The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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54 THE WOLVERINE ❱ JUNE/JULY 2025 N imari Burnett averaged 9.4 points per game and shot 40 percent from three-point range on a Sweet 16 team that finished tied for second in the Big Ten regular sea- son. Those two numbers alone, even on a less successful team in a worse league, would allow a player like the 6-foot-5, 200-pound sixth-year senior to com- mand a massive NIL paycheck in the transfer portal. Now, Burnett will surely be paid hand- somely by Michigan, but it's worth not- ing that he turned down both portal and professional opportunities to return to Ann Arbor. Senior guard Roddy Gayle Jr., redshirt senior forward Will Tschetter and sophomore guard L.J. Cason are in similar situations. All four had options after the season, even if they were some of the first to recommit to the program. So far, Michigan has landed commit- ments from four transfers, with the caveat that UAB forward Yaxel Lendeborg may remain in the NBA Draft and never actu- ally suit up for the Maize and Blue. However, the Wolverines' ability to re- tain key players with remaining eligibility is almost just as notable. It helps make sure last season's "foundation," which head coach Dusty May has been referring to, can be a jumping off point. Though May and Co. have shown to be masters at it both at Michigan and pre- viously at FAU, relying on relationships built in short order and new faces to mesh together has a level of risk to it. So does banking on the players you already have to take steps forward, but U-M knows what it's getting in Burnett, Gayle, Tschetter and Cason. All of them will have big roles, and they've all been important pieces on a championship team. Appearing on the "Basketball Immer- sion" podcast in spring 2023, May re- vealed part of his recruiting philosophy that he and his staff live by. "When you recruit in January when you're in the heat of the conference bat- tle, you're recruiting toughness and intel- ligence and consistency and skill level," the head man said. "And then as soon as the season is over, we go out in April, and we're recruiting vertical leap, arm length, hand size, upside potential, all of those things. "We're going to make a conscious ef- fort to go on the road and recruit like it's Jan. 15 or Feb. 3 just to remind us of what makes us happy as coaches during the year." Michigan's returning players helped the Wolverines get through the grind of January and February, and the challenges of March. And the players they're bring- ing in — Lendeborg, UCLA center Aday Mara, Illinois forward Morez Johnson Jr. and North Carolina point guard El- liot Cadeau — make up another batch of standouts from winning programs who not only have the tangibles but also the intangibles. Michigan wanted to become a better rebounding team, and Mara and Johnson are elite on the glass. The Wolverines need to possess more playmaking, and Cadeau is great at getting into the paint and as- sisting for his teammates. Most champi- onship-caliber teams have potential pros on the roster, and Lendeborg is just that, currently competing for a guaranteed NBA Draft spot. Those four check a lot of boxes and will mix in well with the Wolverines who are back for one more season. THE PORTAL IS IMPORTANT, BUT NOT THE ONLY THING St. John's head coach Rick Pitino made waves last season when he declared that his program isn't "even looking at a high school basketball player" in the 2025 re- cruiting cycle. "I don't think you can win, and win big, with high school kids," Pitino said. Pitino isn't the only coach abandoning high school recruiting, either, but May isn't one in that bucket. The Wolverines have a stellar three-man freshman class coming in this summer, and they'll con- tinue to bring in players both from high school, the portal and internationally. Competitors are welcome at Crisler. "We don't have a plan, per se, that we're going to do this or do that," the Michigan coach said on a podcast appearance late in the season. "We've always had the motto that we're going to get the best players that fit us and that we'll enjoy coaching, that will embrace the way we do things and could be prep school, transfers, D-II transfers, whatever the case. We're just trying to find the right fit." May said freshmen being "physically mature" is more key nowadays. They have to be able to compete with the older play- ers on the opposing rosters, and Michigan landed guys that fit that mold in guards Trey McKenney and Winters Grady and forward Oscar Goodman. Unlike Pitino, May and Co. are in this for the long haul. They're in it for the right reasons, including building lifelong re- lationships with players they work with for multiple years. But they're also going to bring in one-year players with the tal- ent to raise the team's ceiling and make sure those teams return to Ann Arbor on a regular basis to reminisce on champion- ships. ❏ SAYFIE BLITZ ❱ CLAYTON SAYFIE Returnees Are Additions, Too Graduate guard Nimari Burnett started in all 37 games Michigan played last season and led the Wolverines in three-pointers made (65) and accuracy from long distance (40 percent). PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Staff writer Clayton Sayfie has covered Michigan athletics for The Wolverine since 2019. Contact him at Clayton.Sayfie @on3.com and follow him on X (Twitter) @CSayf23.