In #Michigan’s 101-53 win over Cleveland State on Monday night, 10 players scored points, and six scored in double figures. @JakeMSinger says the depth of this team is legit:
The Michigan Wolverines won their first regular season basketball game under head coach Dusty May on Monday night, 101-53, against Cleveland State. May used all 14 available players en route to the win, with 10 players scoring points and six getting to double figures.
To put this in perspective, the Wolverines consistently used a seven-player lineup last season, and just three players scored in double-digits over the last four games at the end of the 2023-24 season.
When May was hired, he and his staff set out on the recruiting trail to bring in six players from the transfer portal, and he recruited three freshmen who have the potential to play right away. This depth was on full display in the Wolverines’ first game of the season.
As a team, Michigan shot 68.4 percent from the field, which is the second-highest shooting percentage in program history. In three games — two exhibition, one regular season — with this team, the Wolverines have eclipsed 90 points and have had a different leading scorer in each game.
“We’re such an unselfish team, but I think it comes down to how selfish we are personally about getting in the gym and working on our game, like just finishing around the rim, little things like that,” guard Tre Donaldson said after the win. “I feel like we have a team that’s — it’s a good selfishness about getting in the gym working on their own game, so it translates. And when the shots come, they’re able to knock them down, that’s what allows us to play the way we play and shoot the ball at a higher clip like we did tonight.”
Center Danny Wolf echoed this sentiment.
“I think it goes back to the types of shots our coach wants to take,” Wolf said. “We really try to get the best shots possible. I see that six guys were in double figures (Monday) — I don’t know how many teams in the country have six guys in double figures. And I mean, that speaks volumes to the talent we have on this team and when everyone’s sharing the ball. We had 22 assists to five assists, I mean, can’t get much better than that.”
Arguably the biggest addition of the offseason was center Vlad Goldin. In his first game in Ann Arbor, Goldin finished 1-for-1 with two points, scoring his first basket when the Wolverines led by 44 points.
“I saw that Vlad took one shot, I mean, man, we have so much talent on this team,” Wolf said. “It’s gonna be one guy’s night, then the next time, it’s the other guy’s night. And everyone is just so happy with winning, and that’s what’s most important.”
The stars weren’t the only ones making an impact. Will Tschetter was one of two scholarship athletes to stay with Michigan after Juwan Howard was fired. Committing to a new coach in a new system is not easy, and coming off the bench is something not every player would be content with. However, Tschetter has won over his teammates and his coach, and his win-now mentality is infectious.
“(Tschetter is) such a physical presence,” May said “Everything he’s doing now is a shock to no one in our program. He does this every day in practice when you look at his stats over the summer and the fall, he shoots with efficiency. He’s the same guy every single day and it’s nice to see him rewarded in the games. He’s gonna have some big, big moments for this year because he puts in the work and he’s a good basketball player.”
In addition of Wolf and Tschetter’s big games, one of the most glaring things that came from Monday night’s game was the versatility the Wolverines showed. Wolf is listed at seven feet tall, and yet, he was shifting on guards and driving past forwards from the top of the key to get to the rim. This versatility on offense and defense allows May to throw out different lineups to confuse the opposing difference, and he can take advantage of size matchups with Wolf, Goldin and Tschetter playing at different times.
“Danny and I actually switch with each other a lot because with him at the four, we switch with him sometimes in certain cases,” Donaldson said. “With Danny being so versatile, it gives us that ability to, and with him being 7 ft, Vlad being 7’ 2” and then us guards being able to switch with them and guard bigger or smaller guys, it allows us to guard defensively in a totally different way and it’s hard for offensives to catch a real like feel for the game offensively because it just opens up so many gateways for us defensively and allows us to affect the offense.”
It was only one game, but Michigan’s depth raised a lot of eyebrows on Monday night. The Wolverines will face a tougher test when they travel to Winston Salem, NC to take on Wake Forest on Friday before hosting TCU next week, but May has seen in live games that he can throw out the hottest shooter on any given night and have a strong chance of winning.