Trey McKenney has lost 10 pounds of body fat since joining Michigan basketball, discusses 'insane' excitement to play at Crisler

According to Michigan play-by-play commentator and host of the ‘Defend The Block’ podcast Brian Boesch, U-M strength and conditioning coach Matt Aldred revealed that freshman guard Trey McKenney has “lost 10 pounds of body fat” and dropped his “body fat percentage by 3.5 percent since starting training in May.”

Hard work has been the vehicle to those positive changes ahead of his freshman season. In fact, head coach Dusty May said recently that McKenney’s “work capacity might be as good as anyone I’ve ever been around.”

“Some of Flint is in me in my work ethic,” McKenney said, referring to his hometown in Michigan. “I really just want to make sure that my game stays as sharp as it can be in that moment. I try to stay after practice. I try to come back at night, early in the morning if I have to. But I really just want to keep my game sharp, and I know that if I’m working hard in the gym, that can relate to other things, like school or business or other things I need to accomplish when I’m grown up.”

Listed at 6-foot-4 and 225 pounds, the Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mary’s product believes his transformation will benefit him on the court.

“I felt like I needed to be a little bit quicker, since I’m gonna be guarding some quick guards this season,” McKenney explained. “If I want to be versatile, I have to be all over the floor. Losing that body fat and leaning out a little bit will help me do that.

“I’ve stayed really disciplined, and I want to thank Coach Matt and Hannah [Champine], the nutritionist. They’ve really helped me throughout the process be able to lean out and accomplish my goals.”

McKenney — like a lot of Michigan’s players — doesn’t have a set position just yet. He could play some point guard in addition to his more natural position of shooting guard.

“Probably trying to work on initiating the offense more as a point guard,” McKenney said of what he’s working to improve before the start of the season in November. “I’m trying to lean out a little bit more, but I’ve made some really good steps in that. But definitely trying to initiate the offense more as a point guard and see the game more as a point guard.

“And probably moving more off the ball, trying to move to open spaces. As a shooter, you want to space the floor for others so they can make the defense pick and choose what they want to do.”

Shooting is what McKenney feels best about translating up from high school to Michigan.

“I think I’m a pretty good shooter — catch-and-shoot and off the dribble,” he noted. “I can make a lot of different reads off the pick and roll, creating for others or myself. I think I can bring pressure on the defensive end, as well.”

McKenney is a freshman, but he’s leading. That’s in his DNA, and it shows up on the court.

“Even though I’m young, just try to be a leader out there and communicate as much as I can,” the Michigan freshman said. “The team success helps everybody out individually, so that’s really all I want to focus on, for the most part, in the summer, and just building relationships with every person on the team. That’s the biggest thing when it comes to winning — you want to have a relationship with everybody and make sure everybody’s on the same page.

“I feel like I’m a quiet person outside of basketball, but I really get to be myself when it comes to basketball. I don’t really worry about how other people see me, if I’m talking loud or if I’m being a leader vocally. I think I can really be myself on the court with communicating verbally.”

Michigan’s team camaraderie has built throughout the summer.

“It’s definitely important,” McKenney said. “Nobody is really selfish on this team. Everybody wants the next person to succeed, and that’s a big thing when it comes to winning. There are a lot of people in college basketball that are selfish, but I think this team is really one big bond, and I’m happy to be on this team. Hopefully, we can build our relationships.”

Older guards such as graduate Nimari Burnett, senior Roddy Gayle Jr. and junior Elliot Cadeau have taken McKenney under his wing to give him guidance.

“They’ve definitely helped me a lot,” McKenney said. “They try to give me pointers when I make mistakes, because they’ve been there and they’ve done that, and they’re vets. Just trying to take as much as I can from them, and I think it’ll definitely help my game.”

A Michigan fan growing up, McKenney can’t wait to get on the court at the renowned Crisler Center this coming season.

“It’s gonna be insane,” he said with what Boesch described as a smile on his face. “This is all that I could dream of — it’s more than I could dream of, actually. I grew up watching some of the best players here play and pour their heart out for Michigan basketball. It’s just gonna be really exciting and something that I really never thought I would do.”