Big Ten Network… Michigan had a losing season and hired Dusty May, who turned Florida Atlantic into an NCAA Final Four team. I watched them win their first two games in Pittsburgh that year. In their first game they were actually down 1 point with 2.5 seconds to go and ran a great out of bounds play and got a layup at the buzzer to beat Memphis, then beat 16 seed FDU ( who beat #1 seed Purdue in an historic win that I got to watch).
So far Michigan is 2-1, beating Cleveland State at home 101 to 53, losing at Wake Forest 72-70, and beat TCU Friday night 76-64. They also hosted Toledo in a charity exhibition game and won 96-92.
They have bigtime size and athleticism. This is the starting lineup and stats vs TCU:
6-5 GS Nimari Burnett 16 points/ 6 rebounds
6-3 JR Tre Donaldson 14 points, 3 assists transfer from Florida State
7-0 250lb JR Danny Wolf14 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 blocks
6-5 JR Roddy Gayle, JR 8 points and 6 rebounds
7-1 250lb Russian GS Vladislav Goldin 8 points/8 rebounds
6-10 Soph Sam Walters 10 points
Pete Nolan and I are going to the game. We are sitting up pretty high. I have not been to a game in Chrysler Arena since the first MAC basketball tourname, maybe 45 years ago. Toledo won the tournament, that is the last time they were in the NCAA tournament.
Here’s where I dive in the deep end because I know shit about Shinola but nothing else: (few will get my joke or reference btw, but my 4 dollar payment still cashes) if we hold the ball longer and really work to get the best shot, we might cause serious chaos. I’m not talking about UC UK stall ball but hell, we can shoot. Why not try some crazy shit?
I had to reschedule a work trip so I won’t be there to witness this in-person, very bummed about that.
Miami’s my #1 and Michigan’s my #2. Last year, Michigan was unwatchable, let alone bad. Getting Dusty May really surprised me, I figured he’d go to Louisville because Michigan had literally no one. What he was able to assemble was amazing, not just who, but how much eligibility is remaining, so he won’t have to replace everyone again next year.
May is implementing his style, floor spacing, fast pace, and tough perimeter defense. They guard hard out front, willing to give up 2s for 3s because May thinks they’ll make more 3s. So far, that’s more or less happened. They’re ahead of where I thought they’d be defensively. Our guards have a considerable challenge in front of them. They’ll need to put their head down and get in the lane.
Michigan’s glaring weakness is turnovers. They either score or turn the ball over, not much in between. Michigan’s effective FG% ranks 7th in D-1, but they’re in the bottom 20 in turnover percentage. We have to make them pay when they turn the ball over. And Michigan commits a lot of live ball turnovers, so there will be opportunities.
But Michigan has a plethora of shooters, their bigs are good passers, and everyone, including their guards offensive rebound. It’s going to be tough.
A bit on Danny Wolf who was First Team All- Ivy League last year. This Glencoe, Illinois, native transferred from Yale to Michigan for his junior season this year. The 7-foot center put up 19 points, 13 rebounds and 2 assists across just 24 minutes in his Wolverines debut. Wolf, who holds dual American and Israeli citizenship, won a silver medal with Team Israel at the 2023 FIBA Under-20 European Championships in Heraklion, Greece. After averaging just 2.6 points per game as a freshman, he exploded as a sophomore at Yale last year, averaging 14.1 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, earning first team All-Ivy honors.
That seems fair. I think some numbers point to Michigan being the best team on the schedule. Trying to keep expectations tempered with Potter still returning and the rest of the team still gelling