Michigan head basketball coach Dusty May spoke with the media for more than 20 minutes on Monday morning after getting a big win, albeit in an exhibition, over St. John's at Madison Square Garden.
Michigan head coach Dusty May seems to be walking around pretty confidently these days, and as the head man of a top-ten program, he should be. May's Wolverines are widely viewed as a top 10 to top 5 program and, after seeing them win against another top 5 type of program in St. John's it's all understandable. It was only an exhibition, so it won't count for either team's official record, but energy was high, intensity was present and some high-level basketball was played.
"We certainly accomplished what we wanted to accomplish in the exhibition games," May said. "So now all attention points towards a good week of practice and being a better basketball team for our own fans against Oakland next week."
The Wolverines won 96-94 in overtime in the exhibition on Saturday evening and gave May a lot to look at and talk about.
"I thought their care factor for doing the right thing was extremely high across the board."
This did seem pretty apparent. At times against Cincinnati, inside Crisler mind you, the energy level seemed a bit down and things just felt disjointed. Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara were both out, and that probably led to the strange lineups and lack of chemistry, but something did feel absent.
Against St. John's at Madison Square Garden, that look and feel was gone. Even though it was an exhibition, it was two top-ten teams battling and with May and a legend like Rick Pitino on the sidelines, there was some high-level coaching going on. Those teams wanted to win and it was obvious. Overtime was needed to crown a winner so it became apparent to everyone that it was a solid win, even if it was a glorified practice.
"If Elliot [Cadeau] can become an elite defensive rebounder, then we're going to be an elite transition team, because he has some real gifts in that area and ability to make his teammates better."
This is such an intriguing development with a talent like Cadeau, in May's system, with highly athletic wing players and scorers all around. Michigan's bigs can also run, which could and should lead to a lot of easy baskets.
May admitted that crashing the glass isn't something that comes naturally to Cadeau, so it's being ingrained in him through drills, film study and repetitive coaching in order to take that part of the game to another level. If Cadeau can grab the rebound and initiate the break, it skips the outlet pass step and gets Michigan into transition that much faster. That's big with guys like Yaxel Lendeborg, Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle flanking the speedy point guard. Throw in hustling bigs like Johnson, Mara and especially Will Tschetter, and you have the makings for a very effective fast breaking team...and May knows it.
"I'm not confident that [the turnovers] are just going to get worked out. We don't have any pixie dust to sprinkle over, so we've all got to be much more intentional about passing and catching, about giving the ball space."
Of course, with pace comes turnovers. More possessions means more opportunities to score points, but it also gives ball handlers and everyone else more chances to lose the ball. Michigan's turnover numbers were high under May last year, and they seem to be elevated through two exhibition games this year as well.
Cadeau has a knack for making the tough and unexpected play, but sometimes that results in a turnover. Coach May isn't worried about that right now, but it's clearly something they will be working on moving forward.
"It's like the old Vegas Vacation [movie] when Chevy Chase; there's a hole in the dam and he plugs it with a piece of gum, and then another one sprouts up, and then another one sprouts up. That's kind of how coaching basketball is at times. When you fix something and you feel pretty good about it, and then because, typically, your opponent's pretty damn good, they expose another weakness."
I love the movie reference, but I love the self reflection even more. May knows how good this team can be, so he's going to be a stickler when it comes to fixing deficiencies and playing clean basketball.
It's obviously very, very early, with no real games even in the books yet, but May should be feeling like only his own team can beat his own team. If Michigan plays clean games, they are going to be extremely tough to beat. You can already see that this Wolverines team has the talent and depth to beat any team in the country.
"The moment [Morez Johnson Jr.] set foot back in practice, the intensity in our gym was elevated exponentially."
People should be really excited about what Johnson brings to the table. For the Pistons fans in the house, think about infamous hustle guys like Jerome "Junkyard Dog" Williams, Ben Wallace and Dennis Rodman. I'm not saying Johnson is going to win NBA DPOY awards or rebound titles, but he has some their DNA.
He's big, strong, physical and full of energy. He's going to rebound, dive for loose balls, protect the paint and run the floor. Those kinds of guys are invaluable on a team and can truly make the difference between winning and losing close games. He also happens to be pretty solid on offense and can definitely finish around and above the rim. He's working hard to get back to 100% and once he's there, he's going to be tough to keep off the floor and he's going to be a fan favorite.