Everything Dusty May said during Michigan Basketball's Media Day
Opening Statement
First of all, welcome everyone back. I see some new faces. I’m extremely excited to have the group that we have on campus now working, trying to build a change in our chemistry, culture, and everything that goes with being our best.
On the national buzz the program has heading into the season
Well, it’s certainly, it’s nice for our players. It’s great for the attention that it brings to our program and the eyes it puts on our guys. It also helps in recruiting, it helps season ticket sales, it helps bringing the students in. But when it comes time to winning and losing games and being our best, it doesn’t really matter. But all the peripheral stuff, it’s certainly important.
On what he learned about managing expectations with FAU
I don’t think we did a great job of surviving that year without some of the things that ultimately hurt our team. And so we’ll lean on some of those experiences, but it’s such a different situation where that team was talked about, that exhaustion because of the year prior and bringing everyone back. There were so many great storylines, and this team is just so different. But the expectations, we’re not going to shy away from them. We think we have a very talented roster. We have a group that works well together. They’re connected at this point in the year. So it’s just a matter of can we continue to block out all that outside noise throughout the season and focus on what’s important and not get too high or too low.
On the process of merging the team compared to last year and managing Big Ten play
Well, the merging of new players, it depends on who you’re merging. And last year was tougher because we had so many injuries and eligibility things in the summer where we didn’t have our group together. Other than a few minor injuries and maybe a guy’s out for a week or here, there, here and there. We’ve had this group together for several weeks. So they’ve gotten used to playing with each other. They know each other’s games better than our team probably did last year. And what was the other part of the question? You know, it’s one of those things. It’s kind of like being a head coach or a parent. Until you experience it, it’s really difficult to, I guess, paint a real clear picture of what it’s going to be. I think our guys who played in the Big Ten, we have four really good returners. And even though statistically we lost our top three guys, the four we brought back, we feel like were very, very integral in the success we had. And so we have a nucleus of guys that have experienced it. And then you factor in Morez, and you solve some of the physicality issues in the offseason recruiting. But we feel like we did that with Morez. Adai’s obviously very familiar with the Big Ten coming from UCLA last year, where he hadn’t played for one year. You know, those big guys, each year they’re in college, they tend to improve. And so we have a lot of guys that have done it. They’ve walked the walk. So the transition shouldn’t be as daunting as it was last year. And obviously, Yaxel, being an older player that’s very experienced playing college basketball, that should help as well. And Elliot can help, it’s not as if the ACC is a pushover league either.
On Trey McKenney and expectations after losing 18 pounds
Well, the guy now, he obviously looks different than he did in high school, much more athletic, much slimmer. When you see guys every day, you don’t notice the amount of weight they’ve dropped because we’re with them at least five or six days a week. He’s moving better. He’s staying in front of the basketball. Just like any freshman, he has really good days, and then he has some other subpar days, just like everyone on our roster. But he’s been awesome to coach. He wants to be better. He wants to win. He loves representing Michigan. Trey McKinney is a lot of what’s right about college basketball.
On playing against Yaxel Lendeborg while he was at UAB
Well, correct me if I’m wrong. The reason he’s still able to play in other years, the same reason maybe not in Memorial. I’m not even sure. There’s so many different rules, stipulations of why guys get an extra year to play. It seems like he was at UAB for a long time, and he was a thorn in our side. And they were one of the better teams in the league. At the same time, we were one of the better teams in the league. So we always felt like when we played Dan, he was two of the more talented teams in the league. And Yaxell had some really unique abilities where we knew he was a really good player, and you could drive him. He could score a number of ways, but he could get to loose basketballs. He was an excellent rebounder, and we just felt like he got better every year. He’s only been playing basketball for a few years, and so we felt like his ceiling was extremely high. Putting him in the environment to play gives us the size, strength, and athleticism of our roster would help him. But yeah, it’s odd to think that he’s playing with us, but I do think that he admired the way our guys played the game and how connected our group was at FAU, so there was always a mutual respect from both of us.
On things he wasn’t aware Trey McKenney could do until he coached him
I feel like we had a pretty good idea of what Trey can do. He can play make, he can make shots. I think he’s just been a little bit better version than what we anticipated, and we expected a lot out of him.
On figuring out minute allocation and best lineups in the early stages
The minute allocation, I don’t know yet. We still have several weeks. As far as combinations, there are certain guys that have played well with maybe this point guard’s played a little bit better with this center, or these two wings have played better together than these other two wings. We still have a lot of information and a lot of data to gather before we make those decisions. We do have a deep lineup. There’s going to be shared sacrifice. One of the mistakes I felt like I made with that FAU team that we brought everyone back was that we talked about how we could increase tempo, we could increase our defensive intensity, we could find ways to generate more possessions, and everyone would get a little bit more because we knew everyone would want more. In hindsight, I should have done a better job of explaining that there wouldn’t be any more individually. There’s just not enough. There has to be more team success. There has to be more fulfillment in the guy to the right and the left, and we do it well. That has to be our team. I could see this being a group where we might have six or seven games where we have a different leading score every night, and our roster has to be okay with it because we’re chasing something bigger than personal ambition or individual accolades.
On any players who are exceeding expectations
I think one of my few gifts as a coach is I see the best in people, and if we brought these guys in here and we spent time and resources recruiting them, then we thought they were pretty good in our situation. Style of play, the team setting, there’s so many variables that contribute to these guys’ success that we just try to find guys that fit the way we want to play, to fit the way we coach, that want to be coached the way we coach because it’s different than the next guy. Everyone has a different coaching philosophy and coaching style. We had high expectations of everyone on our roster, and obviously some of it might be delayed expectations, but I can’t think of one guy that I can sit here and say, man, he’s been a lot better than we thought because we had pretty high expectations of all the guys, especially the quarter guys. I will say our returners have improved drastically. All four of the guys that were in the rotation last year are much better basketball players. Roddy Gayle the last two weeks has probably had as good of a two-week period as anyone in our program. Nimari Burnett, as you guys know, how I feel about Nimari, his level of consistency, his routine, his mentorship to the young guys, he just brings so much to the table. And then you factor in Will Tschetter who’s becoming a real shooter, someone who’s able to shoot on the move, get it off quick, not just be a spot-up guy, and he’s able to defend the ball. And L.J. Cason, he sprained his ankle, tweaked his ankle a week or two ago. Prior to that, he was playing at a significantly higher level than he played that last season. And so I think probably that the four returners have been the biggest, most pleasant surprise, I would say.
On whether he believes he has a more talented team than last year’s and what makes him optimistic about this group
It doesn’t always, I guess. But I’m optimistic by nature. Even if we have a less talented team, I believe that we’ll figure out how to put the puzzle together in the right way, the best way for us. And so there’s that part of the question. The other is, I don’t think anyone on last year’s team or this year’s team would disagree that we have more natural ability, more proven success on this year’s team than last. Danny and Vlad were back for the Central Michigan football game when we had practice. And both of those guys commented about how physically big and strong we were and just how much we were improved as a program in one calendar year. So I think those two guys, having lived it for a year and then seeing a small sample size, agree with that assessment as well.
On lessons learned from team bonding last year can be applied to this year
I was impressed with the way the team came together last year, but at the same point as we were last year, I think we’re ahead of the curve now. This group’s chilled. I think a big part of it is our culture and environment are more established, and so the expectations are clear. I think in our locker room, the veterans, the staff’s been together for a year, so the veterans are able to translate and help the younger guys, I guess, probably express what’s important to us as a staff and what’s important in our program because we don’t all have the same values. What I think is extremely important as a coach may not be the same thing that a coach on the West Coast thinks is important. They both could be paramount to winning or losing, and so there’s just a number of factors that allow you to be ahead of where you were last year. I think the staff, I think our staff’s ability to identify guys who are unselfish, team basketball players that want to do it this way, and we never really sugar-coated anything. We were very transparent in recruiting. This is what it’s going to be. This is what it looks like. This is what our vision of what the whole thing’s going to look like. We have a long way to go before we get there, and so they all, in the recruiting process, bought into that, and then throughout the summer and fall, we seem to be connected with what needs to happen for us to be our best.
On whether there are things he’s learned about Yaxel Lendeborg he didn’t know previously
Yeah, absolutely. We’ve learned a lot about Yaxel that we didn’t know before we signed him. I do know that he’s already changed his day-to-day routine. I mean, for example, Nimari Burnett has a really regimented workout routine, and yoga and stretching and prehabilitation stuff, and I think probably 90% of the days, Yaxel’s been just with him, almost like just mirroring his pre-practice and pre-workout routine, and so there’s some things like that that he’s improving on. The one thing about Yaxel is I do know that when the lights are on, he moves better, he’s quicker, he’s faster, he’s more athletic, so he even has another big jump to make, but it’s his versatility. He played a different position at UAB, and he was incredibly successful there, and he helped them win a lot of ballgames, but we’re playing a little bit differently, and it’s probably been, I’ve been impressed. He’s further ahead versus where I thought he would be at this point.
On whether he believes it’s tougher to develop chemistry in this era of college basketball
Up to this point, and it could all change tomorrow. We’ve had great chemistry. That’s been probably the biggest, most pleasant surprise. Is it more difficult? Yes, because we don’t have as much time, and we’re all being pulled in a lot of new directions, but I think when you bring in quality people that have the personality traits and desire to do it together, it makes it easier, but it’s always going to be difficult whether you have eight returners coming off of a great season or you have a group of new guys. It’s never easy to form a team, especially with the distractions and things that come with athletics in today’s climate.
On whether he knows what the team’s identity is or what it can be during the early stages
I want us to be one of the best defensive teams in the country because we’re big and we’re athletic and we have positional versatility. Offensively, we’ve shot it much, much better than we did last year in practice and much better than I anticipated this year. Going into the summer, I felt like we would really need to hang our hat on offensive rebounding, and we’ve shot it at such a higher clip. There’s not as many rebounds, and we haven’t been quite as good as I thought we could be, and so we’re still trying to figure out exactly what our identity is going to be, but we know that we’re going to share them all on offense. We’re going to play at a great pace, and defensively, we’re going to put very versatile, determined defenders on the court and see what we can evolve into.
On scheduling the exhibition game with Cincinnati
Well, I’m one of the few coaches that I’ve always said I would like to get beat in exhibition. I want to play teams that can beat us to expose some weaknesses. I want to play against great coaches. Cincinnati made sense for a number of reasons. They have some really unique pieces. Bob Miller came from FAU. They have a new roster. Their center from UCF, I’ve watched him a lot. He’s a very talented player, so they have size up front. Their guards can really defend. They have shooting, so I thought just it made sense, and I have a lot of respect for Wes Miller. They’ve been a pressing team at times. They’ve played a number of different styles based on what their personnel dictated, and so we just thought it made sense, night before a home football game, put some fans in, get an early glimpse of our players, and also really expose some weaknesses because sometimes you can’t really expose your own weaknesses in practice because of how you’re wired. For example, with our switching defense, sometimes the screening and cutting is different against switching than it is against teams that don’t switch, so we have to recalibrate at times in games, and then obviously, St. John’s going to the Garden we felt like would be an experience for our players. Obviously, the fans have agreed that it’s been very well received, and we’re going to learn a lot about our team. St. John’s might have the best roster, most proven roster in college basketball, and so there’s no better way to see exactly where you are than to play against really quality teams before they count in their win and loss column. It also gives us a chance to see the new guys against older, really quality athletes in a game-like environment with game intensity, and the lights are on and we’re in uniform. It made sense on a number of fronts.
On having a bigger lineup with Morez Johnson and Adai Mara on the floor with the wrinkle of adding Lendeborg
Well, Yaxel, as I said, he’s as much of a guard as just about anyone on the roster, and so his versatility is unique, and he voluntarily started picking up 94-feet guard and point guards, and he’s done as well as anyone on our roster. Maybe LJ at times has guarded a little better in the full court, but he’s kind of taken that challenge on, so I think just anytime you can play different styles, and you ask about Morez and Adai playing together, Adai is the lead passer. Morez checks a lot of boxes as far as physicality, athleticism, he’s kind of our enforcer. He’s been out with a minor injury, so we haven’t had a chance to tinker as much offensively with those two guys together with spacing and whatnot, but without a doubt, when you have really good players, they can find ways to play together, and that’s kind of how we felt last year with Vlad and Danny, that these guys are both really good, and you have really good players. It tends to work out, and so I feel the same way with our guys, but Yaxel’s been awesome when we played him at the stretch five. He’s been awesome when we played him as a playmaker, so we have a number of different ways we can play and it might be game by game, based on matchups, it might be who’s playing better that night, so we have a lot of questions still to answer.
On whether Malick Kordel can contribute right away or is he a project
Well, when we signed him, we thought physically he would be able to play. He’d be able to contribute right away, and then obviously, you bring in some older guys that could certainly impact his role this year. He’s been a real pleasant surprise. Just thinking back to 10 to 15 minutes ago when I was asked that question, Malick, might be the most pleasant surprise so far, because I didn’t really know, and even when I went to see him after our season, I wanted to see what we had live and not off film. He had a minor injury, so I didn’t get to see him play. We broke bread, and I got to see his environment and his team and all that. I didn’t really know until he got here, and then there were some visa issues, so he came in a little bit late. He’s been a real pleasant surprise. He’s a hard worker. He’s dying to get better. His physicality, you guys want to talk about Big Ten physicality, you can drop him off anywhere on these 18 campuses. He matches the physicality that Big Ten now surpasses. He’s going to add something to our group that no one else does. He has a unique ability to set physical ball screens and still get to the rim and catch lobs. That’s something, we haven’t had a real lob threat, to be honest, since we had Johnny Boone in Florida when I was an assistant, and prior to that, Michael Kaiser, a lot of tech. We have a couple guys now that are legit lob threats in Malick, Adai, and Morez. Our ability to put pressure on the rim is something that we welcome this year. I’m not saying Will Tschetter didn’t have that ability to back up that initiative.
On how he’s had to change and adapt to roster construction
It happens so fast. We’re making decisions with so much, with uncertain futures. We don’t know what the rules are gonna be. Obviously, when players are bouncing around, it’s going to affect their education and graduation rates and some things. There’s going to be some collateral damage. Man, I just look at it as if my job is to coach basketball and each year, once we have our team together, it’s Christmas morning, the first day our team comes together, it’s Christmas morning. Even though it’s like the NBA, that there are changing rosters, as long as we’re finding the right guys, it’s still awesome to walk in the gym with guys who want to work and get better.
On the new era of roster construction puts added pressure
I put a lot of pressure on myself. I don’t feel a lot of external pressure, just by nature. It’s the way I’m wired. The season starts getting closer, and you start waking up at 2 a.m., wondering if you’ve prepared your team and press breaker enough or if your ball string defense is gonna be good enough, whatever the case. No, I don’t think so. This is high-level college athletics. There’s going to be pressure. There’s going to be coaching changes. It’s part of the climate, and it’s not as if when there’s a coaching change, they’re eliminating a spot. There’s another guy waiting on that opportunity that’s worked a long time to get it. I don’t think about all that stuff, the pressure that comes with it. My pressure comes from trying to be the best leader and best coach for this group so we can be the best we can be and also just really enjoy the experience.
On whether he believes the team has bought into the message and who inspires him
A number of things. I hate that that’s the downside of college basketball now that you have those intimate moments being recorded. I didn’t realize that. I think that message is across the board on our team. Coach Boynton, as mentioned, his parents worked extremely hard for him to have the opportunities that he’s had. I know Coach Joiner, Coach Church’s dad was a legendary coach. Coach Miskadeen has a very hard-working family. Our players, some of them are in health care. They work to provide opportunities for their kids. It’s extremely important to us as a staff that we’re appreciative of getting to do this every day. It’s a privilege to walk in a gymnasium and get to coach basketball and help people chase their dreams. That was more just a reminder not to take it for granted. It usually comes during an early morning practice when guys are dragging in, and then the route I come in you see the construction workers all going towards the dorms. You see them walking in with their lunch pail at 6 a.m. You think, man, nothing against that. That’s what my brother does at a high level. I have a lot of respect for it. Man, it’s a lot more fun for me to get to go into a gymnasium and coach ball and watch film and travel the world and say I’m working. Like I said, I don’t like that stuff being a part of it. It also, I guess, shows that we are authentic all the time. We’re not going to hide anything. It’s too difficult to try to put on this facade of who we are. I’m appreciative. My mom, I remember she went to a small house with the hair dryer at 5 a.m. getting ready for work and then racing home to take me to a little league baseball or whatever the case. I think it had all the coaches in my life that I wanted to be just like them. Where I grew up in my area, there’s a lot of pride in being called a hard worker. We all did everything that we could to be considered a hard worker, someone that’s reliable, dependable. Myself and our staff, we tried to carry that over into this profession. It’s going to take some elbow grease, but it’s a lot of fun.
On what he wants to see with the point guards limiting turnovers
I don’t want to jinx it, but we’re monitoring the data and the stats last year compared to this year. The first thing I look at every day after practice is assist to turnover ratio. I still have some PTSD with our shooting woes in February. I look at three-point percentage every single day. Those are the first two things I look at. Usually, the managers give us our stats about 10 minutes after practice is over. We’ve managed the turnover battle really, really well this year. It might be the returners are more familiar with our system. It might be just that we know what cost us last year, from what kept us from being our best. I don’t know, but we’ve handled it better. What we need out of our point guard play, Trey Donaldson, he got us 27 wins, Sweet 16, a banner. He was our point guard last year, so I’m never going to say anything negative about him. He made some big, big plays down the stretch. This year, Elliot, LJ, Roddy Gayle moved into more of a primary playmaking role, and then Yaxel’s been a playmaker. We’ve just done a much better job of making better decisions, of simplifying our approach. Up to this point, that’s been a real pleasant surprise, but the other team’s defense, they have a say in the turnovers as well, so we’ll see here pretty soon when we play against the Bearcats and Johnnies.
On Roddy Gayle’s growth and what he learned to overcome obstacles
I would say that what he learned, and I don’t want to speak for Roddy, he’s an intelligent young man who’s got a bright future ahead of him in sports and basketball and whatever he decides after, but I would say that he learned just to keep going, man. Just keep putting one foot in front of the other. He had a really good start to the season, as you said, and he had a little bit of a funk, and he just kept going. Our season, the season outlook would look a lot different right now if Roddy didn’t do what he did at the end of the year, and he had a great offseason. He shot the ball incredibly well. He’s playing at a high level of confidence. He just looks much more comfortable, and sometimes players are pleasers by nature. They want to please their teammates. They want to please their coaches. They want to please so many people that they’re trying so hard to fit in, and that could be a case of just his familiarity with everyone. The environment has helped him be more successful in practice, but he looks like he’s ready for a really, really solid season. I’m excited about Roddy.
On what the expectations for the program are this season
I don’t see why we can’t compete with every single team in the country on any given night.
On long-term expectations for the program
Yeah, I don’t want to say that I don’t think we’ll go in our first, second, third, fourth, fifth. I want to try to win every game, and obviously we’re not going to, but we feel very good about how capable our roster is. Now, does that equate to winning? No. There’s teams picked number one in the country last year that barely made the tournament or didn’t make the tournament or whatever the case, so that means nothing now. How I feel, what my projections are, it means absolutely nothing, but I love our team, and I think we have a really high ceiling, and there’s nothing that makes me say that, man, we just don’t have enough of this or we don’t have enough of that to beat any team in the country on a given night. Now, are there areas that we need to certainly improve on and continue improving on? Absolutely, but I’m not going to sit here and say that we’re afraid of this team or afraid of that team. We’re going to try to compete with everyone we’re against, and we have very, very lofty goals, and that’s months and months away and hundreds and hundreds of hours of intentional work before we can even, you know, before it’s even worth discussing those things.