After going 27-10 and winning the Big Ten tournament in his first season at Michigan, Dusty May has clearly ushered in a brand new era of Michigan basketball. The future is bright, and with a handful of his star players returning next season, fans are certainly hopeful for an equally, if not more successful season in year two. That said, if May hopes to be more successful in year two as he was in year one, he’ll have to make some adjustments to improve.
1. Reload the Roster
First and foremost, there will be some holes in the roster that coach May will have to fill. Primarily, his two big men, Danny Wolf and Vladislav Goldin, are leaving for the NBA. Veteran Will Tschetter is returning, and standing at 6’8, that is certainly going to be a big help. That said, he can’t do it alone, and with Sam Walters entering the transfer portal, May is going to have to get to work on finding a second, bigger replacement to join Tschetter.
2. Fix the Turnovers
Though things started to smooth out as the season went on, this year’s roster struggled quite a bit with their chemistry as a team, resulting in a turnover problem. The Wolverines averaged 14 turnovers per game this season, for a total of over 500 turnovers on the season—over 100 more than the previous season, in which the Wolverines finished with a record of just 8-24. Though it didn’t terribly hinder the progress of this season, May is going to have to hone in on cleaning up his team’s passing game and overall chemistry going into next season.
3. Improve Guard Play
In the Sweet Sixteen, Auburn had the upper-hand in the backcourt, which ultimately led to their win over May’s Wolverines. With the state of the Big Ten conference right now, it’s unlikely that next season will slow down with regard to tough defensive opponents. The good news is that May will have a veteran starter returning in Tre Donaldson, as well as LJ Cason and Roddy Gayle Jr., who have both started to show a great deal of promise as well. Those three have immense potential as a unit, provided Dusty May capitalizes on developing all three of their games in the backcourt come the 2025-2026 season.
If coach May is able to make these three key adjustments to next season’s roster, the sky really is the limit. With the talent he has returning, the new additions from the transfer portal, and a stellar recruiting effort, there’s no reason that May won’t be able to go on another March Madness run this time next year, perhaps even further into March than we saw this season.
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