The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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10 THE WOLVERINE ❱ MAY 2026 ❱ INSIDE MICHIGAN ATHLETICS Second-year guard L.J. Cason blew out his knee in a Feb. 27 game at Illinois in which he'd been playing well, but waited until April 9 to undergo ACL surgery so he could provide support to his teammates from the bench during their postseason run. Cason talks about his injury, his plans, and more in this Q&A. The Wolverine: You were still able to walk after getting hurt and even tried to play. How hard was it to watch? L.J. Cason: "I can walk, I can jump … I just can't move side to side. Yeah, [it definitely hurt] since I wanted to participate. I was just happy to be with my brothers, just cheering them on. No matter how my situ- ation is going, I'm just trying to give my all to them and just trying to give as much as I can to help them win a championship." The Wolverine: "Talk about the support the guys gave you, wearing your jersey in warmups, everything else. Cason: "It allows me to cherish the mo- ment, lets me reminisce on all the things we did. Vegas, Illinois, the Big Ten champion- ship. It's just what we've done … "All the staff, Coach Dusty [May], all the staff, all my teammates. As you see, they all support me, wearing my jersey, all this type of stuff. Everyone, my whole community around me, has been grabbing me and just pushing me towards the sun. Obviously, it sucks the way I went out, but I think it happened for a reason." The Wolverine: Why did you decide to redshirt next year and wait on the surgery? Cason: "I think I just wanted to come back as myself. Rushing [could mean] com- ing back not even as good as I was before I left. My goal is to come back way better … physically, mentally, and all the rest." The Wolverine: You were originally com- mitted as a recruit to Dusty May at Florida Atlantic. You're pretty happy with the way it turned out, even with your injury? Cason: "It worked out extremely well. I wouldn't be here without him. I think we trusted him wholeheartedly. If he tells us to run through a wall, we would. He does everything out of a pure heart, and he would never put us in a bad situation." The Wolverine: What does it mean to you to be a national champion? Cason: "It means everything. Twenty years from now, we're going to be able to come back and celebrate it … talk about not just the moments we've had, but the success we've had, as well — the cham- pionships, the banners. We'll have some- thing to show for it. It means everything." — Chris Balas Cason waited until after the NCAA Tournament to undergo ACL surgery so he would be able to support his teammates from the bench. PHOTO BY LON HORWEDEL Michigan basketball has two national championship-winning head coaches: Steve Fisher (1989) and Dusty May (2026). Titles came quickly for each of them, with Fisher taking over the job just before the NCAA Tournament in the wake of Bill Frieder's firing and May cutting down nets in his second season on the job. The story of Fisher and the 1989 team is one of the most unique in the history of the sport. In the 37 years since that title, only one coach won a championship in their first year at a school — Tubby Smith at Kentucky in 1998. May joined UConn's Kevin Ollie (2014) as head coaches to win it all in their second season at a school during that timeframe. Comparing coaching records typically requires a lot of context. Sample size, situations outside of a coach's control, such as the shape in which they found the program, and the landscape of the sport at that time are important factors. However, the numbers can still paint a picture, and say that May is off to a better start than any other head coach in Michigan history. All time, no Michigan coach has a better winning percentage than May (.831), who has a 64-13 record in two seasons in Ann Arbor, after going 126-69 (.646) in six seasons at Florida Atlantic. The second-highest is George Veenker (.745; 1928-31). May's 64 wins are tied for the most in a coach's first two seasons at a college basketball program with John Calipari at Kentucky from 2009-11. That number is by far the most by a Michigan coach in his first two years, with Juwan Howard's 42 standing second. It's important to note that in Howard's second sea- son, due to the pandemic, Big Ten teams were limited to five noncon- ference games, and the Wolverines missed conference contests, too. Still, May 's .831 winning per- centage is the highest among any Michigan coach in his first two sea- sons, ahead of Howard (.712), Ozzie Cowles (.667), E.J. Mather (.622), Fisher (.617), Ernie McCoy (.605) and others. — Clayton Sayfie Coach First Two Years Wins Losses Win % Dusty May 2024-26 64 13 0.831 George Veenker 1928-30 22 8 0.733 Juwan Howard 2019-21 42 17 0.712 Ozzie Cowles 1946-48 28 14 0.667 E.J. Mather 1919-21 28 17 0.622 Steve Fisher* 1989-91 37 23 0.617 Ernie McCoy 1948-50 26 17 0.605 Cappy Cappon 1931-33 21 14 0.600 Bennie Oosterbaan 1938-40 24 16 0.600 Elmer Mitchell 1917-19 22 20 0.524 Brian Ellerbe 1997-99 37 28 0.569 Johnny Orr 1968-70 23 25 0.479 Tommy Amaker 2001-03 28 31 0.475 John Beilein 2007-09 31 36 0.463 Bill Frieder 1980-82 26 31 0.456 Bill Perigo 1952-54 15 29 0.341 Dave Strack 1960-62 13 35 0.271 *Steve Fisher went 6-0 to end the 1988-89 season after taking over as head coach, but his first two full campaigns at U-M are what's shown above. Dusty May Leads Michigan To Title In Year 2 ❱ Sitting Down With Michigan Basketball Sophomore Guard L.J. Cason