Michigan basketball: Contributions of Nimari Burnett, Will Tschetter are 'immeasurable,' and 'the sky's the limit' for Roddy Gayle Jr.

Michigan Wolverines basketball has only two scholarship players who stuck with the program after a coaching change to Dusty May last offseason and will return for the 2025-26 campaign — graduate guard Nimari Burnett and graduate forward Will Tschetter.

A 6-foot-5, 200-pounder, Burnett made 40 percent of his threes last season, averaging 9.4 points, 3.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per contest. He started all 37 games. Tschetter, meanwhile, recorded 6.4 points and 2.4 boards per contest while making 35.1 percent of his triples as a bit of a bench specialist and versatile weapon.

Those are the numbers that quantified the duo’s impact on the floor, but May doesn’t believe their affect on the program can actually be calculated.

“Those two are immeasurable,” the Michigan coach said on the ‘Defend The Block’ podcast with host Brian Boesch. “They were a big part of our success last year, and they’ll be an even bigger part of our success this coming year.

“What they do behind the scenes, in the locker room, in the unseen hours, the invisible hours that no one talks about, those guys are as impactful as probably anyone that I’ve ever been around.

“Their selflessness, their servant leadership is impressive. Those guys, in five years, 10 years, 15 years, they’re going to be incredibly successful at whatever they decide to do and however long their bodies hold up playing this game. But we’re very, very grateful that those guys hung around, and took it to another level even this year.”

Michigan has high hopes for the 2025-26 season — with a star-studded roster that includes the top-rated player in the transfer portal in former UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg — and Burnett and Tschetter will be major contributors.

“If we’re cutting down nets at any point next season, those guys are gonna be a big reason why,” May stated.

‘The sky’s the limit’ for Roddy Gayle Jr.

Michigan senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr. had an up-and-down first season in Ann Arbor after transferring in from Ohio State.

The 6-foot-5, 205-pound Gayle started out the season hot but hit a lull, to put it mildly. He had a 18-game stretch in which he made just one three-point shot, fell out of the starting lineup midway through the Big Ten season and lacked confidence.

However, Gayle still made some big plays throughout and wound up playing particularly well down the stretch. He drilled 4 threes in the win over Texas A&M in the second round of the NCAA Tournament and played a key role all postseason long — despite playing some of it while battling a hamstring injury.

The Michigan staff and players remained steadfast in their belief in Gayle, and it paid off.

“I’m very optimistic just in life, and I do think getting to know Roddy better, the more comfortable he is, the longer he’s in a situation, the better he’s going to perform,” May noted. “So, I think him simply being here for a year, seeing how we operate, adapting to our systems while also bringing his own unique flair to it is going to really help him this coming season. 

“I do think later in the year, we played better around him. I think we put him in better positions to be successful, but the one thing that, through the ups and downs, Roddy helped us. He made clutch plays in several big games, when you look at Ohio State and you look at Iowa. And if you don’t win those games, your season could look a lot different.

“So, even though he wasn’t playing anywhere near his potential, he was still helping us win games, and he was still incredibly valuable in the locker room. I don’t know if I’ve ever been around a guy that his teammates root harder for, look to for tutelage as much as him and just have an overall respect on the way he goes about his business.”

Gayle has spent time working out with players from across the country in preparation for his final season at Michigan.

“He’s worked incredibly hard this offseason,” May revealed. “He’s lived in the gym during his off time. He’s traveling around to work out with his agency and different players around the country.

“He’s really determined to have a big last season in college, and I think the sky’s the limit for Roddy. I’m very, very optimistic that the way he played in the NCAA Tournament — with the right style around him and the right pieces around him — he’ll thrive even more.”