The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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12 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2025 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS TREY MCKENNEY WINS MICHIGAN'S MR. BASKETBALL AWARD The University of Michigan has had its share of Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award winners through the years, and point guard Trey McKenney is the latest to capture the prestigious honor. The McDonald's All-American, who led Orchard Lake St. Mary's to a Division I state title last season and to the semifinals this year, ran away with the award, notching 4,897 points. Runner-up Leroy Blyden Jr. of U-D Jesuit finished second with 2,019. Coaches were required to vote for three candi- dates, and points were awarded on a 5-3-1 basis. McKenney received 74 percent (872 of 1,178) of the first-place votes. Entering the semifinal round of the state playoffs, McKen- ney was averaging 22.9 points, 10.5 rebounds and 3.1 assists this year, right around his career totals of 22.9 points, 10.4 rebounds and 3.5 assists a game. He finished his career with 1,951 points, after scoring 21 during Orchard Lake St. Mary's loss to East Lansing High, 51-44, in a game played at the Breslin Center on March 14. The Detroit Free Press reports that McKenney became a favorite for this year's Mr. Basketball award in last sea- son's state championship game, when he hit 8 of 11 shots, including 2 of 3 three-pointers and all 14 of his free throw attempts for 32 points and pulled down 10 rebounds. Though he missed four games this year with a hand injury, he came back stronger and continued to play at an elite level. "Trey embodies everything it means to be a Michigan Man," head coach Dusty May said after McKenney signed. "He comes from a family of strong faith and high character. He has been taught how to play the game the right way and values competition. His versatility as a big, strong guard is going to be a tremendous asset to our program." — Chris Balas U-M PREPS FOR MILESTONE CONCERT THIS FALL History will be made this fall when country music super- star Zach Bryan headlines the first-ever concert at Michigan Stadium on Sept. 27. U-M Athletics' chief operating officer Rob Rademacher recently revealed to The Michigan Daily that a live music event has been in the works for some time and was achieved via a partnership with the Anschutz En- tertainment Group. "We in athletics have been trying to do this for a while now," Rademacher said. "I've been in conversations for over, quite frankly, 10 years where we just haven't been able to do it for a number of reasons. Last fall, in November, I was in- troduced to the promoter AEG and their staff. They got our vision very quickly of what we were trying to do, which was to sell out Michigan Stadium, make it a big event." The Big House has hosted big events before, whether it be the NHL's Winter Classic or international soccer matches. The hope is that the record-breaking crowds that came out for those will do the same for concerts. "We've done those kind of events in Michigan Stadium before, where we set records. We have the biggest crowd, and we wanted to do that with a concert as well," Rademacher said. "We're looking for it to be a big success." There were some potential lo- gistical challenges to hosting the event, but U-M ran a test with AEG to ensure it could be pulled off successfully. "There are some challenges with Michigan Stadium because it's a 100-year-old facility and we had to make sure that we can actually pull off a concert," Rademacher said. "We met with AEG's technical staff, and we actually did a test to make sure the crane that they would use could fit through the tunnel at Michigan Stadium. They backed it down there and made sure that it could work and set up, and it will." Bryan's show was announced as a sellout a few days after going on sale, which officially makes it the largest ticketed concert in U.S. history. — Anthony Broome MAIZE AND BLUE NOTEBOOK McKenney, shown with U-M head coach Dusty May, became the 13th Wolverines commit in history to earn the Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award in the state of Michigan. PHOTO COURTESY TREY MCKENNEY