It was a blur for everybody involved in the Michigan basketball program that Monday in late June when news broke Dusty May was going to leave the Wolverines to take over the Dallas Mavericks.
U-M had lost a ton of experience from the national championship team from a few months prior − six of nine rotational players were out of the picture, as three players were taken in the top 15 of the NBA Draft and three other players had exhausted their eligibility − but the two returning leaders never wavered.
Senior point guard Elliot Cadeau and sophomore shooting guard Trey McKenney both took almost immediate public stands that they wanted to remain in Ann Arbor. Speaking on Tuesday, August 18, just a few days before the team is set to head to Croatia
and Lithuania for a 10-day Europe trip with three exhibition games, Cadeau reflected on that "chaotic" time where he felt the rest of the team was "confused" and it was up to him and McKenney to hold it together.
"We felt like we were two of the leaders of the team, regardless of anything that happened," Cadeau said. "When that happened, we felt like we needed to make it known that we were staying and make it our first priority to try to keep everybody on the roster."
It was no question for Cadeau, who said that even though he'd only been in Ann Arbor for one year, he considers it home.
That's why despite the fact that there could have been other schools who would've likely gotten into a bidding war for a truly rare commodity − a senior point guard who was voted the Final Four's Most Outstanding Player − he never even considered leaving U-M.
"I feel like it's the best university in the world, so I just wanted to stay here," he said. "Coach Mike [Boynton Jr.] is somebody I'm comfortable with, somebody I played under already. So I just felt like it was the right choice."
It was similar for McKenney. Though he's just a sophomore, he's one of the more experienced players on the team, both on the court and within the program. The Wolverines had just added six freshmen in the class of 2026 and a trio of transfers in Moustapha Thiam (Cincinnati), J.P Estrella (Tennessee) and Jalen Reed (LSU).
May's departure came on the day U-M was expected to start its summer session, and there was confusion from the top to the bottom of the roster. He remembers seeing how nervous a lot of his new teammates were, who had just arrived a few days prior to the change.
But after he met with U-M coaches and leaders and was assured it was going to be Boynton who took over the program, he felt comfortable to sell the vision to his teammates: that this group was one that could compete at the top of the country, and that won't change even with a head coaching switch.
"He was the guy in the program that you know had that head coaching experience and he knew how Michigan basketball rolls," McKenney said. "We knew that we wanted coach Boyton for the job because he does a lot for this program, and he did a lot last year and we we all trusted him, so we thought he was the guy.
"He had such an imprint on our team last year, and he has done a lot of amazing things with our defense and just us off the court, as well. I mean, he's a super personable person."
The Wolverines ultimately survived the turmoil with only one player, L.J. Cason (Miami), leaving the program. The Wolverines held on to 13 of 14 scholarship players and have recently gone through summer practices ahead of their upcoming overseas trip.
Last season, coaches and players to a man said the group was perhaps the closest-knit team any had ever been a part of. It became clear that was key to the success that followed on the court in what ended as the greatest season in program history.
The seeds for a new foundation have already been planted in the summer. The hope is they will be watered and nurtured later this month with a multi-week trip overseas.
There's significant optimism for the 2026-27 season, but it easily could have gone differently had McKenney and Cadeau not held onto the metaphorical rope to keep the group together. For Boynton, in Year 1 of a prove-it deal as head coach, that's a wonderful start.
"Those guys know what it's like to to be a champion here at Michigan and that being at Michigan was a big deal to them," Boynton said of his returning backcourt. "They led the charge with the message of like, 'We believe we're a good team if we all stay together,' and I'm certainly thankful that they they wanted to help do that, and glad that most everybody decided to honor that.
"It's a great thing. It shows the power of our brand and where our program is right now, the health of it, and the momentum that we have currently and that we hope to continue."
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines 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 chaotic summer proved Michigan basketball will be led by backcourt
