The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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34 THE WOLVERINE ❱ DECEMBER 2024 BY CLAYTON SAYFIE M i c h i ga n o p e n e d t h e Dusty May era with a 101-53 win over Cleve- land State Nov. 4 at Crisler Center, and it was fitting that ju- nior Tre Donaldson scored the first points on a pair of free throws. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Auburn transfer was May's hand-picked point guard out of the transfer portal. Donald- son's prior relationship with assistant coach Akeem Miskdeen carried a lot of weight in the recruiting process, giving both sides great insight. The Wolverines wanted Donaldson to run the team, and the Floridian jumped on the opportunity to play in Ann Arbor. Donaldson platooned at point guard for Auburn in 2023-24, splitting time with then-freshman Aden Holloway. He earned 19.2 minutes per game, starting 10 of 35 outings. The chance to play 30-plus minutes per night — to be the floor gen- eral — was appealing. "I feel like if I play more, we won't lose," Donaldson said. "I'm super competitive. Sometimes, it hurts me how competitive I am. It bothers me, because I want to win so bad. But I'm that competitive. If I'm on the floor, I feel like I give my teammates and my team a great chance to win." That was certainly the case in Michi- gan's impressive season-opening victory, when Donaldson finished with a game- high plus-42 in the box score. The Wol- verines flashed an exciting style of bas- ketball with tempo, great shooting, max effort and unselfishness. Donaldson was the ring leader, too, registering 16 points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and 6-of-6 from the free throw line, a game- high 7 assists and 1 rebound in 27 minutes. Michigan scored 28 fast-break points, its most in a game since putting up 34 in a win over Houston Baptist in November 2019, after generating 10 transition points per contest last season. The Wolverines averaged only 12.8 seconds per possession in the win — a ridiculously fast (and furi- ous) number. The Crisler Center crowd was on its feet quite a bit in welcoming in the May era. "It felt great," Donaldson said of play- ing in the environment. "Knowing what our goals are, we want to pack this thing out. So, just to see a good crowd and give them something to watch, it felt great. It was fun." Michigan wants to dictate the terms on which each game is played, and May has trust in Donaldson to set the tone. "That's what we preach," the former four-star recruit noted. "We don't want to be a punching bag, that's what Mike B [assistant coach Mike Boynton] uses, 'a punching bag.' That's one of his sayings. We want to dictate, so everything that we do we're going to try to dictate. If they respond, we've got to react, but we're going to try to dictate. "As a point guard, I'm going to have to dictate for us. Everything I have to do is dictate. It's a nonstop thing. And the guys with me, they pick me up so I can continue to do that." During a preseason practice, Donald- son was ready to call a set, when May stepped in to bark out a play call. It was the same exact one, with the head coach and point guard being on the same wave- length. "Me and Dusty being on the same page with the sets that we're running is great," the junior said. At the same time, most of the time Michigan won't run a play — it's able to make plays on the fly, using the guide- lines of the Wolverines' read-and-react offense. In the opener, Donaldson's 7 assists led to 19 points, including 10 in transition. As pointed out by UM Hoops, he used only six total dribbles directly before his as- sists — less than a dribble per dime. That exemplifies how perfect Donaldson is for this style of play. He's quick, decisive, ag- gressive and accurate. "Me being who I am, me being able to make all these guys better, it's just what I do," Donaldson said. "I come off as a pass-first guard, but I can score as well. I love making plays for my teammates, and that's what this offense allows me to do. Me being able to be in the ball screens, make my reads and make plays for other guys, and them doing the same for me, is very fun to play in." The objective for Michigan's big men and shooters is to get open by running the floor, and attack the defense before it's set. If it's Donaldson bringing the ball up, he'll look to find whoever is best-po- sitioned to create an advantage. A large portion of redshirt junior forward Will Tschetter's role off the bench, for exam- ple, will be to bring as much energy as possible and run in transition. Donaldson being able to hit him when he's open is critical. "If you look at what Will Tschetter's doing, I don't know if there's a guy chang- ing ends with any more urgency in college basketball than he is," May said. "And for him to steal 8 or 10 points a game right now simply by beating the other team down the floor … I want to give Tre Don- aldson a lot of credit. He's been rebound- ing the ball well, and he's been putting it right in the bread basket to Will running deep. "Those two things have been a real 'MICHIGAN BASKETBALL IS BACK' Tre Donaldson Is Helping The Wolverines 'Dictate'