The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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8 THE WOLVERINE ❱ APRIL 2025 D usty May guided his first Michigan team through a really good first regular season, despite struggles at the end that put tournament success in doubt. Then the Wolverines ven- tured to Indianapolis, and good ex- ploded into great. Michigan surged through Pur- due, Maryland and Wisconsin to win the Big Ten Tournament, seiz- ing a championship and stunning perhaps everyone but themselves. May became the first-ever Big Ten coach to win the title in a debut sea- son at a school. Michigan's players — looking weary through a regu- lar-season-ending slump — roared back to add a deeply satisfying ban- ner to the Crisler Center array. The Wolverines did so in stun- ning fashion, in a Friday-through- Sunday trifecta. • They blasted Purdue, 86-68, to make a statement on a night when some thought their three-game losing streak entering the tournament might continue. • They shocked Maryland, 81-80, with junior guard Tre Donaldson executing a 94-foot dash to glory, overdrive dribbling downcourt and kissing in the game-win- ning left-handed layup with 0.5 seconds remaining. • They rallied from down by 11 to a Wisconsin team employing the bully-ball tactics of another crew that had given the Wolverines fits. This time, May's Michi- gan squad pushed back, doubled down on defense and received incalculable contri- butions from non-starters as well as the Big Ten Tournament Most Outstanding Player, grad center Vlad Goldin. When Michigan became the confer- ence's last man standing with the 59-53 win, its record stood at 25-9, one year af- ter the program had bottomed out with eight wins. May's hurriedly assembled roster wasn't perfect, by any stretch. But it signaled dramatic change in Michigan basketball. And it is a Big Ten champion. "It means the world to me," Donaldson said. "I think the best feeling is seeing the guys from last year, the smiles on their faces. This is what we came here to do. "Coach recruiting us out of the portal, this is what we came here for. … It means the world to me — I know that. And it means the world to my teammates. It's a blessing to play for something that's big- ger than you. With this block M on our jersey, it's a legacy behind it. "To be able to stamp ourselves in his- tory as a team through ups and downs is amazing." "I agree with Tre," added Goldin, whose 25 points and 10 rebounds against Mary- land kept Michigan's hopes alive, and whose defensive intimidation and hard- knocks perseverance set the tone for the comeback in the finale. "It's insane how much impact we make on the community as well because it's insane how many kids, the young kids are looking to us and want to be like us. We take pride in being a role model for them." May became a role model for success building from the ashes. He blew into town last spring and recruited 7-foot- ers like Goldin and junior Danny Wolf, along with Donaldson and several others. But he also convinced junior forward Will Tschetter that Ann Arbor was the place to be for another year, and helped freshman guard L.J. Cason through the mental hurdles of playing be- hind several import guards. There they all were down the stretch against Wisconsin, Tschet- ter and Cason each hitting a pair of crucial three-pointers, and Cason delivering fire and aggressiveness to help spark the comeback from down 11 to reveling amid the flight of maize and blue confetti. May soaked it in as well, happy for those who both believed and achieved, throughout the year and with a title on the line. "I want to praise our guys' re- siliency and their togetherness," May assured. "For a majority of the game, it wasn't how we scripted it. It wasn't how we thought it would look, but it was two heavyweights going at it back and forth, tooth and nail. "I'll give our guys credit for staying the course. Different guys stepped up, got us ignited. Then these guys [Goldin, Wolf and Donaldson] took it over late and made plays." Add in graduate guard Nimari Burnett, who tossed in a pair of threes, after pre- dicting prior to the tournament the Wol- verines weren't done, despite the wear and tear at the end of the regular season. "Ultimately, it comes down to playing hard, each and every possession," he said. "We can finish the season off very, very strongly." Step one, accomplished in stunning fashion. Step two, bring the fight to the NCAA Tournament. Step three, load up for future heavyweight bouts, which May already hinted Michigan will do even bet- ter. For now, it's more than the most op- timistic Michigan basketball fan might have dreamed. And an increasingly elite coach with an extended contract isn't even touching the brakes. ❏ WOLVERINE WATCH ❱ JOHN BORTON Good To Great, In One Weekend Grad transfer Vladislav Goldin earned Most Outstanding Player honors while leading the Michigan men's basketball team to the Big Ten Tournament championship March 16. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN 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.