'He's come a long way:' Michigan coach Dusty May discusses next steps for L.J. Cason
Michigan Wolverines basketball added just one transfer guard to replace the three that left, bringing in former North Carolina starter Elliot Cadeau, one of the top passers in the country last season. The rest of the back court will be filled with returning players and two incoming freshmen — four-stars Trey McKenney and Winters Grady.
Michigan’s returning guards are all expected to take leaps forward, but sophomore L.J. Cason has the biggest jump to make. He was in and out of the rotation while showing flashes, before breaking out to become a key piece late in the year.
Michigan head coach Dusty May loves Cason’s aggressiveness and playmaking ability. Early in the second-round NCAA Tournament game against Texas A&M, May turned to his assistant coaches and said he’s “ready for some L.J.” Soon after subbing him in, May yelled up the floor, “Be aggressive, L.J.!”
“With L.J., he’s obviously showed that he has a great deal of talent, as far as playmaking and ability to impact basketball games,” May said on the ‘Defend The Block’ podcast. “Almost every game he came into, he had an impact on the game. You felt like he was in the game. Sometimes, guys can disappear and just be out there, where with L.J., he finds his way in the action the majority of the time.”
The 6-foot-2, 190-pound Lakeland, Fla., native got right back to work after his freshman season ended. He’s slated to try out for the Team USA U19 squad in Colorado Springs this month and will potentially earn a roster spot for the FIBA World Cup in Switzerland.
“For L.J. to take the next step, it’s the consistency of work, it’s taking care of his body, it’s getting the right amounts of sleep and just the overall self-discipline that it takes to become an elite player and an all-league type of competitor,” the Michigan coach continued.
“With him, he’s still working on himself. He’s come a long way. He’s in the gym a lot.”
May believes Cason’s time with USA Basketball, while it will take him away from the Michigan team for at least a few days and maybe longer, will be a positive.
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“This USA Basketball experience, I think, will be invaluable for him, because as close to a professional setting as you can have, when it comes to summertime hoops,” May explained. “The ability to put aside your own personal ambition to help the team win, to help your country win is something that usually a switch is flipped when those guys get out to Colorado Springs. So, I think that experience is gonna be very valuable for him going into next season.”
Sophomore forward Morez Johnson Jr., an Illinois transfer, will also try out for Team USA. Redshirt freshman forward Oscar Goodman, meanwhile, is on New Zealand’s roster and will participate in the event.
“We’ll have a good portion of the guys here,” May said of Michigan’s summer workouts. “Last year, I think it was probably three weeks after the initial start date before we could get everybody actually cleared and ready to go on the court. We moved it back. Hopefully, we can have a good portion of our eight weeks together as a team so we can start building some chemistry.
“We’ll have guys in and out. Oscar will be with his U19 team. Morez and L.J., if they make the team, will be there. Any time that happens, we look at it as a positive.
“Those guys are playing high-level basketball, they’re going to be learning from great coaches and other great players. They’re going to come back better, and those experiences all shape these guys so much, so we’re excited to watch them, as well.”
