The Michigan basketball program wants to build on this season’s success, and that means refining the roster:
Last offseason was an exciting, yet chaotic whirlwind which hopefully will not need to be replicated for a long time. The Michigan Wolverines needs a complete roster overhaul, and Dusty May was able to do just that, creating a team essentially from scratch. Not only did he find (just enough) bodies to fill a rotation, he had them playing at an unreasonably high level.
The bar has certainly been set for Year 2, and May recognizes that means improvements are necessary. The 2024-25 squad ended up being a lot of fun, but it had some clear weaknesses that must be addressed over the offseason. The reality of college athletics right now is that transfer portal commotion is inevitable, and it is already clear that May is going to use it to make some key improvements.
Athletes everywhere
Even Juwan Howard targeted plenty of big name, highly recruited players in the portal, but May is starting this spring hot with Elliot Cadeau (12th in the 247Sports composite) and Morez Johnson (31st) bringing a ton of recruiting pedigree to Ann Arbor. With no offense intended to anyone on the current roster, these two players bring a level of athleticism that will significantly elevate next year’s squad.
Shooting ability is obvious essential as well, but there is so much value in having players who are confident attacking the rim with authority and bodying up on defense. With Cadaeu’s creativity and Johnson’s physicality, May has a great start to this transfer class which will allow him to plug in more finesse players around them. This past roster had some interesting pieces to mix-and-match, but few players had the ceiling of either of these two newcomers.
Offense generation
Tre Donaldson will be fondly remembered for his March heroics, but it is easy to see what May likes about Cadeau. The former Tar Heel’s 38.2-percent assist rate was 13th in the entire country, significantly gulfing Donaldson’s 23.9-percent mark. While Donaldson was a better shooter, their finishing rates were close inside the arc and Cadeau gets to the line much more often. The incoming transfer is also much more effective leveraging screens as both a passer and a scorer, allowing May more confidence running his offense.
Yes, Cadeau will need to figure out his turnovers, but his ability as a facilitator and distributor is immense. Michigan’s issues hanging on to leads down the stretch did not fall solely on the point guard spot, but having a floor general who can control the game is going to be a huge asset for May next season. Whether it is creating for himself or making the wheels turn for his teammates, Cadeau offers an element that really only Danny Wolf filled this year — should be able to do so much more consistently as a superior ball hander.
Own the boards
The addition of Johnson is even more straightforward. His 17.2-percent offensive rebounding rate is a top-10 figure nationally and he offers plenty on the defensive glass as well. Michigan struggled in this area to the point where games against Michigan State and Auburn felt like they were lost on the boards alone; May was not going to accept a defensive rebounding rate ranking in the 200s again.
One singular player will not fix this, but Johnson is clearly a much different type of rebounder than Wolf and Vlad Goldin. His contributions on offense will be different, but May was aggressive in patching up the team’s biggest flaw and sees the trade-off as well worth it. Johnson proved he can battle bigs in the Big Ten and fans should absolutely expect a plan for leveraging him well on offense.
The work is far from done, with the roster lacking elite shooters than Cadeau can bring into the offense. Similarly, the production from Wolf and Goldin will not be replicated by Johnson, so adding a frontcourt scorer is next on the list. Still, May’s prioritization of portal targets shows he is seeing his team very soberly.
Michigan had a great season, but teams can only go so far without elite playmaking and with critical flaws like the rebounding proved to be. The fanbase can feel great about May’s ability to both assess his roster and bring in the right targets as he is proving right at the start of this offseason. Cadeau and Johnson are just the start of a new-look roster coming into focus.