After an offseason of wondering if Roddy Gayle Jr. had another season of Michigan basketball eligibility, he was on hand for the Wolverines’ 87-62 exhibition win over Eastern Michigan.
Just one problem, though: He never took off his warmup outfit, spending his entire afternoon on Sunday, Oct. 11, on the Crisler Center bench. The reason? Some suspect wording on last month's New York court ruling ostensibly giving him a fifth year of NCAA participation.
“All this stuff is fairly nuanced,” coach Mike Boynton Jr. said while explaining why Kenny Noland, a transfer from Columbia who also won a fifth year through the courts, was cleared to play but Gayle was not. “His injunction order didn’t address his participation in [NBA] Summer League. Simple as that.
“There needs to be an amendment added to the injunction that says, ‘This includes not having anything to do with his participation in Summer League,’ which we hope will be in the next couple days.”
The hope for Gayle, who spent a couple weeks on the Detroit Pistons' Las Vegas Summer League squad but did not sign an Exhibit 10 contract, is to be able to play in U-M's next exhibition, against Oregon State (led by former Michigan assistant Justin Joyner) on Friday (7 p.m., B1G+).
Gayle is one of dozens of players across the country who took the NCAA to court to gain eligibility under its adopted-in-June "five-in-five" rule, which states players may play five years of college athletics beginning immediately after high school or they turn 19, whichever comes first.
Still, even without court time, Gayle has been a vocal leader during practice and a stabilizing force on the bench, according to teammate J.P. Estrella.
"It's great having that veteran leader back," the Tennessee transfer said after he scored 14 points Sunday. "He's a guy that made a huge impact last year, and he's already making a huge impact already this year in practice. Just talking, just telling us little things, even on the bench today in the huddles.
"He really has a big voice in this group, which is super beneficial because we need that out of him − just his overall game is really good. I mean, we're gonna be really good if we get him [back and] get this thing rolling."
Gayle played in 39 of U-M's 40 games last season, averaging 7.3 points, 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists in 21.1 minutes per game. He played in 146 games across his career, starting 72 games (including 25 for U-M in 2025-26).
Michigan is thin on the wing after freshman Brandon McCoy Jr. was lost for the season to an ACL injury. Without the McDonald's All-American or Gayle, the Wolverines would be relying on a combination of Ricky Liburd (who redshirted last year), Oscar Goodman (who more naturally fits as a four) and freshmen Quinn Costello, Malachi Brown and Joseph Hartmann.
Even with the uncertainty, Michigan is working as though it will have Gayle for a third season in Ann Arbor (after he spent his first two years with Ohio State).
"There's a there's an aspect of of this that's new for everybody, right?," Boynton said last week at the Big Ten's basketball media days. "This is sort of uncharted territory. Right now, he's eligible. We're functioning as if he's eligible. ... We feel like he's got a strong case. We're excited about the opportunity and the things that he adds to our team, and we look forward to moving forward with the information we have in front of us."
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Why Roddy Gayle Jr. didn't play in Michigan basketball exhibition
