Dusty May shares his early impressions on the freshmen on Michigan's roster

Michigan brought in a trio of freshmen this offseason for their first recruiting class under Dusty May. The question now is how much of an impact they’ll be able to make if for no other reason than the era in which they’re coming into college basketball.

May spoke about his three freshmen and what they could bring to the Wolverines during a recent press conference. He says he still is unsure what effect they’ll have in their lineup. That’s so even though they’ve each played well over the course of summer practice in Ann Arbor.

“It’s so hard to tell,” said May to end last week. “Based on their summer performance, they all could impact the game.”

Michigan brought in the No. 58 recruiting class in the country per On3’s 2024 Industry Team Recruiting Rankings. They did so with the additions of the three guards in Justin Pippen, Durral Brooks, and Lorenzo Cason. Pippen is the top-rated commit as a four-star at No. 69 overall in On3’s 2024 Industry Top Basketball Recruits. Brooks and Cason are then three-star, Top-300 guards at No. 179 and No. 252 respectively.

However, again, freshmen affecting the game is currently a question mark in the sport. As May pointed out, you don’t need to look much further than the results of last season to see why that thought is out there among programs.

“It’s very, very difficult,” said May.

“I think the stat last year – and you guys could research it or just take it. I took it from someone else. But I think, out of the Elite Eight, there was maybe one freshman starter. So, typically now, if you’re a freshman and you’re playing a lot? You’re either with a lot of veterans or you’re on a team that’s not winning and you’re building towards something later.”

May likes his incoming freshmen and thinks they could handle the game with what all they can bring to it. There’s just too much else to consider right now, though, to guarantee that any will see significant playing time this winter for the maize & blue.

“I would be very, very comfortable if those guys earned the minutes and were in the rotation. They all bring something really unique to the game,” said May. “Am I going to sit here and say now that any of those freshmen are going to be in the rotation? There’s too much time between now and opening night to make those decisions.”