surely scour the portal to replace their two 7-footers, but knowing Tschetter has plenty of experience and is willing to do anything asked of him will set the tone for the frontcourt in 2025-26.