The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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JUNE/JULY 2025 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 25 2025 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE be able to invest a lot of time right now, but I'm going to drive up and see you the first couple days I'm here in the recruiting period just to say hello,'" May recalled. "'Looking at it, I can tell you you're going to be a priority for us.' "Then, he continued to amaze us with his maturity. We saw him in Colorado Springs with the USA team tryouts. That's a good barometer of how they're going to be in college, because you're plugging them in with a bunch of really good play- ers. Can they adapt to that situation when they don't have the ball in their hands, and they're expected to play defense?" The role changes, b u t M c Ke n n ey 's play didn't, May re- called. "He was really, really good in that situation. That's when we were really sold that he could have an impact, because of his maturity," May praised. "And he's Big Ten-ready, physically strong. He has the ability to shoot the basketball. "The thing that really stands out is he makes the simple, right play almost all the time. For someone his age, that's not al- ways common. Freshmen sometimes get sped up and play too fast. I think his ad- justment will be more seamless because of the way he's played and been coached before. He plays team basketball." So does Grady, who knew pretty early into his visits that Michigan fit him per- fectly. May thought so, too, and priori- tized the 6-5, 205-pounder (No. 59 in the On3 Industry Ranking), landing him last October. "Expectations are he'll help with that shooting piece," May said. "He's got good size, and we knew he could make hard shots. Most importantly, he's a competitor. He's coming in to compete. We know exactly what we're going to get out of him. He loves ball, and he's a scorer by nature. "He'll have the same struggles all freshmen will have, but we're definitely not looking at him as a long-term de- velopment guy. He's a guy that should contribute this year." Finally, Goodman (6-7, 225, rated by On3 scouts as the No. 98 player over- all) joined the team early in January and impressed with his physicality. He's got "winning DNA," May noted, he made the New Zealand Senior National Team, and he should provide some toughness. "We foresee him being a very important player for us going forward for a lot of rea- sons," May said of Goodman. "His physi- cality. His ability to drive the ball, finish through contact, and draw fouls. He's just a cerebral player who plays the game the right way … plays with unselfishness and doesn't try to do too much. "His shot has continued to improve. Once he develops that consistent three- point shot, he will be a real load as a driver and finisher in the paint … and he's also a good passer." The goal now, May added, is to help Goodman become a defensive player who can guard one through four. He's im- proved there, but he still has work to do. THREE (OR MORE?) PORTAL ADDITIONS SHOULD BOLSTER THE ROSTER Like last season, May and his staff also had success in the portal during the off- season. While they wait on a final decision from UAB power forward Yaxel Lend- eborg — On3's No. 1 portal player (6-9, 240, 17.7 points per game last year) com- mitted to U-M but is still going through the NBA Combine and could enter the draft —three others have already signed and are ready to join the team. Former North Carolina point guard El- liot Cadeau (6-1, 180) averaged 9.2 points and 5.9 assists a year ago and joins the team as a junior, replacing Tre Donaldson who decamped for Miami (Fla.) following the season. "We felt like we didn't have enough playmaking across the board last year," May said. "We felt like Elliot was a table- setter guy that wanted to facilitate. Tre had a really good year scoring, and made so many clutch plays. We just felt like for our team to be on a Final Four, champi- onship-level caliber, we needed to have a true table-setter for the guys we're bring- ing in. "His ability to push tempo will help us. Our initial thrust wasn't fast enough last year. … Our guards didn't rebound well enough. We'll challenge him to re- bound, but also to lead our break and push tempo." Former Illinois power forward Morez Johnson Jr. (6-9, 255), meanwhile, might have been one of the coups of the re- cruiting season. Assistant coach Akeem Miskdeen got the ball rolling on that one, May said, visiting him in Chicago after the season. "We were obviously enamored with h i m b e ca u se we struggled with de- fensive rebounding. He checked a lot of boxes," May said. "He's a hard worker, and he's going to continue to be more involved in the game offensively. Essen- tially, what he told us was he wanted to expand his game, but not shoot threes. He said, 'I like how you guys use your bigs.'" Johnson averaged 7.0 points and 6.7 rebounds per game in 17.7 minutes as a freshman. On3's No. 43 portal transfer is also a "warrior" defensively, May said. "He's ready. He's plug and play," May noted. Finally, center Aday Mara comes to Michigan after two years at UCLA, and the 7-3, 240-pounder is ready to take his game to the next level after averaging 6.4 points and 4.0 rebounds per game last year. Mara was ranked by On3 as the No. 51 portal transfer and No. 5 center. "We think he can be an elite hub passer out of the mid post," May said. "His pass- ing is probably his best skill. Like [former Michigan center] Vlad [Goldin], he's a good low-block scorer and because he's so big, we think he'll be a very effective passer and scorer out of the post." Defensively, he'll be able to drop and protect the rim with his height. "He's got good instincts," May said. "He's obviously really, really big, and that allows us to play with some versatility defensively again." All told, May and staff have gathered the pieces they feel can compete at a high level once again. Given his track record, it's easy to believe the new-look Wol- verines will be a force in the Big Ten yet again. ❏ ❱ May "We tried to go after guys we thought were really good but also fit us from a personality standpoint and fit our situation. We feel if they're really, really good at basket- ball, we can tweak and maximize their talent."