Everything Dusty May said after Michigan's 89-61 win over Villanova

Opening Statement

Once again, I want to thank our crowd. There’s great energy from the tip in our building and also the work and preparation that our staff and players put into this. I thought defensively we were able to, first of all, we really respect the Villanova program, and they were their elite in some areas, and I thought that our guys were able to, as Coach Joyner said, take away their fastballs, and so we were able to do that, and for about 34 minutes I thought we played really good basketball.

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On Elliot Cadeau’s impact

The most impressive part of Elliot, other than his defensive tenacity, he’s becoming a real irritant on that side of the ball. His basketball IQ tonight, their game plan, when we paused at the half, they’re playing the ball screens two versus two, and they were literally face guarding the other three opponents. I mean, there’s a couple teams in our league that are gonna play us like that as well, and so when the defense does that, it’s a great opportunity for him to be more aggressive scoring the ball. He’s put in the work. He’s a good shooter. I mean, watch, look at his jump shot. He’s got great balance. He’s got a clean release. He’s confident.

He got us going offensively by taking what the game gave him and making shots. Obviously, when the paint opens up, he’s pretty special with his decision-making and ability to get wherever he needs to get to.

On stopping to appreciate the moments when things are running smoothly

Yeah, those possessions, yes. Absolutely. The things that we feel like are our DNA, that intensity and physicality and togetherness on that side of the ball, and unselfishness and making servant-type of plays where I cut to get you a shot, or Rez got a dunk right after halftime because he’s trying to set a flare in for Yaxel. They played the flare and Adai made a nice play. So those are the plays that when we’re watching, obviously, we’re extremely talented, but when we’re watching the game, it’s like, wow man, that’s what these guys are doing. It’s difficult.

They’re getting all of this newfound attention and love and whatever, and they’re still serving their teammates and trying to play the right way. So yes, those are the moments on the bench when we as a staff will bump each other and say, man, that’s a heck of a player. Wow, that’s really unselfish. Man, he’s locking up, things like this. Absolutely. But as far as like, are we marveling at the performance tonight? No, we’ve got to get a lot better. We have to get better.

On the benefits of having a nine-man rotation

I think we went up 15 or 16 in the first half, and then it was four or five of the starters were in, and we gave up two threes and an and-one three before the media timeout. It’s like, man, like we played really well. We forced tough shots, and we’re only up nine, and we made shots. First half, we’re making some shots early.

And then the second group came in, they’re partially the second unit or whatever, and that lead doubled quickly. It was like, man, what a luxury. And I went down and told LA and the guys that, I said, what a luxury we have where they still have their starters in, and you guys obviously have them going and they’re having to fight for every catch and every spot.

And now this next group comes in, and not only is there no drop-off, but there’s accelerant on the fire. And so, yeah, it’s a luxury. We’ve still got to develop those other guys when something happens, they’re ready to plug and play with the unit that’s clicking together.

So I thought Oscar Goodman played good ball his last five or six minutes, definitely earned some trust there. So we’re still searching for ways to extend it and look at different things, and we have some unique weapons. So, yeah, it’s a luxury. Obviously, we have nine guys in the rotation that are all starters. They’re all starters at this level and good teams, not just able to play here and start here, but able to start on a really good team. So, yeah, it’s a luxury, but also we can’t take it for granted, and we’ve got to continue to share the sacrifice.

On winning another blowout despite not shooting well

It just shows how well we’re defending, and the shots aren’t determining our defensive energy now. I think a lot of times it’s human nature. If you watch games on television, you’re making shots. When you’re making shots, your defensive energy is better, and everything’s better. I feel like our defensive energy is almost that. It’s in the 99th percentile.

That’s our hundredth if we’re not making shots, and so that’s a real sign of growth and maturity. Now, that can all change tomorrow based on if we continue to value that stuff over whether the shots going in. Because, yeah, I thought we shot poorly tonight. I thought we had some great looks, paint touch, in-out, no turn threes, and they hit the back of the rim, but also we were on the glass, and we have the athleticism to go get some of those back and get second shots, but absolutely. I mean, for us to win at this margin against a program like Villanova, and they have good players, it is a testament to how our offense isn’t dictating our defense.

On what he’s most proud of with the win

Well, I thought we defended the three really well. We had a couple lapses and I think our guys made adjustments on the fly and covered for each other, so that’s that’s always a good sign where they’re able to, because it’s not as if we have joysticks and the staff or the scout coach is able to maneuver and move guys where they need to make real-time decisions, and they’re doing that at a high level. And so, does that answer the question?

And then as far as the glass, I think Villanova made a trade-off decision where they were sending three or four back a lot and letting the five-man go to work on the glass. He got a couple early, and then I think our guys just realized that they’ve got to get a hit on him, they have to outwork him, and then trust that their teammates are gonna fly in with a running start and get some of those rebounds. I thought that was probably the biggest difference in keeping them off the glass.

On what he’s seeing from the team being able to grow defensively

No, they’re definitely improving game by game. I think they’re just understanding each other, they’re getting in better shape, basketball shape. Like I said, leading up to the season, I mean, the Cincinnati game seems like a year ago, but Morez and Adai didn’t play because they were both out.

So they’re still getting used to playing with each other, and as we talk about roster continuity and all those things that go into the new basketball in college and the NBA, where in the NBA, they have trouble keeping their rosters together because of collective bargaining rules. And so, guys being used to playing with each other, like hooping with each other, is important. And so I think our guys are getting used to hooping with each other on both sides of the ball.

On how the activity with the team came together so quickly

We thought we had a really good team, you know, obviously we’re healthy now and whatnot, but how did it come together? Because you have a group of guys that are committing to each other, they’re sacrificing for each other, they’re putting their teammates on the same plane or above themselves, and that’s the only way it works. Because if these guys are all coming from wherever they came from and then they’re joining a group here that wants to win for Michigan and for each other and trusting that whatever their personal ambition is going to be there, but it’s got to be on the horizon, then it can happen.

But if, once again, that’s the only way it works at this level. If you have guys who are really, really playing for each other, and right now we have that.

On the comfort of pushing tempo with the defense the team has been playing

Yeah, I mean, when we get stop, we’re pretty darn good in transition, especially teams that send more to the glass, and the floor is a little bit more unbalanced. I thought Villanova did a good job of setting their defense, those guys were back. We did get a lot of our two-side break threes, corner threes that we didn’t when we did get them that good contest.

We have a lot of confidence in our ability to play defense, defensive rebound, and then push and be able to flow into early offense without letting the defense get set and get the appropriate matchups and all those things.

On what keeps the coaching staff awake at night right now

I think anything, I’ve been in a situation before as an assistant, not at this level, I just know that the outside noise is ultimately what causes teams to crumble from within and so it’s a fight daily because our messaging is not what the outside world is messaging, and what the outside world values, so, every single day, we’re running into a headwind of what they’re seeing and hearing. They’re what the young people get today, where they get their pleasure and their dopamine is not what’s real and it’s not anyone’s fault, it’s the same thing we’re all guilty of.

If we let that in then we’ll become just like a lot of other teams and there are gonna be other teams that go through tough stretches that find the other side of it and they recommit to the team. As of today we’re a good basketball team and if we decide, and we have such great leadership in our locker room, to continue to not care if we get the shine and the accolades because we have a couple guys that deserve a lot of attention, all the stuff that comes with it, and they’re not getting it, and I’m getting too much of it, and some of our playersm a few of our players are getting too much of it, but that’s part of it.

On having a daily focus to not listen to the outside noise

It’s not as if we spend a lot of time on it, but it’s part of our daily messaging because it’s everywhere. The NBA’s done such a good job of marketing that, that is the pinnacle and that’s on the hill. I was with Mo Wagner the other day when they were here for a football game, and he said, man, I feel so bad I spent my entire junior year wanting to play in the NBA. He said, man, college is so much fun and I almost didn’t enjoy what was going on at the time. Especially now when you can help your family, and you can take care of yourself financially. Like, man, these guys really need to appreciate and enjoy this, so like our guys just as long as they continue to appreciate the guys in the locker room and what they’re sacrificing giving because we have a talented basketball team.

On Adai Mara having the green light to make tough passes

Adai’s an elite passer. He’s got a gift, and with that proficiency comes probably too much risk at times and too much freedom, but everything’s a give-and-take. If we have him playing cautious and whatnot, he’s not gonna make those lobs to Morez.

We’re always thinking, how are we the best in March? If we think something’s a real weapon long-term, we continue to work on it in his decision-making. We’re trying to get him in different spots with his catches, which will help his decision-making, but we’re trying to get him to mitigate risk and stop trying to hit the home runs because you don’t need to. You have four other really talented players on the court. When the game’s out of reach, you’re up, 30-something, guys are taking some unnecessary risks that are affecting our overall metrics. It’s part of the learning process and growth process, but Adai, we have a lot of confidence in his passing ability.

On specific areas he’s focusing on getting the team better

Free throws, catch and shoot threes, assists to turnovers. I thought we had 12 tonight, and I count four at halftime, so eight turnovers in the second half, that’s not going to get us where we want to get to. You want me to keep going?

On whether being ranked number one not help keep the noise out

Does it help? I don’t know if it helps or hurts. You don’t know because with it comes more attention and more people that are just you know popping up, but I don’t know. It’s on us. We have a very mature group, and I don’t feel like it’s in there at all, but we got to constantly be on the fight. The number one ranking, these guys deserve it, man. These guys, what they’re doing now to defend and block out all the complacency issues that can creep up on teams. It’s a testament to the work, and, without a doubt, I don’t know if we’re off tomorrow. We’ve actually haven’t talked to the staff yet, but the next day we’re on the court. These guys are being here for film. They’ll be in here working on their games. They’ll be in the weight room working, so that’s probably the thing that they still want more, and they know that we have to get better if we’re going to compete and beat the best night in and night out.