Consider the Michigan basketball debut for Dusty May a rousing success.
The Wolverines’ new head coach had vowed since the day he was hired in March that his team would play a fun brand of basketball and get out and run. Did it ever in its season-opening contest Monday night.
Whether it was following a forced turnover, a miss or even a make, the Wolverines ran up and down the court all night long and before too long, simply ran away from Cleveland State in a 101-53 win to open the 2024-25 campaign at Crisler Center.
The Wolverines just missed setting a program record for shooting percentage as they hit 39 of 57 shots (68.4%); the high of 69.2% was set Dec. 30, 1986 when the Wolverines went 45-for-65 against Alaska-Anchorage.
“Yeah, we’d like to do this every night,” May laughed. “This would be ideal. … we’d like to get the highest, but we won’t be able to count on that. We have to find different ways to win each night when the ball’s not going in.
“Each night, have to take what the team gives us.”
There really wasn’t much more which could be asked of a brand new team working in five transfers (minus Rubin Jones, sidelined with injury) and a pair of freshman (minus Justin Pippen, out as well).
The game got off to a choppy start with both teams in the bonus less than nine minutes into the contest. But over the final 8:52 of the first half, U-M made its push. The Wolverines turned a modest eight-point lead before ratcheting up the defense and finishing the half on a 27-7 burst for a 54-26 halftime lead, fueled by an 18-0 edge in transition points and a 32-12 edge on points in the paint. From there, it was cruise control.
By night’s end, six players had scored in double figures, led by Yale transfer Danny Wolf’s 19 points and 13 rebounds. Ohio State transfer Roddy Gayle Jr. added 13 points and four assists, while Auburn transfer Tre Donaldson (Auburn) put up 16 points, seven assists and no turnovers, freshman L.J. Cason chipped in 14 points, Will Tschetter scored 15 and Alabama transfer Sam Walters had 10 points.
“I don’t know how many teams in the country have six guys in double figures,” Wolf said. “But again that speaks volumes about the talent we have on this team, everyone sharing the ball like we showed. I mean, 22 assists to 5 assists, can’t get much better than that.”
First half success
Michigan got to the rim at will in the first half, making 15 of 18 looks on layups and dunks early on.
Those high percentage looks translated to ridiculous efficiency as U-M went 20-for-28 from the floor (71.4%) in the opening period. After the first four points of the game came from the free throw line, U-M got its first bucket after a Wolf block led to a transition bucket for Gayle.
Later, Wolf again flashed his versatility. The 7-foot power forward put the ball on the deck from the top of the key and finished a left-handed finger roll on the right side of the hoop, then on the other end came away with a steal near the 3-point line and went coast-to-coast for the slam to put Michigan up 17-7.
Every time Cleveland State began to chip away, such as when the Vikings made it 19-11, U-M immediately inbounded and pushed the ball.
It happened again after a Cleveland State make slowed a brief 5-0 Michigan spurt, but only for a moment. U-M pushed off the make and moments later, a skip pass found its way from Donaldson to Walters for a 3 from the wing to make it 35-21 to send the crowd into a frenzy.
“I do think our fans appreciated the way our guys played the game tonight,” May said. “Even late in the game. … the unselfishness, the spirit and passion you play with, don’t ever turn that off.”
After Gayle made a slashing layup on his next possession, he got a defensive rebound then found Tschetter on an outlet pass for a slam. Michigan capped its 18-2 run when Gayle found Wolf on a bounce pass in the lane, and he finished the reverse layup.
Michigan had 12 points off turnovers at the break, while Cleveland State had none.
Second-half snooze
It was more of the same out after the intermission.
Michigan made five of its first six buckets, which included a pair of 3-pointers from Cason as well as an impressive up-and-under finish on a layup in traffic. It also included a sequence in which Wolf defended a post in the paint, altered the shot, grabbed the rebound, then took the ball all the way up the floor, blew by his defender and finished with a lefty layup.
“He’s going to have to be the spark off the bench,” Donaldson said of his understudy. “He’s doing a great job embracing that role. … We will need that rom L.J. for sure.”
By the time returning Wolverine Nimari Burnett came away with a steal and coast-to-coast slam, U-M had the Vikings doubled up, 66-33.
Just how impressive were the Wolverines on this night? Florida Atlantic transfer Vlad Goldin, perhaps the most prized addition of May’s offseason, had just two points and two rebounds, not scoring until a dunk with 8:12 remaining.
“I would be shocked if you had told me Vlad’s first basket would put us up 44,” May laughed. “I think Vlad was probably the invisible player of the game. … his rim protection was huge for us, that’s something he hasn’t consistently done over his career.
“The scoring is going to come … after tonight, he’ll be more acclimated to all this.”
It’s not that the debut was entirely mistake free. The Wolverines committed 16 turnovers, allowed 20 offensive rebounds and shot just 59.1% from the free throw line. But that’s nitpicking. Although U-M just missed setting a program record for shooting, it hit 10 of 18 3-pointers (55.6%) and held CSU to 30% shooting overall.
