ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Not to make it sound too dire, but when Dusty May was hired at Michigan, he took over an eight-win program with a decimated roster, a star-crossed history in the transfer portal and major needs on the NIL front.
Six weeks later, Michigan has a real, honest-to-goodness basketball team. Eight players have come on board since May was hired, including two high school recruits and six transfers. May and his staff started with a big pool of players they recruited or scouted in the past, narrowed it to the best fits and pitched a perfect game with the prospects who visited campus.
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“We’re eight-for-eight for guys coming on a visit,” assistant coach Akeem Miskdeen said.
With so many scholarships to fill, May realized he couldn’t waste time chasing players who wouldn’t end up at Michigan. He started by requesting transcripts from every player Michigan was recruiting, ensuring there wouldn’t be any surprises like Michigan had in previous years with Caleb Love and Terrence Shannon. He made calls to donors so Michigan could offer the most competitive NIL package possible, although Miskdeen said the players on Michigan’s radar cared more about a different number.
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“Minutes,” Miskdeen said. “If you’re in the transfer portal, you’re going to ask about minutes.”
Fortunately, Michigan has a lot of those to offer. May and his assistants were honest about what they envisioned for each player’s role and how they saw each transfer fitting into the roster. The priorities were to add a pass-first point guard, a low-post presence and players who can shoot and defend on the wing. May was confident Michigan would end up with good players in those roles, but even he was surprised by the success rate on the players Michigan targeted.
“We tried to really see who fit us from the beginning,” May said. “Usually the ones that fit us like us better than ones that don’t. We just tried to streamline it by doing our homework early, getting the right information and attacking those guys.”
Here’s a closer look at Michigan’s roster additions:
Guards
One of the first items on May’s list was a point guard who could get the ball to the right players in the right spots, shoot off the catch and the dribble and play physical defense on the perimeter. Michigan found that player in Tre Donaldson, who averaged 6.7 points and 3.2 assists in roughly 20 minutes per game as a sophomore at Auburn.
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“We watched Tre play, and we just thought he fit,” May said. “He can shoot off ball screens. He can shoot off the catch. He’s a willing passer. We felt like the ball came out of his hands at the right time, whether it was hitting the roll or spraying out for a 3.”
Donaldson had an assist on 28.4 percent of his teammates’ baskets when he was on the floor, which was fourth in the SEC, according to Kenpom. He can become a better finisher at the rim, Miskdeen said, but he fits Michigan’s style as a 6-foot-3 guard who shot 41.2 percent from 3-point range last season.
“When we plugged in his numbers in a typical 28- or 29-minute game, he was very efficient,” May said. “His numbers were very conducive to winning.”
May said he likes having multiple ballhandlers on the floor, which could create opportunities for incoming freshmen Durral Brooks, Lorenzo Cason and Justin Pippen, a 6-4 combo guard from California and the son of NBA legend Scottie 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,” May said. “He’s got a great pace and feel. He looked like the son of a Hall of Fame basketball player.”
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Wings
Michigan added a scorer who can get to the foul line in Ohio State transfer Roddy Gayle, a defensive stopper in North Texas transfer Rubin Jones and a pure shooter in Alabama transfer Sam Walters.
Gayle averaged 13.5 points last year as a sophomore at Ohio State but shot just 28.5 percent from 3-point range, which makes him an outlier among the players Michigan targeted. But Gayle was a 43-percent 3-point shooter as a freshman, and May believes he’s a better shooter than last year’s numbers show. Gayle also can get to the foul line, which fills a need for Michigan.
“I watched him play a few times randomly throughout the season, and I liked his game,” May said. “I think he’s got a unique ability to get downhill and draw fouls.”
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May coached against Jones last season when FAU faced North Texas and thought he was the best perimeter defender in the American Athletic Conference, despite playing the second half of the season with a torn hamstring. A 6-5, Jones is a “chameleon,” May said, who can be a second ballhandler and play any of the perimeter positions.
“He is a throwback player,” May said. “He doesn’t care about anything other than winning.”
Walters is a catch-and-shoot threat at 6-10 who averaged 5.4 points in a little more than 12 minutes per game as a freshman at Alabama. He’s originally from Florida, and May has been watching him play since he was in eighth or ninth grade. Once Walters entered the portal, the coaches at Alabama provided an assist in helping him land at Michigan.
“Our staff was close with their staff,” May said. “Anytime a player leaves and he did a nice job and he’s a good person, the staff usually tries to help them. They say great things about him. I think they helped us because they thought we would be a good fit for him.”
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Bigs
The final piece of Michigan’s portal plan was a big one: Vlad Goldin, the 7-1 center who averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds last season at FAU. The Wolverines already had a commitment from Danny Wolf, a 7-footer who averaged 14.1 points and shot 47 percent from 3 last year at Yale, and May is confident there will be room for both.
“We play up-tempo, a lot of possessions, so it’s difficult for our players to play 32 to 35 minutes a game if we’re playing the style that we like to play,” May said. “Vlad will probably hover around the mid-20s if he’s playing at his best. That left us probably playing Danny at 14 minutes a game at the five when Vlad’s not in.”
Goldin is a more traditional back-to-the-basket scorer, whereas Wolf will allow Michigan to run more five-out offense. May envisions having both on the floor at times.
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“The question was, does it fit defensively with another 7-footer or 7-foot-1 guy?” May said. “After watching Danny, we felt like he moves his feet well. He’s got good mobility for a 7-footer, and he embraces contact. With a summer of really strong, consistent weight work and speed work with our new strength coach, he’ll be ready to go.”
Returners
Will Tschetter, Nimari Burnett and Jace Howard are set to return from last year’s team, which leaves Michigan with one open scholarship. Burnett, a starter who averaged 9.6 points last season, gives Michigan another shooter and ballhandler in the backcourt, and Tschetter and Howard add depth on the wing. Tschetter and Burnett could have commanded NIL offers in the portal, Miskdeen said, and Michigan’s coaches recruited them the way they recruited the players who joined from outside.
“We’re all in this together,” Miskdeen said. “This is Dusty May’s team. All you guys are his recruits. They had to decide to come back, right? Some of those guys like Nimari, Will, they could have gone to some places. We were fortunate enough for them to stay.”
(Top photo: Gregory Shamus / Getty Images)
