In an offseason where more than 2,000 players entered the transfer portal, Michigan Basketball has stability in Nimari Burnett and Will Tschetter. And that’s more valuable now than ever:
A lot has changed around the Michigan men’s basketball program over the past two seasons. The Wolverines have a new coach in Dusty May, and with a new leader comes a new staff and recruits, and players entering the transfer portal.
Only two scholarship players remain on the roster from the 2023-24 squad — guard Nimari Burnett and forward Will Tschetter. Burnett announced last week he is returning , while Tschetter — and Roddy Gayle Jr. — confirmed that news right after the Sweet Sixteen loss to Auburn.
Both Tschetter and Burnett have one year of eligibility remaining, and that final year will be spent at Michigan instead of another school that offered more money or a bigger role. With more than 2,000 college hoops players entering the portal this offseason, the idea of good role players returning to a school is becoming increasingly rare.
In an era where the portal and NIL have dramatically shifted how rosters have looked season after season — with Michigan being no exception — continuity within a program is arguably more important now than ever. As college basketball analyst and PhD statistician Evan Miyakawa recently laid out in this blog , returning players are increasingly valuable, with 50 percent of the playing time for top teams often coming from returning players.
Michigan may come up just short of that mark, but a good portion of next year’s minutes will be played by Burnett, Tschetter, Gayle and L.J. Cason. While none of them were stars last year, all four came up in big moments and made valuable contributions for a squad that went from winning three games in Big Ten play the year prior to being ranked in the AP Poll most of the season, winning the Big Ten Tournament and getting to the second weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
The steady play of Burnett and Tschetter, in particular, played a big role in the Wolverines turning the short-term trajectory of the program as quickly as it did. Getting both back for one last ride for their play on the court and their leadership off the court is huge.
Burnett’s college basketball journey got off to a rocky start. He showed flashes at both Texas Tech and Alabama, but an ACL injury sustained in practice robbed him of the entire 2021-22 season. The Chicago native has found stability in Ann Arbor, and after an up-and-down season in Juwan Howard’s final year as head coach, Burnett continues to thrive.
In Burnett, the Wolverines have an efficient shooter who benefitted from May’s fast-paced system , oftentimes finishing possessions with a corner three. As Kyle Yost recently laid out , it’s clear what Burnett brings to the table — he plays a crucial role as a three-and-D player with the scoring upside to swing close games.
With many players on their second, third or fourth school, guys like Tschetter are a dying breed. After playing about 10 minutes per game as a freshman, he steadily earned more playing time. That increased trust is thanks to training hard in the offseason, knocking down three-pointers at an efficient clip, and having valuable defensive versatility in the frontcourt.
A rare bright spot in that eight-win 2023-24 season, Tschetter came off the bench every game this past year after starting more than a dozen times his first two seasons. With two 7-footers entering the program via the portal, it would have been understandable for Tschetter to transfer and find a better opportunity for more playing time.
But that’s not what the Stewartville, Minnesota native did. Despite his playing time going down slightly, Tschetter put his head down, played crucial minutes off the bench and proved to be a valuable cog in the Michigan machine.
Burnett and Tschetter have immense value on and off the court. Both were thrust into leadership roles with all the newness last offseason brought, and they led in more ways than one to help the newcomers get acclimated.
“Me and Will’s leadership tendencies are different, but at the same time, we both engage with the same idea of wanting to win,” Burnett said last October. “He’s very energetic, very loud and I love it, because you’re not going to be the same person, so he can offer different perspectives than I can and I can offer different perspectives than he can, so talking to the young guys and just guys that haven’t been around Michigan, just showing them the ropes and communicating with them. It allows us to (be) leaders, but also builds relationships.”
That communication and those relationships provide stability amidst uncertainty at every school each offseason. It can’t be understated how important it is to keep players like Tschetter and Burnett around. Doing so gives Michigan veteran leadership and a proven track record of success.