Defend the Block 244 - Roster Analysis

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This week's episode of Defend the Block ORG will serve as a bit of a reset following several weeks of introductions to Dusty May's five assistant coaches, all of whom are new to the program. Those are recorded pretty close to one another all around the official announcement on the staff hirings back on April 18th. At that point, Michigan ORG had exactly zero players committed to the program who were not already under scholarship from last season. One day later, Justin Pippen PERSON committed to the program as an incoming freshman,and things have been rolling from there. So much so that while talking with our friend Zach Linfield PERSON during a timeout of the football spring game on April 20th, Dusty May PERSON said, quote, expect more good news coming soon, end quote, with regards to the roster. That good news has certainly come out in recent weeks, with Michigan ORG revamping the roster while also keeping some important carryover players like Will Cheddar PERSON, who we've heardfrom already this offseason, and Namari Burnett PERSON, who we will get at some point this spring. We'll break down some of those new players here in a bit, but one of my foremost takeaways to the rebuild, and let's face it, it's basically a build of this roster, and to Dusty May's first seven and a half weeks as the head coach for Michigan men's basketball can be summed up in one word, intentional. Dusty May PERSON is intentional about a ton of things. He wants to surround himself with great teachers on his staff.He wants competitive players who find ways to win. He has a pretty clear picture of what style he wants to play with the goal of having everyone on the floor involved. In his press conference last week, which you'll hear some key snippets from here in this episode, you can hear how that intentional approach seems to permeate everything he and in turn his

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program does. No, actually, I shy away from goals every single day. I have no idea what our goals are other than be really, really good this next possession and this next practice and this next workout and this next conditioning segment, really other than that, but long-term goals, I'd never think about it. I glance at the schedule, we'll use it as far as planning, but no, we expect to put a team on the court that is going to compete at a high level everysingle night. And with the talent level we have, there's no reason why we couldn't expect to win a lot

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of those. What's been fascinating in the early stages of the Dusty May PERSON era is that, yes, intentional, if given one word, that's the word I would use to describe Dusty PERSON. But if I could expound a little bit, I'd say the Dusty PERSON is intentional, but not always predictable. To explain that much more than a bit, I'll take you back to the immediate aftermath of last season's 32nd and final game, the 24th loss in a slog of a season, and then the decision about 36 hours later, that Joanne Howard would no longer be thehead coach of the program. At that point, looking ahead at a new era, it was easy to wonder just how a program that had enjoyed such an incredible decade plus of success could bounce back from an emphatic, a quick, an emphatic fall from that lofty perch. Now, there were some intriguing names, but it did feel like Dusty May was the top option. And I'm not saying that Dusty May picking Michigan over Louisville GPE or anywhere else is where the unpredictability comes in. Sure, there were plenty of prognosticationsout there about where May would go if he left Florida Atlantic ORG, and certainly more seemed to have Louisville GPE as the prediction than anywhere else. But I don't really think many, if any, of the reporting was stemming from Dusty May's camp, from Michigan's camp. I think it was a lot of NFL ORG draft-esque throwing stuff against the wall and hoping something will stick. The process of Dusty May to Michigan ORG was quick, focused, and ultimately successful.Dusty May PERSON is here. Here's where the unpredictability comes in. I mentioned that Dusty felt like the number one guy on the board, not just for the long term, but also for year one. Let's face it, in college basketball, in most college sports, when a coach who tears up leaves a program oftentimes, they will take much of the available foundation from their previous spot if they have collegiate eligibility. To me, if it weren't Dusty May, Michigan may have had a tough time making the 15 out of18 team Big Ten tournament, and that style is debuting this coming March. But I thought because of Dusty's FAU pipeline and all that the owls had with players who still possess some collegiate eligibility, contention could really be a year one option if Dusty May PERSON was the head man. Fast forward back to the here and now. And yes, Vlad Golden has come to Ann Arbor for his final year of collegiate eligibility and he is a massive piece, literally and figuratively,to what Michigan can accomplish next season. But had you told me, when Dusty May PERSON was introduced as the head coach, that he would only have one FAU player joining him in Ann Arbor GPE, I'd have probably been wondering about the complexion of the roster and its ability or inability to contend. But so far, it feels like, yes, Dusty May PERSON has some core principles and concepts and beliefs, but he's looking at this role differently than any other in his career,including those first six seasons as a head coach down in Boca Raton GPE. I'm not saying that Dusty May did not go after other Florida Atlantic ORG players, but the fact that he was able to build a roster that does have a lot of talent without having to primarily or emphatically utilize that FAU ORG pipeline certainly brings some optimism. Look at the staff he's brought in. Yes, certainly a few FAU connections, but Mike Boynton Jr., Justin Joyner PERSON, they would not have made a top 100 list in terms of fits based on Dusty May's PERSON past experiences and relationships.But on paper, they are tremendous hires, made even more intriguing because of how much out of left field they came when it was first announced to the public. Obviously, it's easy to wax poetic about how things have gone over the first two months of a head coach's tenure with a program. Ultimately, Dusty May PERSON, this staff, like any, in this program's history or this athletic department's history, they'll all be judgedbased on winning, based on championships, based on success. And even if Dusty May PERSON doesn't have any set goals he'll lay out, as he mentioned earlier, he's pretty intentional about wanting to win at the highest level. And so far, there's reason for optimism, not just for next year, but for beyond. Let's break down some more of Dusty May's comments last week and the new look roster here on this table resetting edition of Defend the Block ORG. We're talking Michigan ORG basketball.

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Welcome to Defend the Block ORG, where we'll take you inside the basketball programs with interviews, analysis, and so much more. Now, here's your host, Brian Bush PERSON.

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We knew two months ago that Michigan ORG men's basketball would have a very different look. Few, though, could have predicted just how this all played out, because, as Dusty May PERSON called it,

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the roster was a blank canvas when he arrived. So how do you go from a blank canvas to a roster that right now has just one open scholarship? To continue with the intentional theme, Dusty May PERSON had a couple of spots he wanted to solidify as soon as possible.

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We went into, I guess, this blank canvas with looking for a past first point guard that was capable of shooting off the dribble and off the catch and was also a capable defender as physical as the Big Ten is as a league. We wanted a strong physical guard that could defend and that would set the tone as well from the defensive side of the ball. And then we wanted a center. We needed a center that could do a lot of things. So we addressed those needs and then we thought now let's fill in these other gaps with talent, with skill, with size, high basketball IQ. Those were the things we were looking for. And we do feel like right now we have a groupthat complements each other. We haven't stockpiled the same type of player. And I think a lot of guys on our roster make those around them better. And that's ultimately what we're all looking for, guys that make their teammates better and impact winning.

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So let's unpack both of those desires. Starting with the front court and the center, well, really two centers, but two individuals with pretty different games. The aforementioned Vlad Golden, one of the earliest rumored targets, yet one of the last announced additions. He comes from Boca Raton, where he spent the last three seasons. And down the stretch last year, you could argue he was FAU ORG's best player on a team with really good players.In total, for the season, he averaged almost 16 points and almost seven rebounds a game, shot 67% from the floor. So it was an impressive go. He was great in the final 10-11 games, too. So Golden joined the program officially after Michigan also added Danny Wolf from Yale ORG. Wolf not only averaged 14 points and just a tick shy of 10 rebounds a game after playing not a whole lot, just seven minutes a game as a freshman in 22, 23.But Wolf, unlike Golden PERSON, he has shown the propensity to be able to hit from outside here and there. He shot 34.5% from deep, 29, three-point makes in 32 games, modest, but certainly something that wet your whistle a little bit for a seven-footer going into his junior year. Now, Dusty May has said that Wolf handles the ball like a guard. He can move his feet well, and he's someone who is willing and able to embrace contact. So it's easy to seven-footersto see how they could complement each other at the five spot, but that's not the only way Dusty May sees them contributing on the floor. Glad's, I think last year played 25 minutes a game

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in a perfect world. We get him a few more minutes, but we play up-tempo with a lot of possessions, so it's difficult for our players to play 32 to 35 minutes a game if we're playing the style that we like to play. And so Vlad PERSON will probably hover around that mid-20s if he's playing it as best, and hopefully we're able to take care of some games before the last five minutes so you can get those guys, you know, some rest or whatever. So, but yeah,that left us probably playing Danny at 14 minutes a game at the five when Vlad PERSON's not in is how we probably envision it. And we'd be able play stylistically a different brand of basketball where Danny be more of a five out, a facilitator. Vlad PERSON's still more of a traditional center, but also he's expanding his game. So we definitely envision those guys playing together significant minutes and also complimenting each other.

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One of the easiest adjustments to anticipate with Dusty May's PERSON roster building while at FAU versus Dusty May's roster building at the University of Michigan ORG was going to be from a size standpoint. And that really goes across the board. He has the ability and probably the desire to recruit taller, bigger guards, taller, bigger wings. But in particular, the need for a center and really the need for centers, it is magnified in the Big Ten versus Conference USA ORG or the Americanwhere FAU went up against over the last couple of years. So being able to get the Golden Wolf ORG duo, that's big time. Other area he alluded to earlier as he built the foundation for that blank canvas, a capable shooter and defender at the point guard spot who has a pass-first mentality. Auburn transfer Trey Donaldson PERSON fit that criteria, as the head coach explains.

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We watched Trey PERSON play, and we just thought he fit. Like I said, he could shoot off ball screens. He could shoot off the catch. He was a willing passer. We felt like the ball came out of his hands at the right time, whether it was hitting the roll or spraying out for three. We just thought he was a guy that. We felt like the ball came out of his hands at the right time, whether it was hitting the roll or spraying out for three.We just thought he was a guy that had a couple years, a very strong, capable defender, and he came from winning. Auburn ORG has won at a high level. He split minutes last year with the McDonald ORG's All-American point guard, Aiden Holloway PERSON, who you guys are mostly familiar with,his sister's going to play here. And so when we put his, when we plugged in his numbers in a typical game, meaning a 28 or 29 minute game, then he was very efficient. And his numbers were very conducive to winning.

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May has been pretty emphatic about keeping players right around or hopefully below that 30 minute per game mark. If you look back at his six seasons as the head coach at FAU ORG, four total players in those six seasons surpassed 30 minutes a game in a season. Two of them came last year. The highest by season in minutes per game, the team leader, last year 32.2. The final four year was 26.4.30.7, three years ago, then 29.2, 27.8, and 32.4. So the most minutes ever played by an FAU in the Dusty May era, 32.4 coming in that first season. To compare that, Michigan last year had four players, Doug McDaniel, Olivier Kamwa, Terence Williams IInd, and Namari Burnett, who averaged 31 minutes per game or more. And all but Namari averaged more minutes a game than any owl under Dusty May. It was 33 or higher for T. Will PERSON, Olivia, and Doug PERSON. So I do think something that may be worth fans starting to pay attention to as they break down once we get to the actual games and the results under a dusty May-led Michigan team, the 30 minute, the per 30s for players. And if you were able to do it for Trey Donaldson, his per 30s last year, 10 and a half points a game, five assists per game, and two turnovers a game, plus overall in his career, it's modest.He's 41 of 100 from three. And this past year, he was playing in as close to a 50-50 platoon split with a really talented freshman Aden Holloway, who also transferred from Auburn ORG. So, yeah, there's some projection there in terms of maybe that could have potentially stunted both of their ability to go out and have the type of success that maybe they're both able to have individually in different programs. But I mean, we're talking about intentional, right? If Dusty May wanted to lead with centers and a pass first point guardwho can shoot and defend, it's safe to say that, you know, Dusty PERSON and his staff very, very high on Trey Donaldson PERSON. One of the other most eyebrow-raising moves was a rivalry change. Roddy Gale Jr. leaving Columbus, coming to Ann Arbor GPE. And now, before we get into Roddy Gale, this is not to say that Dusty only talked about Trey, Vlad, Danny PERSON. He talked about everybody.The only one he didn't really allude to was Namari Burnett PERSON because there was still, at that point, a little bit of wonder of if he was going to return. But this is Dusty May on Will Cheddar PERSON, quote, real pleasant surprise, end quotes, that'll add a lot of value to the team with his shooting and toughness. North Texas transfer, Rubin Jones. You can tell how much Dusty PERSON hated having a game plan for this young man, said he was the best defender in the American last year among guards,doing it with a torn hammy in the second half of the season. Dusty recalled his early memories of Sam Walters PERSON, the Alabama transfer, who made his FAU ORG staff, had seen all the way back in eighth and ninth grade. The freshman Justin Pippen PERSON, quote, fell in love with how he played, end quote, said he wassomewhat with great pace, feel, maturity, fitting of who his father is, of course, the great Scotty Pippen. Fat, Fat, Fat Brooks, Michigan man, according to Dusty May PERSON, for coming in and proving to be likable and driven off the court and a disruptor and an irritant. Love that word. Irritant on the floor.And then L.J. Kaysen, he was committed to FAU before Dusty May's PERSON departure. He said that Kaysen could have been the top guard in Florida GPE in this past class. Didn't see them all, but he felt very strongly that he was in that conversation. He's close to both Dusty May and one of the New Michigan assistance and the general manager, Kyle Church PERSON. But, Gail, you can tell in this answer how high Dusty May is on Gail and some of the unique qualities that maybe he can bring more than anyone else on this Michigan ORG roster.

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I watched him play a few times randomly on just throughout the season. And I liked this game. I think he's got the unique ability to get downhill and draw fouls. Guys, backstory and tell a lot of stories. The first couple of years at FAUU ORG, we couldn't get to the free throw line. We just couldn't get there. And I'm reaching out to the best coaches and teachers that I know and I have access to. And finally, a good friend who I lean on a lot for advicejust said, hey, you've got to recruit that. That's something you have to recruit. And so it always kind of stuck with me. And then the guys that I've coached that got to the foul line, it was usually something that they had well before college and something that they did organically, I should say. But that was the thing that most excited. His ability to get downhill, offensive rebound. He runs in transition. He plays off the pick and roll well. He's very efficient playing off the pick and roll as a passer. He's efficient with his movements and his games. He doesn't over-dribble. And like I said, I believed in his jump shot. I know he didn'tshoot a great percentage last year, but I think he's a much better shooter than that. And, you know, when you watched him in transition, when he had a clean look, he knocked it down a very good percentage of the time. So we were excited about him on a number of levels. I could probably go on for about another 30 minutes talking about Roddy. I think he's a special guy. Two things on that. One, if Gail

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can find his freshman shooting success, it was modest, but he was 21 to 49, and he was really good down the stretch. And that, remember, Ohio State had that run to the semi-finals from day one of the Big Ten tournament to the semis losing to Purdue ORG. If he can do that, then he has a chance to be a star. Two, it was something really interesting that Dusty May PERSON talked about following his run to the final four with FAU a couple of seasons ago. More doors were open to him by that experience, more coaches, more people who were high in the basketball realm,were now in his Rolodex because you make it to the final four, that's a different layer. It's a different level. And you heard him in that clip discussing early in his FAU ORG tenure, trying to figure out and utilizing that group of contacts, of confidants. Well, it wasn't as broad. It wasn't as emphatic, impressive as it is now.And you couple that with the fact he's at Michigan ORG. We've heard him several times discuss just how impactful the Black Am ORG is. And that's been discussed in a lot of ways with the NIL ORG aspect, with obviously national and international recruiting, but certainly also from a coaching standpoint, from a basketball contact standpoint. Quick little tangent there,but interesting as to how Dusty May PERSON kind of gets to where he's going with thought processes, culture, and just trying to solve problems. But anyways, in conclusion, Dusty May PERSON was asked if the roster that he has right now with one open scholarship still available allows him to utilize and implement the style he wants, the way he

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wants to play the game, here's his answer. It's very conducive to how we want to play, and that's to shoot a lot of threes, that's to get to the rim and get fouled, which allows you to set your defense. So I think out of all the guys we've signed, there's only one of them that has a lesser three-point percentage than we'd prefer, and he shot it really well the year before that, and we think he's a much better shooter than his numbers indicate last year. That's the feel versus the science.So I think we're going to be able to play very similar. Obviously, it's going to look a little bit different, differently, and we're going to be bigger. We probably won't be quite as fast. But yeah, we recruited to do the things that we think produce the highest value shots, and that's what we're always going to look for. And if there's ever a case where this group can't do that, then we'll have to figure out another way to win because, like I said earlier, we have competitors and competitors have to find a way. They're obsessed with finding a way to

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confidence journey today with Bight PRODUCT. It's a great way to sum it up and wrap the podcast. It has been an impressive start to Dusty May's time in Ann Arbor GPE. He very much had a plan for his staff. He and his staff very much had a plan for the roster, and from all accounts, those plans have yielded some impressive results and some good people coming to Ann Arbor. But everything you drop in the spring can get undone or tangled or complicated by the nature of how this game is played, of injuries, of the league you're in, of just the randomness of the sport and how there are so few actual games to go on your resume. Soyou want to have a strategy for things if they go smoothly, and you also need a break glass in case of emergency type of plan available to you. Right now, it seems that Dusty May PERSON has been intentional about both, and we see much more of the first part, the if things go well part available to us right now, because again, it's the spring.It's still the honeymoon phase of this very impressive hiring. The grind of the season, the uniqueness of the Big Ten, that will all help to show much more about the second part, the break glass in case of emergency, the ability for competitors to just try to figure it out. This was a little bit of a different style of podcast, thinking about potentially implementing some of these here and there sporadically through the course of the off season into the season.So would love any feedback thoughts on it. But I thought it was an important reset to get to this point and discuss what the roster looks like. Some of the comments from Dusty May PERSON. We'll continue to have some great guests. As mentioned, we'll get to Marri Burnett PERSON on here sometime soon.We'll get all the new players as well. Can't wait to introduce you to what will be a very different looking, but certainly a very optimistic group of Michigan Wolverines for 2024, 2025. We got some great feedback on the new series we launched on In the Trenches ORG, presented by Meyer, the top 10 plays of the season. John Jansen PERSON had a great list.He was obviously very passionate about that list. We don't have that this week. Ernest Houseman's coming up this week on In the Trenches ORG. We'll have that sporadically throughout the course of the year. The last Wednesday of May will be our next one for the top 10. Jason Avant on May 29th.We'll share his top 10 plays. It might be my favorite list, and I did a list. Jason had a really, really good one. So excited to share that with you. Thanks for the feedback on the John Jansen top 10. And yeah, very curious, your feedback on this style of Defend the Block ORG episode.We invite your comments, subscriptions, your ratings. They really do go a long way in helping us as we sit here, getting our late spring, graduation passed, and a lot of excitement around Michigan ORG men's basketball. So thanks to all of you for listening. Thanks to a great availability with Dusty May PERSON,and that was, of course, organized by Tom Wyrott PERSON SID for the program. So thanks to those two as well. That's it for me. I'm Brian Bush PERSON. Thanks so much for listening to this edition of Defend the Block ORG.

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Thanks for listening to today's edition of Defend the Block, part of our Michigan Athletics Podcast Network ORG, M. Go Blue Podcasts ORG. The preceding has been a Learfield presentation of the Michigan Sports Network ORG.

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