45. VCU Rams

46. Dayton Flyers

47. St Mary’s Gaels

48. Washington Huskies

49. UCF Knights

50. Louisville Cardinals

51. Boise State Broncos

52. Clemson Tigers

53. New Mexico Lobos

54. Arizona State Sun Devils

55. Utah State Aggies

56. Colorado State Rams

57. Seton Hall Pirates

58. SMU Mustangs

59. South Carolina Gamecocks

60. Nevada Wolfpack

61. TCU Horned Frogs

62. Villanova Wildcats

63. Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets

64. Saint Louis Billikens

65. Syracuse Orange

66. Nebraska Cornhuskers

67. Pittsburgh Panthers

68. Iowa Hawkeyes

69. NC State Wolfpack

70. Butler Bulldogs

71. Princeton Tigers

72. Virginia Cavaliers

73. Saint Joseph’s Hawks

74. Oklahoma Sooners

75. West Virginia Mountaineers

76. Georgia Bulldogs

77. UAB Blazers

78: Wisconsin Badgers

79. San Diego State Aztecs

80. Missouri Tigers

81. Northwestern Wildcats

82. Loyola Chicago Ramblers

Welcome back to another edition of our 82 in 72 countdown! If you missed it, we just finished up two Atlantic 10 previews on Dayton and VCU who came in at #46 and #45 in our preseason rankings! At #45, we go back to the Big Ten and take a gander at Dusty May and what he is cooking up in Ann Arbor for the Michigan Wolverines!

Steven	Maxwell	Kam	Cody
52	31	56	51

Without spending too many words on Michigan’s last few years under Juwan Howard, Dusty May’s hiring brings much needed energy and invigoration to a Michigan basketball program that I believe has juice to squeeze this season. May possesses a proven track record from his six seasons at the helm at FAU, guiding the Owls to the Final Four and through conference realignment while posting winning records every season. 

While May enters his first season with Michigan, he brings plenty of other first-timers(eleven total!) to Ann Arbor as well, none more notable than former FAU big man Vladislav Goldin, an anchor down low who has been amongst the best bigs in college basketball over the last couple seasons. Goldin is a tribute to the post game of old, he can turn over both shoulders and displays a variety of post moves while protecting the rim at the other end. 

Along with Goldin, Michigan also brings in one of my favorite transfers from this most recent cycle from Ohio State, Roddy Gayle Jr., who I expect to lead the Wolverines in scoring(if not Goldin). RGJ averaged a shade under 14 points per game last season for the Buckeyes and is a proven scorer in the Big Ten. Gayle Jr. is effective at the rim with his 6’5″, 210 lb frame and can fill it up with the jumper as well. 

With RGJ and Goldin, the Wolverines brought in two high-level starters, but Dusty May was also able to secure the services of other impact transfers that could start for the maize and blue, namely Tre Donaldson and Rubin Jones. Both Donaldson and Jones will have the chance to start alongside Roddy Gayle Jr and returning wing Nirmari Burnett who started all 32 games for the Wolverines last season. Donaldson and Jones are both interesting cases, Donaldson showed plenty of skill last season at Auburn but was bogged down by a platoon of guards whom needed playing time and Jones, who is North Texas’s all time winningest player, struggled with injuries last season after helping North Texas win the NIT the year prior. Judging by what we know at the present time, I would expect the Wolverines starting backcourt to be Tre Donaldson-Roddy Gayle Jr.-Nimari Burnett heading into the 2024-2025 season.

Will Tschetter, CHEDDAR!, who was a fan favorite and the Wolverines sixth-man last season likely slides in at the final starting spot for Michigan this season. When you watch Will Tschetter, his energy, effort and scoring ability make you gravitate towards him as a fan. Tschetter is a Dusty May type of player, and that pairing is poetry. 

Even with the outlined starting five above, Michigan will still be looking for minutes to get Danny Wolf on the court. Wolf is one of the top players, maybe the best player, on this roster but likely finds himself coming off the bench behind the Goldin-Tschetter pairing in the frontcourt. Wolf, a transfer from Yale was first team All-Ivy league last season while also claiming Ivy league tournament MVP honors. Wolf is a high-IQ big, who like many Dusty May big men before him, can score from almost anywhere on the floor. With Wolf, Michigan has three skilled, proven pieces in their frontcourt.

Dusty May has ammunition in his first season in Ann Arbor, and might be extending the clip if any freshman can contribute right away, which is almost a guarantee. Justin Pippen, son of Scottie Pippen, is a top 100 recruit who like his brother is a versatile combo guard with a well-rounded game. Phat Phat Brooks was Michigan Mr. Basketball last year and is a strong guard who plays at the rim and doesn’t shy away from physicality. L.J. Cason, a defensively gifted guard from Florida, can play lead guard and shouldn’t struggle with the jump to division one competition. Dusty May brought in three very intriguing backcourt freshmen, and all three could see minutes this season… I am higher on the Wolverines compared to my colleagues and there are plenty of reasons why…Dusty May is a proven winner and has yet to post a losing season in his career, Vladislav Goldin-Will Tschetter-Danny Wolf is a formidable frontcourt with plenty of scoring prowess, Roddy Gayle Jr. is one of the top offensive players in the Big Ten and Michigan’s lead guard pool is deep, talented, and has youth along with experience. I am drinking the juice in Ann Arbor this season, probably with Dusty May at The Rabbit Hole…cheers Michigan faithful!