Worst-to-first: A closer look at how Dusty May built a contender in year one

Dusty May’s debut season in Ann Arbor has exceeded all expectations. The Wolverines sit atop the Big Ten at 20-5 (12-2) heading into the final stretch.

They are the best team in the country with a new head coach, per Bart Torvik , and the rebuild has come from almost nothing. The program is a year removed from 8-24 (3-17 Big Ten) and its worst KenPom finish since 2008. May brought in almost an entirely new roster, with six transfers and three freshmen.

Through 25 games, May’s squad has lost only one game by more than a possession. This remarkable turnaround has transformed Michigan’s program outlook from dire to promising in less than a year.

Here’s a closer look at how May, his players, and his staff did it.

Danny Wolf is a pro

A key ingredient for college basketball success is having an experienced potential first-round draft pick on the roster.

Look back at the most memorable Michigan basketball teams over the last decade-plus, and the trend is evident: Trey Burke, Nik Stauskas, Franz Wagner, Moe Wagner, DJ Wilson, and Jordan Poole are among the non-freshman pros who carried the Wolverines in their most memorable years.

The value of these experienced pros comes from having time to adjust to the sport and, more importantly, having to play their way onto the NBA Draft board. They are in the draft conversation because of their production rather than their hype or potential.

Danny Wolf has emerged as that cornerstone player, and Michigan was able to pluck him out of the portal. He’s transformed from a seldom-used Yale freshman into Michigan’s offensive catalyst in three years.

The most important part of this development is that Michigan’s and Wolf’s success are tightly intertwined. It was apparent in the preseason that Wolf was the swing factor , but it wasn’t evident that he would be this good. Here’s what I wrote in November:

If there’s an X-factor to the season, it is Danny Wolf. Michigan’s best-case scenario hinges on effectively leveraging Wolf’s skillset and versatility.

If it’s March and we are talking about Wolf being Michigan’s best player, then I would bet money that the year went very well up to that point. However, the results are likely short of expectations if the takeaway is that Wolf never quite figured out how to play in the Big Ten in his first season in Ann Arbor.

There’s a realistic world where Wolf is Michigan’s best player. His playmaking, size, and shooting in the frontcourt cause an array of mismatches, and he’s the skeleton key that unlocks Michigan’s best lineups. There’s also a world where he struggles with Big Ten physicality in the paint, and it takes Michigan a while to figure out how to utilize his unique skills best, especially in conjunction with Vlad Goldin.

This will be the most critical individual development storyline to watch throughout the season, and Michigan’s season will follow.

Wolf is Michigan’s best player, and the Wolverines haven’t just figured out how to use him alongside Vlad Goldin; they’ve optimized the combinaton.

Wolf isn’t just a skilled big in Michigan’s system – he’s the primary playmaker. He leads the team in points created from ball screens, with his usage increasing from 4.5 ball screen plays per game in non-conference play to 8.1 in league action. For a 7-footer to grade in the 90th percentile as a pick-and-roll creator, per Synergy, is virtually unprecedented.

Finding a player like Wolf in the transfer portal is a significant win, but anyone can land a big recruit. The difference maker is re-imagining Wolf’s game and deploying him in an entirely different context—he created five baskets in 32 games as a ball screen player last year at Yale—than he’d ever played before.