Michigan hoops NIL upgrade needed to land elite local guards?

Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard has done a stellar job putting a team together after losing three key pieces. He’s already added wing Nimari Burnett, forward Olivier Nkamhoua, and forward Tray Jackson, and he’s looking for another player or two, as well. 

RELATED: Michigan portal target Jose Perez will stay at WVU
RELATED: Michigan MPower, collectives ‘moving in a positive direction’

The future, though, will need to include players other than portal transfers, and he and his staff have made headway with some elite talents. They’ve landed a pair of guards in Christian Anderson and Durral Brooks from 2024 and have gotten visits from 5-star Flory Bidunga and Boogie Fland. Several others have listed Michigan, too. 

But two of the elite talents in the 2025 class are in their backyard, and both grew up following Michigan basketball in some of its glory years.  Orchard Lake St. Mary shooting guard Trey McKenney, a 6-4 shooting guard originally from Flint, is On3.com’s industry ranked No. 9 player overall in the 2025 class. Point guard Darius Acuff ranks No. 11.

McKenney, playing with The Family AAU, finished No. 5 in Nike’s EYBL 17u Circuit regular season, averaging 19.9 points playing up a level. 

“I’m tough,” McKenney told On3’s Jamie Shaw. “I can score on all three levels, and I bring the same toughness and intensity on the other end of the floor too. I watch a lot of [Phoenix Suns guard] Devin Booker and bigger guards like Joe Johnson.”

He’s currently talking with UCLA, Stanford, and USC, planning on seeing those schools in the fall. Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, and Iowa are all on him hard, he added. MSU texts him all the time, and Howard has been recruiting him hard for U-M. 

“Coach Howard has played and coached at the highest level; he’s been there,” McKenney said. “So, he’s been teaching me things, calling me, talking with me, helping me out like that. I’ll be looking at the relationship the coaches build with, not only me but my family, too. I’m going to look at how I fit on the team, both on and off the floor. And I’ll see how big of a priority I am for the coaches and the program.”

The last part, of course, has many layers. Part of it is attention, of course. Building relationships is important. But as assistant Phil Martelli told us a few months ago, there are times that’s become secondary to NIL and what a kid can make. That’s not about to change.

In that area, Michigan needs to step up its game. Howard said as much at the beginning of last season. He’s since seen his All-American center (Hunter Dickinson) poached by Kansas, has lost several recruitments to the almighty dollar, and — frankly — probably hasn’t seen enough support from the A.D. The collectives and MPower, an NIL initiative, is football focused. The coaches have had to do a lot of the heavy lifting on their own. 

Kids like McKenney and Acuff are going to be in high demand. Other programs are going to pull out all the stops, and “staying home” doesn’t have the pull it once did. In the past, Michigan would have had a much better chance for a kid like Acuff, who loves the program — now, the Wolverines need to bring more to the table.

“I always watched Michigan,” Acuff said. “As I got older, it was Kentucky and Michigan State … all of them. It was a lot of schools. It’s been good … it’s been an experience. I’m building a good relationship with every college coach.”

Kentucky, Indiana, Houston, Michigan, Michigan State – those are the schools he listed when KSR (On3’s Kentucky site) talked to him recently. This fall, he’ll take visits to all of those and possibly more, adding it’s too early to know if he’ll stay close to home. 

“I don’t know yet,” Acuff said. “In another year or two, I’ll figure it out. As of right now, I don’t know … I’m young … I won’t have to be guessing at the last minute. 

“I’m looking for a great culture. Building relationships with coaches and your recruiter — that’s important. I’m looking for a family. … A family environment, but also a coach that’s going to keep it 100 with me. Not just sugarcoating everything I do right, but also telling me everything I do wrong too and holding me accountable for everything.”

And — most likely — a program that is going to help him take advantage of his name, image, and likeness. There’s time, but A.D. support for programs other than football is going to paramount in landing him and other elite recruits.