The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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8 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JUNE/JULY 2024 T or n ado e s a n nu a l ly c au se pl e nt y of d e s t r u c t ion i n Michigan over the spring months. A pair of twisters in Ann Arbor are actually cleaning up a mess and building back in an even big- ger way. New men's basketball coach Dusty May hit the ground with cy- clonic fury, taking a gutted roster and filling it with talented athletes from the transfer portal and the high school ranks. Established women's basket- ball boss Kim Barnes Arico merely summoned up the best recruiting class in the history of the program, with a pair of McDonald's All- Americans. May faced the bigger scramble, com- ing from Florida Atlantic after Juwan Howard exited the scene. The new boss conceded nothing. He didn't ask for pa- tience, or understanding, or several years to build up a winning program. He just went to work, diving in to shore up the type of roster with the potential to win even next winter. May's relentlessness might put Michigan in position to win more games in the 2024-25 non-confer- ence schedule than the Wolverines won all last year. He's now got two 7-footers — Danny Wolf from Yale and Vlad Goldin, the most talked-about Wolverine yet to pull on a uniform. Goldin played for May at Florida Atlantic and had declared for the NBA Draft at the same time he entered the portal. His decision to head to Ann Arbor came April 29. Meanwhile, May's gearing up in the backcourt for his transition-oriented, three-point-shooting attack. He res- cued 6-4 guard Roddy Gayle Jr. off Ohio State's roster, nabbed 6-foot point guard Tre Donaldson from Florida State and attracted 6-4 combo guard Rubin Jones out of North Texas. That's in addition to 6-4 grad Nimari Burnett returning for a second season and true frosh guards Durral Brooks, Justin Pippen and Lo- renzo Cason signing on. None of those developments scared off Jones or the new teammates he's em- bracing. "You need great players to win," Jones stressed. "I want to play with the best. It's never like me to be scared of a team- mate. We're going to play together, and we're going to win together. You need good players to be good. It's never like I'm looking at this roster getting nervous." Many are getting a chance to win at a higher level than they've previously experienced. Whether it's Wolf coming from the Ivy League, Jones from North Texas, or the rookies right out of high school, they're embracing the new chal- lenge. Jones got a taste of Big Ten play when his University of North Texas squad knocked Wisconsin out of the NIT in a 56-54 win to advance to the tourney championship last year. Jones scored all 12 of his points in the second half, spark- ing a rally that brought the Mean Green from 14 down to stun the Badgers. "I played really well that game," Jones recalled. "Those high-level games are when I excel. In the higher-competition games at North Texas, those were the games I thought I played better. "W hen you're playing with better competition and with better guys around you — high-level guys — the court just kind of opens up around you. I always wanted that." Meanwhile, high-level women roll into town with All-Americans Olivia Olson and Syla Swords. Add Mila Holloway, Aaiyanna Dunbar and Te'Yala Delfosse and you come up with the best recruiting class in the history of the Michigan pro- gram. Barnes Arico already turned the Wolverines into a perennial NCA A Tournament contestant. She says this crew will have folks dreaming of a potential national championship. Tim Ellefson understands why. Olson's coach at Benilde St. Mar- garet's in St. Louis Park, Minn., witnessed firsthand the sort of grit one of the newest Wolverines brings to the table. Olson would run through a wall to win, or crash into the bleachers fresh off a broken hand (true story). She typifies the sort of de- sire and determination Barnes Arico seeks to bring into the program. Barnes Arico not only has a winning product to sell, she involved this recruit in actual game plans to make her feel part of the program long before Olson arrived. "She's a really loyal person and wants to feel like you've got her back," Ellefson said of Olson. "She felt like they were sincere, and that was it. It's obviously a great school with good facilities, and they play in a great conference. It just felt like the right place. "The way they talked to her, and the way they understood how good she wanted to be … They would send her scouting reports for Michigan games. If Michigan was playing Indiana, she would also get a copy — this is our scout- ing report; this is our plan of attack. "She loved being included in that kind of stuff. She wanted to know all the ins and outs and the work they put in. They were very detailed." They're about to be very good, just like May's crew. Buckle up. ❑ WOLVERINE WATCH ❱ JOHN BORTON Hoopsters Making Big Strides Vlad Goldin (holding NCAA Regional trophy), a 7-foot-1 center, followed his coach Dusty May (left) to Michigan two years after they took Florida Atlantic to the Final Four. PHOTO COURTESY FAU ATHLETICS Senior writer John Borton has been with The Wolverine since 1991. Contact him at jborton@thewolverine.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @JB_Wolverine.