In college basketball, the games won’t start until November but rosters were mostly built over the last couple of months. Michigan men’s head coach Dusty May is pleased with what he and his staff have done.
“It’s been a very productive spring for the program,” he said in an episode of the school’s “Defend the Block” podcast that published on Tuesday.
The crown jewel of the offseason was adding UAB transfer Yaxel Lendeborg, who was torn between Michigan and the NBA. With the program announcing his signing on Monday, May could speak about him publicly for the first time.
May knew Lendeborg from coaching against him twice during the 2023-24 season, when May was at Florida Atlantic. May, who’d spent two years as an assistant at UAB, knew that coaching staff well.
“We thought, at the end of the day, we might have a chance to recruit him if he went into the portal,” May said. Lendeborg narrowed his options to Michigan, Auburn, and Kentucky, and didn’t waste much time committing to Michigan while also declaring for the NBA draft.
“We felt like this was a year that we could gamble on someone who we felt was the best player and the most productive player in the portal,” May said. “Some years, you can’t wait this long. In this case, we felt like we had the roster depth, the positional size across the board, where we could roll the dice and go the duration with someone like Yax.
“And fortunately it paid off because he raises our ceiling exponentially.”
May praised Lendeborg’s ability, as a 6-foot-9 forward, to defend multiple positions. Offensively, he can have a similar role in Michigan’s offense as Danny Wolf did last season. “We think he’ll be able to unlock some playmaking ability here,” May said. While Lendeborg may have used his size advantage in the American Athletic Conference, his quickness may be a more valuable asset in the Big Ten.
“When he draws two (defenders), the ball comes out of his hands probably as well as anyone that we’ve recruited in the last several years,” May said. “He just has a really good feel for playing team basketball. … We’ll just simply use him as a weapon, as a queen on a chessboard.”
May spoke with MLive last month about Michigan’s other transfer additions, and added on Tuesday that he thinks they all fit well with Lendeborg. That includes frontcourt players Morez Johnson Jr. (from Illinois) and Aday Mara (UCLA).
“Both of those guys played for really good coaches, so they have a really solid foundation of how to play winning basketball at a high level,” May said. “Now we’ve got to get them acclimated into our system. … We’re going to lean on both of those guys to play big roles on both sides of the basketball.”
North Carolina transfer Elliot Cadeau should help Michigan play at May’s preferred fast pace. “We just thought that the more talented we get, the more weapons we have on our roster, it makes it even more integral to have a point guard who’s just trying to set those guys up,” May said. “And so we felt like from a chemistry perspective, having a true pass-first point guard would allow us to keep everyone happy. And that’s what Elliot does.”
In addition to the transfers, Michigan made a late addition to its freshman class: Florida wing Ricky Liburd. A Michigan assistant saw him at an open gym and was intrigued. “We’ve had trouble getting the long, rangy wings, the ‘3 and D’ type wings,” May said, referring to Liburd’s outside shooting and defense. “There’s not a lot of them out there. It’s why the NBA is constantly looking for them as well.
“He has skill, he has shooting ability, he’s a hard worker. From an intangible standpoint, he’s just someone that we felt like could really develop, especially if he’s patient this year and learning from these older guys who play the game at a high level.”
May also spoke about the returners. L.J. Cason had a strong end to his freshman season, and May liked how he almost always impacted the game upon checking in off the bench.
“For him to take the next step, it’s a 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,” May said. “He’s still working on himself. He’s come a long way. He’s in the gym a lot.”
May believes Cason’s USA Basketball experience — which starts next week; Johnson was also invited to the training camp — will be “invaluable.”
Michigan brings back veterans Roddy Gayle Jr., Nimari Burnett, and Will Tschetter. Gayle struggled with his outside shot for much of Big Ten play but had some of his best games in the postseason. “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,” May said.
Burnett and Tschetter provide outside shooting and much more on the court. May emphasized their contributions to all aspects of the program. “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. … If we’re cutting down nets at any point next season, those guys are going to be a big reason.”
That is the goal. Michigan has assembled enough talent to compete for a Big Ten title and beyond. How all the pieces will fit remains to be seen. There will be Wolverines who don’t see as much playing time as they could have at other programs.
“We have to be much more concerned with maximizing our minutes and playing at an optimal performance level versus counting how many minutes we’re playing,” May said.
“We’re all going to have to sacrifice, but hopefully we’re sacrificing to win championships.”
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