Following a season-ending knee injury to guard L.J. Cason, the Michigan Wolverines are forced to revamp the rotation and adjust to new lineups as the postseason quickly approaches. With two games remaining in the regular season, Michigan will have an opportunity to get accustomed to life without Cason before the Big Ten Tournament tips off for it next Friday afternoon.
“We have enough to overcome what L.J. brought to the team,” Michigan head coach Dusty May told the media on Monday. “We’re losing
a lot with L.J. playing as well as he was, but this is an opportunity for other guys to do a little bit more. They’re more than capable. It’s on us to find the right rotations and situations, but without a doubt, we have a lot of confidence in our roster.”
With Cason sidelined, the Wolverines are expected to lean on a series of other players to increase their playing time and play out of position at times. Michigan has plenty of talented and versatile players that have the ability to fill in for Cason and replicate his production, but that’s certainly easier said than done.
Cason being out the rest of the season leaves Elliot Cadeau as the only true point guard in the rotation. Being without a bonafide backup means that Yaxel Lendeborg, Roddy Gayle Jr., Trey McKenney and Nimari Burnett will have to take on more ball-handling responsibilities when Cadeau is off the floor, which will have a ripple effect on the entire team.
“This will force Elliot to be much more solid with his defensive decision-making when it comes to fouling,” May said. “He doesn’t have that insurance policy named L.J. behind him anymore, because L.J. came in and carried the load in several games for our group. That’s not there anymore, but this is a great opportunity for Roddy, Trey and Nimari to play even more.”
Cadeau will likely see his playing time increase, which shouldn’t be an issue in most games. However, the security blanket of having Cason on the bench is no longer there. We’ve seen Cadeau look like one of the best point guards in the Big Ten at times, but he can also be inconsistent, so the Wolverines will need him to be more reliable and stay out of foul trouble in order to stay on the floor.
Lendeborg has shown flashes of playing essentially every position, but he’s not accustomed to bringing the ball up the court and getting the offense going on a consistent basis. Even though Gayle, McKenney and Burnett have solid ball-handling skills, they are normally off-ball guards, so expanding their responsibility could come with growing pains.
“Those guys are really good players. We look at this as another challenge, but also an opportunity for guys to play a little bit more, play longer periods, play through a mistake and play a different role,” May said. “We do feel like all of those guys are a lot better than they were earlier in the year, and so we’ll be prepared to handle whatever comes at us.”
The coaching staff has instilled confidence in Lendeborg, Gayle, McKenney and Burnett to initiate the offense if necessary, but there will likely be an adjustment period because that’s not what they have done much of, if at all, this season. McKenney could be leaned on more than ever to not only create shots for himself, but distribute to others as well.
“Trey can take over minutes with the ball in his hands,” May said. “He’s proven that time and time again. He’s done it in practice, so we’re confident in him. Trey is a hell of a player. He’s good with or without the ball in his hands, and he’s continuing to improve. We’re confident in him and Nimari, who also played the point guard the year before we got here.”
There’s no doubt Michigan should still be considered one of the favorites to win the national championship with the NCAA Tournament just two weeks away, but losing Cason is a tough blow that will lead to an adjustment period. It’s helpful there are two games left for the team to work out the kinks and figure out which rotations work best moving forward.
