TRANSCRIPT: Michigan head coach Dusty May's weekly press conference Dec. 1

Opening Statement

We’re excited to have a week of practice and more time to continue to learn ourselves and get better as a program, but it’s also a test to see how we’re going to respond. Up to this point, we’ve had two practices since we returned from Vegas.

And yesterday I thought was our most spirited practice of the year and probably our most productive as well. So that’s a good sign going forward. We’ve got to get lost in the fight and the process of improving. And so we’re off to a good start. We’re two for two. Hopefully, after today’s practice, we’ll be three-for-three.

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On the goals in preparation he’s looking to achieve between Gonzaga and Rutgers

Transition defense. I think it’s obvious when we get our defense set, our size, length, versatility are all key components. But most importantly, I thought our guys really played well off of each other.

And the one thing about our team on both sides of the ball, we’re not rigid in what we do. And so we think the randomness, we think the connectivity are what make us unique. And so just the more we play together, the more situations we see, the more prepared we’ll be to deal with all the things that we’re going to see. We’ve got a firestorm ahead of us that we have to be prepared for.

On finding the ‘cheat code’ with his team and how Yaxel Lendeborg fits into it

I think our cheat code is our unselfishness. So that would be it right now. I think each game is going to present some different opportunities for us based on who the other team is. But we do have some unique weapons. But I think right now our unselfishness is our cheat code.

On making sure things stay the same with the added spotlight on the program

Well, we have to get better. We talked about it yesterday, whatever today is. What’s today’s date November 1st. November 1st. So on November 1st. December. I’m sorry, December. I’m sorry. Dates and all this stuff, it’s Monday, correct? So on December 1st, you guys can empathize with my wife.

So on December 1st, we’re good enough to compete with anyone and everyone in the country right now on any given night. On April 6th, I think is that last Monday, are we going to be good enough to compete with anyone in the country that night? And so if we get stagnant, static, whatever, we’re not going to be in position to do what we want to do. So we just have to get better.

We have to put our earmuffs on and just get better every single day, and continue appreciating each other and our unique talents and gifts. And if we do that and we get even hungrier, because that’s one thing success does, it makes you fat and happy, complacent, whatever you want to call it, or it lights a fire that you want more. And as long as our more isn’t recognition, pats on the back, it’s more giving more to your teammates and more in other areas, then we’ll be fine.

But it’s going to be a fight. But like I’ve told everyone, you get a lot of unsolicited advice in this position. I would much rather take this problem versus some of the other problems. So we’re going to fight the fight.

On two-point shooting and two-point defense being a cheat code

Yeah, I mean, you recruit shooting, and you have shooting, so you can get layups and dunks, right? I mean, the whole shooting thing, you recruit shooting so you can get threes. If you recruit shooting and you have guys making shots, it opens up everything else.

So if we’re taking and making a good percentage of our perimeter shots, then we’re going to shoot well from two. And we’ll continue to get better. We’ve got to add some things to our package that will allow us to beat some of the best defensive teams in the country with the way they’re going to defend us. And I’m not going to divulge that for obvious reasons, but we’re still trying to add some things to our arsenal that can make us tougher to deal with. But like I said, we still have a lot of holes in what we do on both sides of the basketball. We’ve got to get better.

On what it would mean to be number one in the rankings

I mean, obviously, cool for the attention of your program. We’re always recruiting, selling, messaging. So it’s great for all of those things. But internally, like I said, we’ve got to continue to, whatever analogy you want to use, build a fort around our locker room, build a moat around our fort, whatever the case, we have to continue to just take it all in stride and understand that all glory is fleeting. I mean, this could be gone Saturday. So we never get too high, too low.

When the world’s falling, because we only beat a good Big 12 team by X number of points, the world’s not falling in our locker room and we’re not screaming from the mountaintop now. Our temperature rarely changes. Our gym yesterday before practice was at capacity of guys in there working with intentionality to get better. And so those are the things that I care about.

On whether he saw the Vegas performanes coming and what it means to beat good teams in that fashion

I don’t really have any explanation other than we did feel like we were, we used the bamboo analogy. We felt like we were on the cusp, that we had planted the right seeds, we were harvesting the right way, and we felt like there was gonna be a breakthrough. Whether we were gonna leave Vegas 0-3, 3-0, we felt like in our near future there was gonna be, or somewhere in between, we felt like there was going to be a breakthrough soon.

We’re too talented not to. We were starting to see some, I guess, signs or glimpses of practice that was coming, but there’s no explanation for that. Looking back on it, I’ve watched all those games now multiple times, and our spurt ability is impressive, and I think our depth has a lot to do with that.

And also, we talked to our guys yesterday about what changed throughout, and one of the things that I think Elliot said was that, when you defend and rebound like we are right now, it alleviates any stress or pressure on your shots. You know that if we’re doing what we’re supposed to do, we’re gonna get 40% of them back, and then having the confidence that you’re gonna get a stop on the other end anyway, it’s not gonna be detrimental if you miss a shot or miss a free throw, whatever the case. So I do think that it all goes hand-in-hand, and the rhythm of the game dictates that, but no, I didn’t see this coming, especially with the caliber programs we played.

I have so much respect, I mean, those are two of the three winningest programs in the last 10 to 15 years in San Diego State and Gonzaga, and then obviously, Auburn is one of the most talented teams in the country.

On the satisfaction of keeping the turnover numbers low in Vegas

Yeah, extremely, I thought the last four or five minutes of each game, we turned it over a few times unnecessarily, and so that alone, I mean, we’re putting a lot of focus and attention on the turnover battle. We’re still not turning teams over enough, but yeah, we’re taking care of the ball, and like I said before, we throw so much stuff at the wall. I mean, when we attack a problem, it’s drills, it’s in live play, it’s in the film room, it’s individually in the film room, and so you don’t know what works, but I think our guys looked a lot more connected, but most importantly, I think it looked like a team that was trying to generate a good shot, and I don’t think there was anyone that was trying to hunt shots to score, even when we would get a lead. There wasn’t a guy on our team that was hunting numbers or stats. They were playing for the guy to the right and to the left, and so that’s a good sign going forward.

I think last year, we would hit that 12 to 14 point barrier, and we didn’t maintain the same level of intensity, concentration, and unselfishness that we did so far this year, that we have so far this year.

On assessing Trey McKenney’s performance and areas where he’s exceled

Most importantly, it is the way he stays with it. I think a couple of the games, he was disappointed in the way he played, and we weren’t, because we know how difficult it is to be a freshman in college basketball, and you’re not going to play well every game, just like Yax at Wake Forest. You’re not gonna play, we have 35, 40 games, whatever we have, you’re not gonna play your best game every game, and so it’s just getting to the next game.

His process never changed, his temperament never changed, his work ethic and practice never changed, and even though he wasn’t making shots that he makes every day, he was missing some open shots, and you could see him drop his head a little bit. We encouraged him to never drop his chin, and to continue to do all the little things, the details, the invisible plays that are extremely visible to us, to keep doing all those things, because his presence on the court, his communication is that of a fifth-year senior, his ability to process information quickly is that of a fifth-year senior, his ability to do multiple things as far as being in the gap, and closing to a shooter, and get a hand on a ball is that of a fifth-year senior, and so he’s adding a lot to this equation, and our wings weren’t playing nearly as well as they were capable a week or two ago, but it wasn’t, we were letting the shots dictate all the other facets of the game, and so that’s what’s the coolest part. Those guys all are playing really, really well outside of what shows up on the box score.

On how close the Players Era was to the NCAA Tournament and whether he’s been involved in similar events in the past

I’m trying to think how many, I’ve been to Maui a few times. Some years you play in these two-game events, and some years it’s three games. Last year in Fort Myers, we played back-to-back games. Brian, do you remember? There’s a game in between. So that one felt more like an NCAA tournament environment.

This felt more like a conference tournament environment, and hopefully we’re in a position where we only have to win three in three days instead of whatever it is now, five and five, or six and six, or whatever the case. So it felt like that, but we enjoy these quick turns, sometimes as coaches we overthink it, and probably just do too much to prepare for another opponent. It forces us to focus on only the most important parts of scouting, and to focus more on us and our mindset.

On the results he’s seeing from the Luke Cornet contests

Well, we tried last year, and we didn’t get near as much buy-in on the closeout, but we actually, it started with our conviction, I guess, we’ve been aware of, look, our staff watches a lot of ball, and Luke Cornet was doing it. The Celtics had some tricky schemes where they put their best, Robert Williams, and then Cornet, they put him on whoever’s in the corner, and so he could roam and make plays, and so he was naturally gonna be behind the play, and you jump, like these guys are doing, just to distort vision and cause a reaction, whatever the case.

Last year against Wisconsin, we were in a pickle because we defended them really well at Wisconsin, and we didn’t guard their bigs, and we packed the paint because we were so afraid of Blackwell and Tonji and foul trouble and whatnot, and so then we played the Big Ten Tournament, and those guys had added the three-point shot to their game, and so we were in a pickle.

Do we play it the way the other teams in the league have, or do we stay with our identity? And then we’re just going to get a late contest, but we’re gonna jump as high as we can and try to impact the shot without being at the three-point line, or whatever the case, so I think Wisconsin went 0 for 4, 0 for 5, so it gave us a little more conviction that this is going to be an option going forward, and then we had a guy come in this summer to work with our staff, and we asked him, and he’s a basketball encyclopedia, I’m just gonna leave it at that, and we asked him about that, and he had numbers and facts and stats behind it.

We thought with Adai, and these guys, this could be a weapon for us, and I think because they’ve done it, and it’s worked, we’ve gotten more and more buy-in, but it goes back to philosophy, we want to challenge everything, we want to challenge every pass, we want to challenge every dribble, and certainly we want to challenge every shot, but if we’re expecting a die, and these guys to protect the rim, it’s tough to be at the rim and the three-point line, and we don’t want to be in full rotations all the time, so it’s something that’s worked well up to this point. It is funny, though, when Elliot’s doing it, and Roddy’s doing it, and the guards don’t have quite the same impact, but they’re not quitting on any plays, it’s a multiple-ever play.

On what he’s seen from Lendeborg since the Middle Tennessee game

Did I identify and bring Yax in to be a role player? I think everyone has a role, I mean, yes, absolutely, Luka Doncic’s role is to go get triple-doubles every night, Kobe Bryant’s role was to lead the Lakers to a championship and do whatever necessary to win, Michael Jordan’s role was, so yeah, yes, we brought him in to be — we brought in everyone on our team to be a role player.

Roles look a lot different, we played pickup a lot at FAU, and we had a couple of really good players on our staff, and KT’s with us now, and Todd Abernathy, and Church and I, we take a lot of pride in connecting the group, and so we would tell those guys, after every win against the managers and GAs, that they played their role extremely well that day, they scored 90% of our baskets, and so yes, he has a role on our team, was he being aggressive enough? No, he was coming off of an injury, he didn’t believe in his three-point shot as much as the staff did early on, I think he has a lot of confidence now in his three-point shot so Yax is never going to be a guy that just hunts baskets, he’s gonna make the right play.

Now we have to continue to do a better job of putting him in position to attack so we can create those advantages, but he’s getting better and better as a basketball player. Sol, I think that helps our team morale as well when your superstar guys are really, really unselfish, so we’re gonna encourage him to continue to do that, but yes, we brought him in to be a role player. No, he’s right, hell yeah, we brought everybody in to play a role on this team, each role looks a lot different.

On what went into building this roster

Yes, analytics played a role, cap played a role, eye test played a role, our gut played a role, all of it plays a role, but yeah, we definitely looked at the numbers and the data, sometimes you do it just to confirm what you thought, so yes, we use all that, we have a full-time analytics guy on our staff that on our group thread at 10:30 at night, we’ll shoot him a random question and he has the answer back in about 30 seconds, so it’s been very, very valuable just to either confirm or deny what we saw through the film or just our gut reaction to things.

On whether he’s had a chance to look at the rest of the Big Ten and his thoughts

Yeah, I’ve done more than peek, I try to watch a little bit of every team throughout, just now the NBA goes on the wayside, anything else entertaining goes by the wayside. I’ve watched at least a little bit of just about everyone in the conference, obviously Purdue and Michigan State are playing as well as any teams in the country, those guys are really, really good. I haven’t seen the West Coast teams as much just because I’m not a night owl by nature, but I’ve watched Iowa a few times, they’re really, really good. They have one of the best point guards in the country, they’re gonna cause some problems in the league this year.

Yeah, I’ve seen Ohio State play, they have a good ball club, very, very good guard play, their front line is talented as well. Indiana, they shoot the ball, they share it. I don’t wanna leave anybody out, but I’ve seen majority of the teams play at least 10, 15, 20 minutes throughout the fall.

On whether he had been watching the Pistons at all

I have, yeah, and I will watch the Pistons a little bit, and it might just be a quarter here and there. I did watch a little bit of NBA last night just because there weren’t any college games on at 9 or 10 at night or whatever it was, so yeah, the Pistons, their toughness, and obviously I watched a little bit of the Miami game the other night because of Duncan and my son and whatnot.

Their toughness, their role definition, I mean, they’re fun to watch, they’ve done an unbelievable job, and it’s another example of you see the results right now, but we would go watch them. If I had a flight out of Detroit this summer recruiting at 2:00, I would go by and try to watch their workouts before, I was gonna be in Detroit anyway, so I would go by and watch several of their workouts, and just to see them put in the daily work and develop the daily habits and to see what they were building, you knew they were on the verge of a real breakthrough, and so it’s nice to see that work and that team environment rewarded.

On whether he noticed LJ Cason getting back to his defensive ways

Yeah, I think it was much better than back to whatever he was defensively before that. I thought he was dominant defensively. I mean, I thought he injected energy into our team. Him getting those 50-50 basketballs, that, I mean, it was impressive, and so that’s a step going forward, but you talk about a guy that just wants to win and feel good about the way he’s playing and contributing to winning, he did that. That’s another thing. I mean, he’s gonna shoot the ball better.

LJ’s a really good shooter. He’s a really good finisher, and I appreciate the fact that he’s trying to evolve as a player now, and he’s adding more to his game. I thought he had a really, really good three-game stretch, and so we’re excited about what he brings, because he has a lot of different qualities and a whole different skillset than the majority of our roster, so yeah, it was nice to see him have that fire in his eye.

On the challenge he had against Gonzaga

They said something about the angle of their view, and it was inconclusive, so I said, next time, I’m gonna have a selfie stick in a mirror, and so when they’re… They could just look at the jumbotron and see the angle we had. I don’t know.

Once again, you can control what you can control. I would’ve been, obviously, much more disappointed if it came down to one possession, because the way I look at it, in the first half, if you have a challenge you feel like you’re gonna win 99.999% of the time, you take it because you’re gonna have that one in your pocket, and the second one is the one where you’re gonna have a tough decision to make because it could cost you a possession at the very end of the game, so yeah, if we can get a possession back, and also, I’d drawn up a baseline out-of-bounds play. We felt like it was 100% our way, and then to have it taken away, I think that was probably part of the disappointment, as well, but those guys, I mean, once again, it’s a tough job. I watch these games, football, it’s tough, and basketball, it’s tough to find the correct call every time, so it is what it is, but…

On whether he pushes a challenge to the second half now after experiencing what he did against Gonzaga

No, I don’t think so, because the obvious win, you’re gonna get it back. Now, the second win, I’m not gonna be quite as… I’ll be much more frugal with the second one, but the first one, no, if there’s a play that is going to give us a possession, no, we’re using it, we want that possession back.

There’s moments in every game, and in each game, you never know what that moment is, but it could be an energizing play, it could be a big shot, it could be a dunk, but there’s moments in every game, and so one more possession might give us… That might be that moment, and we’re gonna get it back anyway if we’re as confident as we were, so internally, we’re still 100%. Externally, we’ve lost on a challenge.

On Elliot Cadeau’s trajectory

Yeah, I thought he made as big of a jump as anyone as far as the invisible plays and the intangible plays that go into winning. I couldn’t be happier with Elliott. He brings so much to our team. I think he’s our engine. I mean, like I said, we all have… They’re all here for a different role, and his role is to run our team, to be a complete pest and irritant defensively.

For every minute, every second, he’s on the floor, and so we’re seeing him do a lot of… He gets us easy baskets. He pushes tempo, and the one habit that we challenged him to break that he did was asking for outlets right after the rebound.

We’ve challenged all of our guards, him and LJ, and it’s new. When we rebound, Yaxel and Morez, these guys can bust out dribble, and they can lead the break, and so when we get a rebound to not ask for the outlet, back to separate, get up the floor so we can pitch it ahead to him and let him make plays in a three-on-three setting versus a five-on-five, and I thought he did that. I thought he passed half-court with the ball quickly, and good things happened when he did, so credit to him.

But yeah, his feistiness, his competitive spirit, those things are extremely important to this group, and he brought that.