The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1520409
JUNE/JULY 2024 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 29 2024 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY CHRIS BALAS N ew Michigan men's bas- ketball head coach Dusty May didn't waste time in putting his staff and his roster together when he first arrived at Michigan. There were plenty of days he was in the building well before the sun came up, trying to identify prep and portal talent that could make his first U-M team competitive. His hard work paid off with On3's No. 6-ranked transfer portal class. And while he wasn't sure exactly what he needed when he arrived, given all the coming and going these days, he did know two positions he was going to start with. He had one guy in mind at point guard. "We were very clear … when we took the job, there were a lot of open spots, but we were going to try to get a 5 and a 1," May said. "Tre [Donaldson] was the first point guard we went after with ag- gression. We tried to surround him with everyone he knew that was around him and convince him this was the right fit. "He had a very high regard for Michi- gan basketball and this university, and we had some built-in connections through some other guys that had re- cruited him in the past — we knew some of his friends that spoke highly of us." It became clear very quickly on the visit, May added, that they'd found a great fit in the Auburn transfer. "When he came up, it felt right. He checks a lot of boxes for us," May said. "He knows how to make his teammates better; everyone loves playing with him. He enjoys being in the gym, and he makes guys better. You'll hear us say that a lot about our players. We're trying to find players that make their team- mates better every single day. We think Tre is one of those guys. His teammates love playing with him." A 6-foot-3, 200-pounder, Donaldson OFF AND RUNNING New Basketball Coach Dusty May Is Building A Competitive First Team In his first six weeks on the job, the high-energy May has been seemingly everywhere — including on the sidelines at the U-M spring football game — giving Michigan fans plenty of basketball news to cheer about. PHOTO BY ZACH LIBBY