The drive to succeed will be interesting to watch as the Michigan Wolverines begin a new era in basketball. The once recent power in the Big Ten, took a steep fall the past several seasons, as now ex-coach Juwan Howard left the program a mess.
New Head Coach Dusty May will have plenty of work to do to get the Wolverines back to the top of the Big Ten, but he has already made huge moves to get them in contention now rather than later. Michigan won eight games in 2023-24. A completely rebuilt roster and whole new coaches seem like it should do wonders for the program.
Michigan Big Ten Basketball Preview 2024-25: Conference Darkhorse
Michigan had to completely rebuild its roster as they lost key contributors through graduation and the transfer portal. Gone is starting point guard Dug McDaniel who left for Kansas State, as is starting center Tarris Reed.
The Wolverines only have three returning players that saw minutes last season. Those players are Nimari Burnett, Will Tschetter, and Jace Howard. That was why the way Coach May attacked the portal was huge for the future success of Michigan Basketball.
Coach May’s Success at Florida Atlantic Provides Blueprint for Success
It’s no secret that the coaching change for the Wolverines left the cupboard bare for Michigan. However, Coach May’s success at his previous job at Florida Atlantic certainly showed how successful he could be. The Owls reached the final four two seasons ago and went to the tournament for a second consecutive season in 2023-24.
Michigan hasn’t been to the NCAA since the 2021-22 season. Coach May recently spoke with Sam Webb from the Michigan Insider. He discussed how the transition to the new job has been, plus what to expect from the team in 2024-25. The biggest question asked of May was about the culture, and May said to establish his culture it all starts with recruiting.
“We identify players and people we want to be around everyday; we want to work with and we think fit who we are,” May said. “And then the next step is what we sell in the recruiting process.”
A huge issue under the last regime was egos. It’s clear that under Dusty May, egos must be in check.
Roster Overhaul Has Wolverines Feeling Good
The Wolverines were able to add a couple of nice pieces to their incoming freshman class including Scottie Pippen‘s son Justin Pippen, along with Durral Brooks one of the best players in the state of Michigan. That wasn’t the only need, as Michigan had to completely rebuild the roster adding six transfers.
Michigan’s transfer portal class is among one of the best in the country, as they added talent across the board. The group is headlined by Ohio State’s Roddy Gayle Jr who averaged nearly 14 points per game last season. That was the only huge addition for the Wolverines. They got really big, literally adding two seven-footers in Danny Wolf (Yale) and Vlad Goldin (FAU).
It was a complete overhaul of the roster, but Michigan certainly looks better already. Goldin sat down with Michigan’s Defend the Block Podcast to discuss his fit with the Wolverines.
Hear from FAU Transfer Center @GoldinVlad on why Michigan was the right fit 🎙️
Listen to Episode 250 of Defend The Block with Brian Boesch | https://t.co/zG3YJHQdqn#GoBlue pic.twitter.com/riY0jfM6OF
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) June 25, 2024
Michigan’s Schedule Outlook
The schedule for Michigan has its challenges as they will find out what they got in the non-conference with a trip down to Fort Myers, Florida. As part of the Fort Myers Tip-Off, they have the potential to face South Carolina, Virginia Tech, or Xavier. Add in another huge neutral site game against Oklahoma, and Michigan will find out how they stack up against other power teams in the country.
As for the 2024-25 Big Ten slate for Michigan, it won’t be easy. Road trips to California to face USC and UCLA should be fun, along with road trips to Wisconsin, Ohio State, and Indiana. A nice home draw as their recent brewing rivalry with Illinois will be played in Ann Arbor. Michigan will see how they stack up against the defending Big Ten Champion Purdue, as they will play them twice, along with rival Michigan State and Rutgers.
A closer look at the conference slate was shared via Michigan’s Social Media.
Along with the Big Ten, U-M released the assignments for single & home-and-home series for the 2024-25 season
🏠: Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, Northwestern, Oregon, Penn State, Washington
🚌: Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska, Ohio State, UCLA, USC, Wisconsin
🏠&🚌: Michigan State,… pic.twitter.com/mv57NQYdL5
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) May 1, 2024
Dark Horse For a Reason
Michigan is a dark horse for a reason, all the roster moves, and bringing in a strong staff has them right where they need to be. Add in most of their incoming transfers are coming in from teams that are fresh off an NCAA tournament appearance. They should give teams in the Big Ten a run for their money, but making the tournament is a good start for Coach May.
