Michigan head basketball coach Dusty May held a joint zoom call with Oakland head coach Greg Kampe on Thursday afternoon to discuss the upcoming exhibition game between the two schools at Little Caesars Arena on Sunday night.
As expected, the lion's share of the questions were directed at May and Michigan, the more prominent program in the state. It will be the first chance the public gets to see the overhauled Michigan basketball program.
When asked why May chose to play Oakland in an exhibition duel, the head coach said he just wants to see his team on the floor against a real opponent.
Michigan looking forward to 'establishing our identity'
With 11 newcomers on the roster, Michigan hasn't had an opportunity outside of practice to become cohesive on the court. On Sunday, that will change when the Wolverines face Oakland, which appeared in last year's NCAA Tournament Round of 32.
"We're excited to see our team play," May said. "Obviously Oakland, the success, the history and tradition that Coach Kampe's built there. They play a different style, which will prepare us for, you know, Big Ten play, some of the teams in our league play zone. But more than anything else, just the more our guys can play together, the more beneficial it's going to be. We're a work in progress. We haven't had our roster together for practice because of injuries and illnesses and whatnot. ... So, me personally, I'm just excited to see our guys perform in front of the fans and also to start establishing our identity as a program."
A Michigan freshman will be held out
Michigan is almost completely healthy, as any basketball team should be heading into a long season. Freshman guard Justin Pippen is the only player that will miss the exhibition game. Pippen's injury is not serious, but instead it's a precautionary measure by the coaching staff in an attempt to keep everyone healthy deep into the season.
A few other unnamed players are dealing with "knick-knack" injuries, but it's nothing May is concerned about.
"Justin Pippen will be held out, and then we have a few others that are day-to-day. Fortunately, they're all just knick-knack injuries. I think most college players now, it seems like most teams are having these same issues. And because our season's so long, because our most meaningful games are in February, March, and hopefully April, that we're definitely not playing guys through minor injuries and we'd like for them to get back to being 100 percent."
How the backcourt rotation will look
May also provided some insight as to how the backcourt rotation will play out. He noted that Tre Donaldson, the Auburn transfer, is the team's primary ball-handler, with L.J. Cason earning backup duties in that regard.
He also views North Texas transfer Rubin Jones as an all-around player that can play in any type of situation.
"Tre's been our primary ball handler in practice, with L.J. Cason getting the secondary duties. ... Rubin's just a guy that you can kind of plug into any spot. He shot the ball really well. He's had a few minor injuries, so he doesn't have the volume that Tre does right now in practice, which hopefully throughout the season will be very beneficial. But Rubin's just a guy that I think we can plug and play in any situation — big lineups, small lineups — and then he'll be a playmaker.
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