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‘A mature group’: Here’s what Michigan basketball is getting in its six transfers

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7 months ago

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‘A mature group’: Here’s what Michigan basketball is getting in its six transfers

Dusty May’s plan was to cast a wide net in the transfer portal to rebuild the depleted roster he inherited at Michigan.

He did just that in his first month on the job, reeling in two players from the SEC, another from a Big Ten rival, a pair of all-conference centers from non-Power Five schools and a fifth-year perimeter piece from a mid-major.

By the end of it, May landed six players from four different leagues who fit his vision and preferred an up-tempo style of play.

“We do feel like we have a group that complements each other,” May said earlier this month. “We have a stockpile of the same type of players. I think a lot of guys on our roster make those around them better, and that’s ultimately what we’re all looking for — guys who make their teammates better and impact winning.”

That last part, according to assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr., is what May targeted the most. May wanted to recruit transfers who had success at their previous stops, whether it was winning conference titles or playing in the NCAA Tournament.

For starters, take North Texas grad transfer guard Rubin Jones, who May faced numerous times during his tenure at Florida Atlantic. Jones ended his four-year career with the Mean Green with 93 wins, the most of any player in program history.

“When you talk about that, there’s a certain level of expectation that he’s going to have on himself. Winning is not going to be foreign to him,” Boynton said. “He’s a guy that we know will have a great impact on our team.”

Last season, the 6-foot-5 Jones served as a playmaker and initiator for North Texas. He averaged 12.1 points, 3.7 assists and 3.6 rebounds — all career-high marks — but his shooting numbers were better from beyond the arc (41.6%) than inside it (38.4%).

The one thing that doesn’t show up in the stat sheet is Jones’ toughness. May called Jones the “most impactful guard” and best perimeter defender in the AAC, even though he played half of last season with a hamstring injury.

“He is a throwback player, where he doesn’t care about anything other than winning,” May said. “He’s got a great IQ with his self-awareness, his ability to adapt to whatever team he’s on and be a chameleon. If you need defense, it’s time to guard. If you need shooting, he’s an effective 3-point shooter.

“He’s played the point guard. He’s played (at wing). He’s another guy we’re able to slide up or down and use him in a lot of different ways. We’d like to have two point guards on the court at all times for decision-making, so it’s more difficult for the defense to take away the head of the snake.”

Speaking of which, point guard was one of the two positions May wanted to lock down first. When talking with his staff and reflecting on the best teams they’ve had, they all usually started with a pass-first guard.

But more than just a willing passer, the Wolverines were looking for someone who could shoot off the dribble, shoot off ball screens and be a capable defender. Auburn transfer Tre Donaldson fit the bill.

“We talk about the Big Ten and he’s a big guard,” said assistant coach Akeem Miskdeen, who scouted Donaldson the past two years when he was on Georgia’s staff. “He’s tough, physical. He makes the right reads. That’s important as a point guard. And when he’s open, we feel confident that he can make shots. He’s going to be surrounded by some guys that make shots, so I expect Tre to average a high assist number.”

Donaldson split point-guard duties at Auburn with Aden Holloway, a McDonald’s All-America, but was effective in his role. He ranked fourth in the SEC in both assist/turnover ratio (2.44) and assist rate (48%) for a team that finished second in the league standings and won the conference tournament.

Those figures indicate Donaldson is someone who values taking care of the ball and can get it to the players who need to score. They also matter more than the 6.7 points he averaged in 19.3 minutes per game.

“We felt like the ball came out of his hands at the right time, whether it’s hitting the roll or spreading out for a 3,” May said.

“When we plugged in his numbers in a typical game, meaning a 28- or 29-minute game, he was very efficient, and his numbers were very conducive to winning.”

The other position May wanted to secure early on during the roster reconstruction was center. But instead of bringing in one quality big man, he brought in two: Florida Atlantic’s Vlad Goldin and Yale’s Danny Wolf.

Goldin, who’s been to a Final Four, started for May the past three seasons and his production improved each year. The 7-foot-1, 240-pounder shot 67.3% from the floor and averaged 15.7 points, 6.9 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 25 minutes per game last year.

When it comes to the top centers in the country, assistant coach Justin Joyner said Goldin, a native of Russia, is in the top five. The fact that he’s had success under May and has familiarity with a lot of the staff is a plus.

“He’s a guy that can come in and lead,” Joyner said. “I think it can be tricky for foreign guys to be leaders in the locker room all the time, but he’s going to lead by example, he’s going to lead by doing his job and doing it the best he can.

“He’s obviously a good offensive player. He’s got great touch around the rim. He can score with his back to the basket. He can score on rolls, drop-offs, so he’s good there.”

Joyner added one area that might get overlooked in Goldin’s game is his decision-making as a passer out of the post and in short-roll situations.

On the other end, Goldin figures to anchor the defense, where he can be counted on to use his “great voice” to call out coverages, execute his assignments and alter shots at the rim.

“I think that (center) position is an important position in college basketball from a defensive standpoint,” Joyner said. “Where the game is at currently, it’s a heavy pick-and-roll game. They’re going to pull your (center) away from the rim. They’re going to put your (center) in pick-and-rolls. You’ve got to be really experienced at that position, and Vlad gives us that.”

So does Wolf, a fellow 7-footer who started on a Yale team that won the Ivy League tournament and upset Auburn in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

 A first-team All-Ivy League selection, Wolf led the Bulldogs in scoring (14.1 points) and rebounding (9.7) while averaging 30.8 minutes per game and shooting 34.5% from 3-point range on 84 attempts.

May said he envisions playing Goldin and Wolf together for “significant” minutes, given Wolf’s ability to stretch the floor and “create gravity away from the rim,” as Joyner put it.

But May also plans to play Wolf at center when Goldin is on the bench, which will allow the Wolverines to play a “stylistically different brand” of basketball. While Goldin is more of a throwback center, Wolf is a modern-day big who can give Michigan a five-out lineup.

“He’s a very good 3-point shooter for a 7-footer,” May said. “He dribbles the ball well. He handles the ball like a guard. He passes it. (Yale) played through him offensively. That’s how we used our backup center last year. We’re very well-versed in that style of play.

“He fit us offensively and the question was does he fit defensively with another 7-footer. After watching Danny, we felt like he moves his feet well. He’s got good mobility for a 7-footer.”

Another big piece is 6-10 Sam Walters, who played a reserve role as a freshman at Alabama. May said some coaches at Alabama are close with members on Michigan’s staff and they let them know they thought Walters would be a good fit.

The Wolverines want to shoot a lot of 3-pointers next season and that’s what Walters does. The lefty shot 39.4% from 3-point range and two-thirds of his total field-goal attempts came from deep (99 out of 150).

“Sharpshooter deluxe. He’s a guy who not only can shoot but is willing to shoot it,” Boynton said. “He played on a team that went to the Final Four for a great coach (Nate Oats) who had a similar philosophy. The style of play was intriguing to him because he saw a lot of similarities in the way we’ll play versus how he was able to have success in a smaller role on a good team.”

The plan is for Walters to put on 10-15 more pounds this offseason to better handle contact and finish through it. The next step of his development is to make plays off the dribble and off of shot fakes when opponents try to take away the 3-pointer, which will help him become a more well-rounded offensive threat.

“He’s got tremendous confidence in himself,” Boynton said. “He’s another guy that we can see his best basketball is still out in front of him. He hasn’t peaked close to it.”

The same could be said of guard Roddy Gayle Jr., who averaged 13.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 30.9 minutes last season at Ohio State.

Boynton acknowledged Gayle will have a target on his back after leaving the Buckeyes for the Wolverines, but he expects him to embrace it. He also described Gayle as a “guy who’s right on the cusp of breaking through to being more nationally well known.”

While Gayle’s 3-point percentage dipped — from 42.9% as a freshman to 28.4% as a sophomore — Michigan’s staff believes his mechanics are fine and he’s a better shooter than those numbers indicate.

Where he excels is getting into the lane, drawing fouls and earning free throws, where he’s an 82.9% career shooter. Getting to the charity stripe is one thing May’s FAU teams struggled at during his first couple of years and he learned he had to recruit players who could do that “organically.”

“That was the thing that excites me, his ability to get downhill,” May said. “He runs in transition. He plays off the pick-and-roll well. He’s very efficient playing off the pick-and-roll as a passer. He doesn’t overdribble.

“I believe in his jump shot. I know he didn’t shoot a great percentage last year, but I think he’s a much better shooter than that. When you watched him in transition, when he had a clean look, he knocked it down a very good percentage of the time. We are excited about him on a number of levels. … I think he’s a special guy.”

Gayle has proven he can perform at the Big Ten level. Michigan’s coaches are confident the other five transfers — Donaldson, Goldin, Jones, Walters and Wolf — will do the same.

Together, they form a sextet that’s willing to sacrifice, share responsibilities and do whatever it takes to find a way to win.

“It’s a mature group,” assistant coach/general manager Kyle Church said. “All the guys we brought out of the portal have come from winning programs and won at a high level. … I think we targeted the right guys. I think it’s a group that really fits together. They all bring a unique skill set. They can all play a couple of different positions.

“At the end of the day, it all looks good on paper until you get everybody in the gym working together. That’s where we’ll really see how good of a job we did this spring.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

@jamesbhawkins

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