Meet the 2024-25 Michigan basketball roster assembled by new coach Dusty May

Michigan basketball has just one available scholarship, signaling the program overhaul is essentially complete just 54 days since Juwan Howard was fired.

In that time, U-M AD Warde Manuel hired Dusty May as the program's 18th head coach. May then spent the past six weeks assembling a roster from the top down. The 47-year-old hired five assistant coaches, landed six transfers, held onto three former U-M players and convinced three freshmen to join the fold as well.

It's going to be almost an entirely new cast of characters, as key pieces such as Dug McDaniel, Tarris Reed Jr. and Terrance Williams II entered the transfer portal. But optimism is high for the Wolverines, who have summer and fall to jell before the 2024-25 season.

RAINER SABIN: Michigan and Dusty May clearly (and rapidly) moving in the right direction

Here's a look at the new-look Wolverines:

Coach Dusty May

Age: 47

Years coaching: 20

Previous stops: Assistant — Eastern Michigan (2005-06), Murray State (2006-07), UAB (2007-09), Louisiana Tech (2009-15), Florida (2015-18); Head coach — Florida Atlantic (2018-24).

The buzz: May got his start as a student manager under Bob Knight during his years at Indiana (1996-2000). After landing video jobs with Indiana and Southern Cal in the five years following his graduation, May started his coaching career in Ypsilanti as an assistant in 2005. From there, he climbed the ranks before reaching Florida in 2015. He parlayed that into a head coaching gig at FAU, where he never had a losing record in six seasons, finished with a 126–69 record and led the Owls to their first Final Four appearance (2023). On March 23, May signed a five-year contract with U-M, worth an average of $3.75 million per season.

PG Tre Donaldson

Vitals: Junior, 6 feet 2, 190 pounds.

From: Auburn.

The buzz: Donaldson played 35 games as a sophomore, averaging 6.7 points a game on 47.1% shooting (41.2% on 3-pointers). He also averaged 3.2 assists and just 1.3 turnovers in 19.1 minutes per game. He is widely expected to be the starting point guard. "He could shoot off ball screens, he could shoot off the catch, he was a willing passer," May said. "We felt like the ball came out of his hands at the right time, whether it was hitting the roll or spraying out for 3. ... A guy that had a couple years, very strong, capable defender, and he came from winning."

G Lorenzo Cason

Vitals: Freshman, 6-2, 190.

School: Victory Christian Academy (Lakeland, Florida).

The buzz: Originally set to join May in Boca Raton, Cason clearly bought into the vision May sold and not just the location, as he decided to follow him north to Ann Arbor. Though May's free-flowing philosophy doesn't require a true facilitator, there is some need for a ball handler to go with Donaldson — a spot Cason could fill. "Cason is probably the most of a lead guard right now," May said of the trio of incoming freshmen guards. "I think a lot of people thought Cason was the best guard in the state of Florida."

PG Durral "Phat Phat" Brooks

Vitals: Freshman, 6-2, 185 pounds.

School: Grand Rapids Catholic Central.

The buzz: Nicknamed "Phat Phat" because he ate non-stop as a baby, Brooks has more than just a fun nickname. The winner of the 2024 Hal Schram Mr. Basketball award — given annually to the top senior in the state — Brooks averaged 26 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists last season. May called him an irritant and a disruptor on defense and said he simply finds ways to score and win. "He's a Michigan man," May said. "He came through maybe the third day I was on the job and I couldn't have been more impressed with him as a person. He is as likable, as charismatic, and he's driven to be really, really good at basketball but also in life."

'WE EXPECT TO WIN': Michigan basketball’s Dusty May 'pleasantly surprised' by state of new roster

SG Roddy Gayle Jr.

Vitals: Junior, 6-4, 210 pounds.

School: Ohio State.

The buzz: Apparently being a Buckeye did not duscourage Gayle from joining That Team Up North. The junior was third on Ohio State in scoring at 13.5 points per game, to go with 4.5 rebounds. His 3-point shooting took a serious drop from his freshman season, going from 42.9% to 28.4%. But the Wolverines feel they can help that tick back up. Expect Gayle to either start at the two or provide significant punch off the bench as a sixth man. "I watched him play a few times randomly just throughout the season, and I liked his game, I think he's got the unique ability to get downhill and draw fouls," 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's efficient with his movements and his game."

SG Rubin Jones

Vitals: Grad student, 6-5, 195.

School: North Texas.

The buzz: Jones played in 110 games during his time with the Mean Green, a C-USA and AAC rival, achieving a level of experience that intrigued May. Jones played the Owls five times during his career and though he never scored more than nine points in those contests, May went out of his way to add the person he referred to as a "throwback player" this offseason, in large part because of how difficult he is on both ends of the floor. "We thought he was the most impactful guard/wing defender in the league," May said. "When you have that with the ability to shoot and play off pick and roll — he's played the point guard, he's played the 3 — and so he's another guy we're able to slide up or down and use him in a lot of different ways." Jones averaged 12.1 points and shot 41.6% on 3-pointers on 3.9 attempts per game in 2023-24.

SG Justin Pippen (Sierra Canyon High School)

Vitals: Freshman, 6-3, 180.

School: Sierra Canyon High (Chatsworth, California).

The Skinny: The first commit of the May era, Pippen comes to Ann Arbor with basketball pedigree — he's the son of Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen. May described him as someone who can play both on and off the ball, who he sees as in the early stages of growing into his game with untapped potential. "Justin Pippen was the guy that I fell in love with the first time I watched him play because of how we like to coach," May said. "He's got great pace and feel, his maturity. He looked like the son of a Hall of Fame basketball player. He'd been around the game at a high level, and his brother (Scottie Pippen Jr.) was a high-level player and late bloomer."

Wing Nimari Burnett

Vitals: Grad student, 6-4, 200.

School: Michigan (by way of Alabama and Texas Tech).

The buzz: The lone returning starter on the Wolverines roster, Burnett played 32 games for U-M last season and averaged a career-high 9.6 points and 4.1 rebounds. Burnett shot a career best 39.9% from the floor and 34.7% on 3s in proving to be one of the few consistent players in a dark season. Burnett, who went through senior day last season, has two years of eligibility left, thanks to a medical redshirt in Lubbock and his COVID-19 year as an option, so he could play another season after this. He provides depth, experience and familiarity at the wing position.

F Will Tschetter

Vitals: Grad student, 6-8, 245.

School: Michigan.

The buzz: Last season, Tschetter was consistently asked to be a small-ball five, only occasionally getting to play his natural spot at the four. While he may be play low in rare circumstances this season, the plan is to space him out more and use greatest weapon — his shooting. Tschetter put it on display last season, when he averaged a career-high 6.8 points per game and led the team with a blistering 51.2% 3-point mark, albeit on only 54 attempts, in 17.8 minutes per game. "I value his shooting, I value his toughness," May said. "When I went back and watched games from last year, it seemed like the team functioned better when he was on the court."

F Sam Walters

Vitals: Sophomore, 6-9, 190.

School: Alabama.

The buzz: Walters showed potential in Tuscaloosa as a true freshman, when he played in 37 games and averaged 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 12.3 minutes per game. A known sharp-shooter, the Florida native knocked down 39.4% of his 99 3-point attempts last season, but also showed a knack to finish inside the arc, making 25 of 51 (49.8%) such attempts. May has known Walters since he was in ninth grade; once he entered the portal, the two had a ton of mutual connections. A few days after they made contact, the commitment was locked in. Walters was a four-star prospect, rated No. 57 overall in the class of 2023, according to 247 Sports' composite rankings. "He was a good player in the state of Florida early," May said. "We actually recruited him. ... We had a lot of connections."

F Jace Howard

Vitals: Grad student, 6-8, 225.

School: Michigan.

The buzz: A co-captain with the Wolverines (and son of Juwan Howard), Howard's return to the program for a fifth season is "expected," per assistant head coach Eric Church. So much so that May said the team only has one scholarship available. Howard has never been a notable piece in the rotation — last season was the best of his career and still he averaged just 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds in 12.9 minutes per game as he recovered from an early stress fracture. Howard has played 65 games in Ann Arbor the past four years; his career high for points is eight (Purdue, 2024) and rebounds is seven (Penn State, 2024).

C Vladislav Goldin

Vitals: Grad student, 7-1, 240.

School: Florida Atlantic.

The buzz: The largest acquisition of the offseason — both figuratively and literally — Goldin provides an offensive punch in the interior that the Wolverines simply did not have last season. The All-AAC center averaged 15.7 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. There aren't many questions surrounding the Russia native who already has 117 games under his belt. He's a rim protector on defense and a consistent force in the paint who shot an incredibly efficient 67.3% from the floor and averaged 2.5 offensive rebounds per night. The main question: How much can he play? "Vlad, I think last year, played 25 minutes a game," May said. "In a perfect world, we get him a few more minutes, but we play up-tempo with a lot of possessions, so it's difficult for our players to play 32 to 35 minutes a game if we're playing the style that we like to play."

C Danny Wolf

Vitals: Junior 7-0, 255.

School: Yale.

The buzz: Wolf was the best player on last season's NCAA tournament team, which knocked off new teammate Donaldson and Auburn in the first round. The Illinois native was first-team All-Ivy League while averaging 14.1 points and 9.7 rebounds on 47.2% shooting in 32 games. Wolf will play center when Goldin is not on the court —and could serve as perhaps the largest stretch-four in America when he plays power forward with Goldin. "Probably playing Danny at 14 minutes a game at the five when Vlad's not in, is how we probably envision it," May explained. "We'll play stylistically a different brand of basketball where Danny would be more of a five-out facilitator."

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Meet Michigan basketball's roster for the 2024-25 season