Dusty May details what Michigan wants from a point guard

Dusty May has put together one of the top transfer portal classes in the country heading into his first season as head coach of the Michigan Wolverines.

As of this report, May’s lone transfer point guard comes in the form of veteran Tre Donaldson, who is coming off a solid sophomore season at Auburn where he averaged 6.7 points, 2.4 rebounds, and 3.2 assists per game under Bruce Pearl.

After signing a pair of shooting guard transfers Roddy Gayle Jr. and Rubin Jones — that doesn’t mean May is done adding to his backcourt. Earlier this month, May outlined exactly what he’s looking for in that player.

“Our game is changing, the game of basketball has changed a lot where we went through an era of the shoot-first point guards were there and sometimes it turned into shoot-first, second, and third,” May said. “We wanted a willing passer. When we reflect on the best teams that we’ve coached and our staff has a lot of years of cumulative experience. When we reflect on the guys we’ve coached and the best teams we’ve been a part of, it usually starts with pass-first guards.

“With that, there’s a trust that it will come back to them and the ball will find them later on. We went into this blank canvas looking for a pass-first point guard capable of shooting off the dribble and off the catch and is also a capable defender. We wanted a strong, physical guard who could defend and that would set the tone as well from the defensive side of the ball.”

While it’s uncertain what the final edition of May’s backcourt will look like — Michigan’s frontcourt is going to be covered by a pair of 7-footers. Vladislav Goldin, who followed May from FAU, and former Yale big Danny Wolf are both expected to see significant time on the court during the upcoming season.

Add in Alabama transfer Sam Walters at power forward and the Wolverines have built a strong roster in a short amount of time this offseason.

“Those were the things we were looking for and we do feel like, right now, we have a group that complements each other,” May continued. “We have a stockpile of the same type of players and I think a lot of guys on our roster make those around them better and that’s ultimately what we’re all looking for — guys who make their teammates better and impact winning.”