Dusty May discusses 'foundation' laid in first season at Michigan, Tre Donaldson departure, roster building

Michigan Wolverines basketball head coach Dusty May is pleased at the foundation his team set in his first season in Ann Arbor and is looking forward to the future, excited about the roster he and his staff are building for 2025-26.

“When you go into this situation, you move up a level like we did, you don’t really know what to expect,” May said on the Zach Gelb Show before Monday night’s national title game between Florida and Houston. “I was an assistant at Florida just a few years ago, I’ve been at this level before, but recruiting is different, player management is different, staff management is different. So there was definitely a learning curve, but I felt like we really, really grew throughout the season, and we’re extremely excited going into year two.”

Michigan won 27 games, will hang a banner for winning the Big Ten Tournament, got the Wolverines back to the NCAA Tournament and advanced to the second weekend before falling to Auburn in the South Regional semifinal. All in all, after the program won eight games in 2023-24, it was a successful season.

“Yeah, we obviously laid a really strong foundation with everything that we do,” May said in response to whether or not the season was a success. “We’re gonna continue to improve. As we get through this portal period, we’ll sit down as a staff and do another autopsy on our season, and figure out what we’re gonna keep and what we’re gonna get rid of.

“But without a doubt, just representing Michigan has so much to sell on its own, without us. And then you add in the quality staff and players we have in our program, and we’re committed to doing it together, I think we have a lot to sell, and ultimately that’s what you want out of year one is momentum moving forward.”

Michigan has brought in three marquee transfers so far, with more on the way: North Carolina point guard Elliot Cadeau, Illinois forward Morez Johnson Jr. and UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg, who also entered the NBA Draft and will go through that process.

“I can’t speak on any recruits technically right now, and I’m not even sure who’s signed and who hasn’t, and who’s signed their collective agreements or whatnot,” May noted. “There are a lot of layers to this. I think at the end of the day, it’s probably just a handshake agreement between any of us at any time now. You can get out of anything if you really, really wanted to.

“Obviously, we were fun to watch. We had a unique deal with the two seven-footers, and then we had some athleticism on the perimeter. But we developed a little bit of a niche, where we’ve had good bigs and skilled bigs since I’ve been a good head coach seven years ago, so I think we continued on that.

“And then just the way we played, we had guys that play with great energy, unselfishness and they were a connected group. So I think when you watched us play, you could see a lot of the things that these recruits are looking to do.”

Michigan also lost point guard Tre Donaldson to the portal just days after the season ended with a Sweet 16 loss to Auburn. Donaldson, the 6-3 guard, was a big part of the Wolverines winning the Big Ten Tournament championship and advancing to the second weekend of the Big Dance.

“First of all, Tre did a lot for us, and he was a really good basketball player for us,” May said. “The same as we’ve done for everyone when they’ve left, for whatever reason: Wish them well, let them know we’re gonna be following and watching their scores, watching their games. And we’re here for them forever, because they were in our locker room, he was our teammate.

“So, it’s on to the next thing. Turnover is difficult, because I enjoy the process of getting to know these guys and being a part of their lives, but when guys leave, new guys come in and you have the chance to be a part of their lives as well and meet new people. I think it’s all how we decide to look at it.

“I’m excited about the guys we have coming back, we’re excited about the guys that we’re adding. The biggest challenge is trying to figure out a way to take all these really talented individuals and make them a team or a unit.”