DETROIT — The Dusty May era at Michigan began Sunday evening in Detroit as the Wolverines cruised to a 92-48 victory over Oakland in a charity exhibition at Little Caesars Arena.
The event benefitted Forgotten Harvest, an organization that combats food insecurity in metro Detroit.
Michigan was led by five players who scored in double-digits: Will Tschetter (13 points), Roddy Gayle Jr. (13), Sam Walters (12), Vladislav Goldin (11) and Danny Wolf (11). U-M out-rebounded the Golden Grizzlies, 51-32, and scored 43 bench points to Oakland’s 8.
Below are quick takeaways from the win:
A look at the Michigan basketball rotation
Michigan started Danny Wolf, Tre Donaldson, Roddy Gayle Jr., Rubin Jones and Vlad Goldin. The two returning starters from last year’s team, Nimari Burnett and Will Tschetter, were first off the bench for Jones and Goldin. (Wolf moved to the ‘5’ in this lineup.)
The next player off the bench was Sam Walters for Danny Wolf, moving Will Tschetter into a stretch five role. LJ Cason soon followed and was the freshman with by far the most playing time in the exhibition. (Justin Pippen did not play as he returns from injury.)
Nine players earned playing time in the first half, with the minutes distributed as such: Tre Donaldson, 15 minutes; Roddy Gayle Jr., 15; Danny Wolf, 14; Rubin Jones, 14; Vlad Goldin, 12; Nimari Burnett, 11; Sam Walters, 8; Will Tschetter, 6; LJ Cason, 5.
Phat Phat Brooks entered the contest with seven minutes remaining after Cason fouled out, and May emptied the bench near the end of the blowout win.
Michigan’s size is a strength
The Wolverines indeed started a pair of 7-footers in Goldin and Wolf, and they had at least one of the two on the floor for the majority of the game. Even when they went small, that meant 6-foot-10 Sam Walters and 6-foot-8 Will Tschetter controlling the front court.
Speaking of size: Goldin had eight points on 4-for-4 shooting in the first half, and all four of those were dunks. The Wolverines opened scoring with an alley-oop from Tre Donaldson to Goldin, and he had another from Roddy Gayle Jr. near the end of the first half. Both were zone beaters, and the latter was an opening Goldin identified and asked for on consecutive possessions.
Goldin was particularly active in the opening minutes, and he added an emphatic block to start filling the stat sheet. He had 8 points, 3 rebounds, 1 block and 1 steal in 12 minutes in the first half. The FAU transfer finished with 11 points, and 4 boards in just 19 minutes played.
At their biggest, Michigan can (and did) play 6-10 Walters alongside Wolf and Goldin, a headache-inducing lineup for any defense. That was particularly true for Oakland, which doesn’t have a player taller than 6-foot-9.
Versatility makes Michigan tough to defend
The Wolverines had 12 assists on their 18 made field goals in the first half, and eight of the nine players who saw the court made at least one bucket. The lone exception was Rubin Jones, who was 0-for-2, but he got on the scoreboard early in the second half with a putback slam and a corner 3-pointer.
Michigan got scoring from many different players, and also in a lot of different ways. In the first half, U-M had 18 points in the paint, 19 bench points, nine fast break points and five different players with a 3-pointer. The bench points were a notable departure from last season, when U-M got less production from its reserves than almost any team in the nation. That will change this winter.
Though Michigan did have six first-half turnovers, they showcased good, unselfish ball movement against an Oakland side that mixed zone concepts. One of the beneficiaries of that ball movement was Sam Walters, who made three 3-pointers from the right corner in the first half, showing off his lightning-fast release in the process. Walters finished with 12 points on 4-of-6 shooting from deep, adding three rebounds to two turnovers on traveling calls.
And yes, Wolf flashed as a ball-handler, including a behind-the-back crossover and running a fast break. The Yale transfer was 3-for-6 from the floor, including two from deep.
That was fun to watch!
When he was introduced as Michigan’s head coach, Dusty May said the following:
“As far as style of play, our goal is to be enjoyable to watch. We want to win championships, but we also want to put fans in the seats and be easy on the eyes. When you watch us play, you should see teamwork. You should see efficiency on both sides of the basketball.”
Through one exhibition, indicators are positive. Michigan began the night with an alley-oop and generally played fast, free-flowing basketball. And it looked like they were having fun while doing it, highlighted by Vlad Goldin laughing his way back down the court after the rim stonewalled his soaring, one-handed oop attempt in the second half.
U-M had some lapses offensively in the second half, but LJ Cason provided a spark with a drive and tough layup that he followed with a steal on the ensuing inbounds. He’s a freshman and made freshman plays, but the confidence and potential were clear. He also dove for a loose ball in a blowout in the second half, to the delight of May and the bench.
Michigan put the game away with back-to-back catch-and-shoot 3-pointers (Walters, Donaldson), followed by a transition layup from Gayle Jr. That made it a 30-point game with 8:30 left.
May and the Wolverines want to put butts in seats after an 8-24 season, and this style of play will get people to the Crisler Center this winter.
