The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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70 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MARCH 2025 ❱ MICHIGAN BASKETBALL "First of all, it's flattering," May said. "To have the path that I had and have — I'm still on that same path — it makes you feel good, because what's your com- petitive advantages as a student manager that transferred in from being a mar- ginal Division II player? You just think back and it's like, man, all I did was show great energy and passion for this game, and helping people every day. Because of that, I think people always saw some- thing and then believed in me, and then you get to this point. "But that stuff's crazy. I love being at Michigan. I love our team. We're fight- ing like crazy. That's it. This place is my foundation, but I'm very, very happy at the University of Michigan." The Wolverines were on a four-game winning streak at the time (now up to six) and in the hunt for the Big Ten cham- pionship. May was asked how he can prevent the Indiana job opening and his name being linked from being a distrac- tion for Michigan. "We'll talk about it with the team," he said. "We control what we can control. That was the whole thing today — what's going to happen when you get asked about this or that? You can control what you can control. "If I'm spending time thinking about that stuff, then we're in trouble on Tues- day, when the Boilermakers come into Crisler Arena." May is in his first season as Michigan's head coach, and he has the team in the mix at the top of the Big Ten, one season after the Wolverines finished at the bot- tom of the league and wound up with an 8-24 record. May was one of the hottest names of last year's coaching carousel, and he turned down overtures from Louisville and Vanderbilt to instead coach Michi- gan. He left Florida Atlantic after six sea- sons, taking the Owls to the 2023 Final Four, where they fell to San Diego State. He led Florida Atlantic to two straight NCAA Tournaments in 2023 and 2024. "I love being the basketball coach at Michigan," he said with a grin when asked about reports of a potential new contract at U-M following his Feb. 17 press conference previewing the Feb. 21 Michigan State game. And that's where the comments ended, making it clear again where his focus is — on this season and his first Michigan team. But multiple sources confirmed again later that same day that athletics direc- tor Warde Manuel and those in May's camp are talking about a deal that could keep him in Ann Arbor for the foresee- able future. Two things can be true and apparently are — that May loves Indiana and appre- ciates everything the school has done for him, but he also has a place in his heart for U-M now, too. Speaking with people who worked with him when he was just getting his start in coaching, they ac- knowledged he was all IU back in the day, but that much time has passed. "He was still an Indiana guy like a [Michigan alum] would be a Michigan guy," one said. "The Indiana job was probably beyond his wildest dreams, so I'm not sure if that was his goal. "But I know this — knowing how Dusty thinks, he probably already be- lieves he's overpaid to coach ball and do what he loves. Any negotiation would probably include stuff like assistant [coach] pool, NIL, facilities maybe, stuff for his players." He's also believes May is a "Big Ten guy at heart," so while other schools might show interest, Indiana might be the only one to really worry about. Again, though, Michigan sources in- dicate U-M is being proactive, under- standing they have a special talent in charge of the program and having taken steps to keep him here. Fans probably won't rest until a deal is completed and signed, but this is a positive, and it's abundantly clear Michigan is ready to up the ante to make it happen. ❑ U-M ASSISTANT DREW WILLIAMSON ON TREY MCKENNEY, CURRENT FRESHMEN U-M has a McDonald's All-American coming to campus this summer in signee Trey McKenney, the nation's No. 16 overall recruit and a star guard locally at Orchard Lake St. Mary's High School. He is the program's first McDonald's All-American repre- sentative since Caleb Houstan, Moussa Diabate and Kobe Bufkin were selected in 2021. Last season, McKenney led his team to a Division I state title, averaging 22.8 points, 10.1 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. However, the star guard is more than just a top-notch basketball player, but also a humble and hard worker, ac- cording to one of his future coaches. "Excited for Trey," Michigan assistant Drew Williamson said on Jan. 30. "He deserves it. Just getting to know him over the last year, I don't know if I've seen a kid work so hard as a high school player and be so humble while doing it. He's probably doing something right now, like working out. For us as a program, it's 100 percent great. "But the thing that I think stands out the most is what he represents. He is such a good, humble person. So, not only do you have a really good McDonald's All-American basketball player coming in, you have a real human being who's coming here with no ego. He wants to get better, and it's for the team. We're very excited for him and his family and excited to get him here after [this year]." The future is bright for Michigan with McKenney and fellow 2025 signees Winters Grady and Oscar Goodman, the latter of whom is currently with the program after reclassifying and enrolling early in January. Goodman will redshirt this season. That group will combine with this year's freshman class of guards in Justin Pippen, LJ Cason and Dur- ral "Phat Phat" Brooks to set a solid foundation for the future. Williamson says the freshmen continue to come along as the season moves into its later stages. "They're just continuous learners," Williamson said. "Coming into film every single day, coming to get extra work. So, most of the guys that played a lot of minutes, they didn't practice hard [on Wednesday], but those like Pippen and LJ, those guys came in and they had a real practice and no one complained. "But it's just about them getting better, and I think offensively [Pippen] came in [against Penn State] and he settled us down. He has such a calm demeanor for a freshman." — Anthony Broome Four-star signee Trey McKenney of Orchard Lake (Mich.) St. Mar y's is U-M's first McDonald's All-American since 2021 — and the first for coach Dusty May. PHOTO COURTESY TREY MCKENNEY