Remarkable 4 weeks of May in April brings U-M hoops back from the dead

Many believed Dusty May was the best option on the board for programs looking for a new basketball coach this year. Fortunately for one — Michigan — he had his eyes set on the job when it became clear he was ready to take the next step in his career.

When it came to fit, resources, etc., May admitted, U-M had everything he wanted and needed. Ohio State, Louisville, and others were interested, but Michigan had exactly what he was looking for, and he wasn’t going to make excuses when it came to NIL, etc.

But nobody — except for maybe May himself — could have envisioned what he accomplished in his first 5 weeks on the job. While rivals prematurely celebrated the death of the program, or at the very least a “years long rebuild,” May rolled up his sleeves and got to work. He was often the building at 5 a.m., left no stone unturned in his search for talent, and firmly believed he could build a competitor in year one.

The ceiling for this squad has yet to be determined, but if these guys jell, the floor is very high. There are guys who can get theirs, led by former Ohio State (!) wing Roddy Gayle Jr. and (finally) plenty of ball handlers. Tre Donaldson (Auburn) was top 100 in assist rate (28.4 percent) despite playing only 20 or so minutes per game. If Nimari Burnett returns, as expected, he won’t be asked to do something he’s not wired to do and will be able to play more on the wing.

There are bigs who can shoot in Sam Walters and Danny Wolf, players for the future in preps Justin Pippen and Lorenzo Cason, and — the biggest piece of all — the big man in the middle in Vlad Goldin.

Goldin and Michigan have known for a while the 7-footer would end up in Ann Arbor, but there was a process. Once he went through it, he finally made his pledge public. He averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, and while he only has one year remaining, he’ll be a cornerstone in helping get May off to a good start in season one.

Many May signees will be here for more than one year

Unlike some coaches who seem to have roster construction issues, never really knowing how to navigate the portal, NIL, recruiting, etc., May had a plan. Some of his former co-workers told us he was the most detailed, hardest working coach they’d ever seen, and he proved it in assembling his first U-M roster.

On paper, at least, there are no holes on the roster, and there are many different lineups he could put on the floor with success. It will be up to him to find the ones that work best, but there will be no more guys playing out of position, no lack of ball handlers, and a better defensive team than we’ve seen the past few years — that we can almost guarantee.

There are guys with chips on their shoulder like Donaldson and North Texas’ Rubin Jones, who loves doing the dirty work. It didn’t seem to bother Yale’s Wolf that he would be sharing time with Goldin — he was aware the Wolverines were probably taking the FAU standout, too — and yes, there will be times against some lineups the two will be on the floor together. Wolf can shoot the ball and will stretch the floor, but it all depends on matchups defensively (as everyone knows, “you are who you can guard” at this level).

May likes to play guard heavy lineups and will, but if Wolf’s at the 5, he can put five shooters on the floor and have threats at every position. There will be times they play through Goldin (see film below) and should, but they won’t be limited or bogged down, either. Shooters like Alabama’s Walters will allow them to spread the floor, too.

Moreover, this isn’t a short-term fix to the roster, as some have suggested. All but Jones and Goldin have multiple years of eligibility, and May vowed to do some building from the prep ranks, too. Enter guards Justin Pippen and Lorenzo Cason, the backcourt of the future.

What this means for guys like George Washington III (update – he just announced he’s back in the portal) and Durral Brooks remains to be seen, but we expect May to be honest. Washington III might have had a hard time seeing the floor. Brooks, too, could see better opportunity elsewhere, even though he re-committed to the Wolverines.

Regardless, these are good problems to have, and indicative of a coach who knows what he’s doing. He’s made his own breaks in visiting with donors, etc., to boost NIL, has already found the sweet spot between pay for play and guys who want to wear the uniform, and — apparently — won’t be outworked.

We’ll see how these guys play together in the fall and winter, but this has all the makings of an NCAA Tournament team, at least. If you’d told us in January or February this is where we’d be, we wouldn’t have believed you.

We’d bet few others around the country would have, either.

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