May confirmed that Michigan has one scholarship spot remaining, among many other notes.
It’s been 42 days since Dusty May was formally introduced as the head coach of the Michigan men’s basketball team. If you haven’t kept up with the news surrounding the program in the past month and a half, you’ve missed a lot.
The Wolverines will feature at least 10 new players next season: six players from the transfer portal and three from the 2024 class, to go along with returnees Will Tschetter, Nimari Burnett and Jace Howard. That number includes a player who has yet to join the team: May did confirm that Michigan, as of May 7, has one scholarship spot remaining.
“After almost five weeks on the job, we feel like we’ve covered a lot of ground and put together a competitive roster,” May said to open the press conference.
Here are the key quotes and takeaways from May’s first media availability since his introductory presser, with quotes about key players towards the end.
On support he’s received since accepting the job
“It’s been cool seeing the former football players reach out and the actors that went to Michigan. Everyone is excited about this university, this athletic department, and this particular case, Michigan basketball. Typically when you coach someplace, the former players care, there’s a connection to that place but for the most part, former football players don’t pay attention to the basketball program and vice versa. It seems like everyone connected to Michigan really cares about all things Michigan and that’s cool for me.”
What Michigan looked for in portal guys
In point guards: “We attacked the point guard position with parameters. The game of basketball is changing a lot, where we went through an era where shoot-first point guards were there and sometimes that turned into shoot, first second and third. We wanted a willing passer…when (our staff) reflects on the best teams we’ve been apart of, it usually starts with pass-first guards. We went into this blank canvas looking for a pass-first point guard that was capable of shooting off the dribble and off the catch, and was also a capable defender. As physical as the Big Ten is as a league, we wanted a strong, physical guard that could defend and that would set the tone from the defensive side of the ball.”
In centers & the rest of the roster: “We needed a center that could do a lot of things so we addressed those needs and we thought now, let’s fill in those other gaps with talent, with skill, with size, high basketball I.Q., those were the things we were looking for, and we do feel like right now, we have a group that complements each other. We haven’t stockpiled the same type of player, and I think a lot of guys on our roster make those around them better and that’s ultimately what we’re looking for, guys who make their teammates better and impact winning.
On what May learned from recruiting transfers despite Michigan’s past issues with admissions
“We have to do our work early. There’s no reason for us to invest a lot of time, energy, effort and especially the emotional effort that goes into recruiting (if they’ll have problems with admissions). There’s one thing to make a call and there’s another thing to be really invested in that call and be present and relational in it. We just really tried to see who fit us from the beginning, and usually the ones that fit us like us better than the ones that don’t and so we just tried to streamline it by doing our homework early and getting the right information and attacking those guys.
“There were a few guys we had to stay away from. Maybe we could have gotten them in, but we didn’t go down that road because we had to efficient with our time. Like I said, when we got everyone signed it was relatively simple after we got the initial transcripts and we moved it forward.”
On finding a recipe for success with lots of transfers, in spite of previous transfer-heavy teams struggling
“I listen to a lot of podcasts, I obviously haven’t had as much time the last couple of weeks, the magic number I think has been seven. If you have seven or fewer portal guys, I’ll give a shoutout to the CBS guys, I think it’s (Gary) Parrish and (Matt) Norlander that said ‘if you have seven or less transfer portalers, that equates to success’ and this is all so new, but the teams that have had 10, 11, 12 new guys from the portal, they haven’t fared well…there’s so little information that with the way it is now it’s hard to tell, but I think our number right now is seven.”
If the 13th scholarship player comes via the transfer portal, which at this point seems like the most likely option, Michigan will in fact have seven portal players for the 2024-25 season.
On NIL & his time spent with the collectives
May confirmed that he has met with the guys that run the NIL collectives at Michigan.
“I have met with the guys that have run the circle collective, we have an ongoing relationship, we talk them almost every day, it’s an extension of our team, our success is tied to their success and I think their success is probably tied to our success as well. Just like anything else, we all want what’s best for Michigan, and so we do whatever we can to help each other be successful. Those guys have worked incredibly hard to help us get to where we need to be in the NIL space.
On NIL’s role in recruiting: “I’ve been very upfront and said I want our guys to be taken care of as much as any player in the country. Right now, that’s not feasible, I think everyone in our locker room will be making sacrifices, whether it’s financial or minutes. And ultimately, great teams have eight or nine guys that are capable of starting…there’s always that fine line between (NIL) being important and not being the most important thing.
“Every situation is different: if there’s a young player that has a limited value professional and they have a chance to maximize their value now and it’s the most money they could ever make playing basketball, then it might be right for them to capitalize and go after the top dollar. If it’s someone that has professional aspirations and maybe the goal of making millions of dollars in the NBA, then they probably should choose the right fit in terms of development, style of play, conference, everything else. Every case is different: we’ve had to weigh that in every recruitment and that’s part of the information gathering phase…philosophically, we want the first question to be about player development and hopefully the name, image and likeness piece fits.”
“We need a quarterback on the court”
“We’d like to have two point guards on the floor at all times anyway,” May said when asked about Rubin Jones’ role “So it’s more difficult for the defense to take away the head of the snake.”
“We play a bit egalitarian system, everyone is involved, the pro of that is it’s more fun to watch, it’s what the NBA is going to, it’s what the world has gone to…we need a quarterback on the court, sometimes it’s been our center, sometimes it’s been our point guard…hopefully we have several playmakers on the court and because of guys’ self-awareness, the ball will find the right guys when it needs to after the advantage is created.”
Building the staff
“I didn’t really want to work with my friends. My friends, know each other, share ideas. I want guys that are going to complement me and my weaknesses, guys that are going to challenge me and players every day, get better, have new ideas. They have to be great teachers. They have to be enjoyable to be around…I’m very pleased with this staff, a recruit said on a visit ‘it looks like you guys have worked together for months or years’ and I looked around and saw the chemistry in guys, the relationships already being built and it’s excited to see.”
Quotes on players added via the transfer portal
Center Vlad Goldin , on the split in minutes between him & Wolf: “Vlad I think last year played 25 minutes a game. In a perfect world we want to get him more minutes, but we play up-tempo, so it’s difficult for our players to play 32-35 minutes a game…(in terms of minutes per game) Vlad will probably hover in the mid-20s, and hopefully we’re able to take care of some games before the last five minutes so hopefully we can
Center Danny Wolf : “That probably left Danny (Wolf) with 14 minutes at the five when Vlad is not in is how we envision it. Stylisitically, we play a different style of basketball. Danny is more of a five-out facilitator, Vlad is more of a traditional center but also he’s expanding his game. We definitely envision those guys playing together significant minutes and also complementing each other.”
On Wolf’s skill set: “He’s a very good three-point shooter for a 7-footer, he handles the ball well, he handles it like a guard. They played through him offensively, that’s how we used our backup center last year (Giancarlo Rosado), so we’re very well-versed in that style of play and he fit us offensively, so the question was does he fit defensively with another 7-footer. And after watching Danny, we felt like he moves his feet well, he’s got good mobility for a 7-footer, and he embraces contact so we think with a summer of strong, consistent weight work and speed work with our new strength coach, he’ll be ready to go.
Guard Rubin Jones : “The reason I wanted to bring him in is so I wouldn’t have to play against him anymore. He is a throwback player where he doesn’t care about anything else but winning. He’s got a great I.Q., his self-awareness, his ability to adapt to whatever team he’s on and just be a chameleon….defensively, he played with a torn hamstring the second half of the season and we thought he was the top defender in our league, and our league was a top-10 league, the American conference. We thought he was the most impactful guard defender in the league.
Guard Tre Donaldson : “We watched Tre play and we thought he fit, he can shoot off ball screens, he can shoot off the catch, he’s a winning passer. We thought the ball came out of his hands at the right time whether it was hitting the roll or spraying it out for a three. Capable defender and he came from winning, Auburn has won at a high level. He split minutes last year with a McDonald’s All-American point guard…when we plugged in his numbers in a typical 28-29 minute game, he was very efficient and his numbers were very conducive to winning.
Guard Roddy Gayle Jr. : “I liked his game, I think he’s got the unique ability to get downhill and draw fouls…(his ability to) offensive rebound, he runs in transition, he plays off the pick-and-roll well, he’s efficient as a passer, he doesn’t over dribble and I believe in his jump shot. I know he didn’t shoot a great percentage last year, but I think he’s a much better shooter than that…we’re excited about him on a number of levels, I could probably go on for another 30 minutes talking about Roddy. I think he’s a special guy.”
Forward Sam Walters : “I watched Sam play from maybe 8th or 9th grade, he’s a good player from the state of Florida early…we have a lot of connections, his high school coach is from Michigan and he holds this place very highly…Alabama’s staff said great things about him, and they helped us cause we thought we’d be a great fit for him.”
Quotes on the freshman class
“I think when you look at our roster, we’re a little thin at guard depth, and those guys are going to have a chance to break into the rotation…how quickly they get acclimated to college is going to determine if they crack the rotation or not, but those guys all come from great programs, they are used to winning, they have the right substance and DNA to them, we’re excited about all of them…those three are going to represent this place well and they have a bright future. I’m excited to see them grow together because they all compliment each other well.
Guard Justin Pippen : “Justin Pippen was a guy I fell in love with the first time I watched him play because of how we like to coach. He’s got great pace and feel, his maturity, he looked like the son of Hall of Fame basketball player that had been around the game at a high level…Pippen can play on and off the ball.
Guard Lorenzo Cason : “A lot of people thought Cason was the best guard in the state of Florida…Cason is probably the most of a lead guard right now.
Guard Durral Brooks : “He’s a Michigan man. He came through maybe the third day I was on the job and I couldn’t have been more impressed with him as a person. He is likable, charismatic, and he’s driven to be really good in basketball but also in life…Phat is a disruptor, he’s irritant, strong defender, can score and finds ways to win.”
May on returnee Will Tschetter
“Will has been a real pleasant surprise, first and foremost, I’ve enjoyed getting to know him. He’s going to add a lot to this team. As far as what his role is, I worked him out a few times this spring…I value his shooting, I value his toughness and when I went back and watched games from last year, it seemed like the team functioned better when he was on the court…his positional versatility, I know he played the 5 last year, I look at him as a shooting forward.”