The Michigan Wolverines’ historic season will continue for at least another week, as Dusty May and company took down Saint Louis in the Round of 32 on Saturday afternoon to advance to the Sweet Sixteen in Chicago. Yaxel Lendeborg had a team-high 25 points, and Aday Mara added 16 points, five rebounds, five assists and four blocks. Morez Johnson Jr. had 15 points and eight rebounds, while Elliot Cadeau had 12 points and eight assists.
These four guys — who all played at a different school last season
— have led the Wolverines all year long. There were no guarantees their games would fit together when they were brought in last offseason, but head coach Dusty May clearly had a vision for how all the pieces would work together.
So far so good, as they are one win away from breaking the program record (33) for the most amount of wins in a season (2017-18 team that went to the National Championship), two wins away from the Final Four, and three wins away from a National Championship appearance.
May has said time and time again this year they were very particular with the guys they wanted to bring in last offseason. It wasn’t just about getting the best possible players, it was more so about getting selfless players that mesh well on the court. Of course it helps that all four are very good players and were rated highly in the portal, but their chemistry — on and off the court — was just as important as anything else.
Saint Louis head coach Josh Schertz — who is very good friends with May — has seen this from afar. The two coaches shared practice film with each other throughout the year, so perhaps that’s where Schertz first noticed it. But he got a close up view of it on Saturday, and following the game, he complimented how May built this year’s roster, focusing on the individual and not just the best overall players in the transfer portal.
“Yeah, it’s an intelligently constructed roster,” Schertz said after the game. “You see, obviously Michigan has — a lot of those teams do — great NIL. But you see a lot of teams that are poorly constructed that pay a lot of money for their teams. Dusty’s teams, the pieces really fit well together.
“You’ve got Mara, who’s 7’3″, 7’4″, and he can score in the post. He’s a terrific passer, underratedly good passer. They can use him as the hub of the offense, like we use Robbie. He’s different, he doesn’t handle the ball like Robbie, but he’s so tall he can throw over the top. If you have a breakdown, he hits back cuts.
“Morez, what he does defensively and offensively, the post presence he provides, the rebounding, the physical toughness. Yax is obviously an NBA lottery pick, could have been that last year. He’s 6’9″ and can handle the ball, shoots 3s. Cadeau, his pick-and-roll play is as good as anybody in the country. He’s one of the best, I think, point guard passers in college basketball.
“And then they’ve got depth. (Trey) McKenney off the bench, the five-star kid, who’s terrific player. (Will) Tschetter is a terrific player, they come off — Roddy Gayle — they just have enough guys. They have depth. Their pieces fit together well. They put them in positions. When they’re shooting the ball like that, they’re really impossible to guard … When they shoot the ball like that, they shoot 50 percent from 3, they’ll be a tough out, not just for Saint Louis, but for anybody. You’ve got to make them play bad, and we weren’t able to make them play bad enough, but great players, great coaching. It’s a tough task for anybody.”
That balance, and the buy-in from the players, is exactly why Michigan is firmly in the national title conversation as it heads to the Sweet Sixteen. If the Wolverines continue to play to their identity, this “intelligently constructed” roster will be a really tough out for any team that stands in their way this March.
