Dusty May explains why Michigan's three returners fit well in Ann Arbor
Michigan basketball's first summer practice is less than a week away, and new head coach Dusty May will soon hold his first practice as the leader of the Wolverines. It is an interesting group of players in Ann Arbor after an eventful offseason, and Michigan will need every minute of corporate practice it can get before the season starts.
The roster currently consists of three returning players (Will Tschetter, Nimari Burnett and Jace Howard), six transfers (Tre Donaldson, Rubin Jones, Sam Walters, Vlad Goldin, Roddy Gayle Jr. and Danny Wolf) and three incoming freshmen (Durral Brooks, Lorenzo Cason and Justin Pippen).
All six incoming transfers have received plenty of hype and discussion since their respective commitments to the Wolverines, but what about Tschetter, Burnett and Howard, the three returners? After all, Tschetter and Howard are far and away the two longest-tenured players on the team, and Howard was on the roster when Michigan made its run to the Elite Eight in 2021.
Each of the three players had opportunities to explore their options via the Transfer Portal like many of their former teammates did, but they chose to stay at Michigan. Not only that, but May and the staff could easily have given all three a firm handshake and wished them luck in their future endeavors.
But they are all back in Ann Arbor, and May joined Michigan basketball play-by-play announcer Brian Boesch on this week's episode of the 'Defend the Block' Podcast to discuss why Tschetter, Burnett and Howard all ultimately stayed in Ann Arbor.
"The three that stayed, I think my first question to all of them, or one of my first questions would've been, 'Would you choose to attend Michigan if you didn't play ball?' And all of them said, without any hesitation, '100 percent. Absolutely.' They all love it here," May said. "And so, when you have something that brings us together, it's something bigger than ourselves, and that's the, I guess, the association with this Block 'M.'"
May's remarks should not come as a shock to any Michigan basketball fan.
It has been well documented that Tschetter is a vigorous scholar, and he has proved that by graduating from Michigan with a Bachelor's Degree in Earth and Environmental Science in just three years.
Howard, whose father is Juwan, the former Fab Five member, has shown great pride in carrying on the family legacy of wearing the maize and blue.
Burnett was highly interested in Michigan coming out of high school, and after bouncing around between Texas Tech and Alabama, he is entering his second season in Ann Arbor as one of only two players who played in all 32 games for the Wolverines last season.
"It was comforting to me knowing that those guys took a lot of pride in this place and wanted to leave here on a winning note and with a legacy," May said.
"And it was difficult at first because I couldn't tell them what their roles were going to be. I couldn't tell them what I projected as far as minutes or anything, because everything was so different and so new and I needed to get to know them, but I know this: I enjoyed spending time with all of them."
"Will, Nimari and Jace, they're all guys that you could leave at your house for a month and have no concern that they're throwing a Project X party or anything. They're great guys that represent this place well, and we're very, very gracious that they stayed, because they're going to help us and hopefully hang a banner on their way out."
---
Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards
Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer
Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @Jerry_Diorio
Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify
Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube
Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram