How Dusty May, Michigan blended old and new faces during 'impressive' two-year turnaround

CHICAGO – Sunday evening, Will Tschetter and Nimari Burnett walked up the ladder and cut down the nets at the United Center. Michigan dominated Tennessee in the Elite 8 and punched its ticket to the Final Four for the first time in six years, completing a two-year turnaround after Dusty May inherited a team that lost 24 games in 2024-25.

Tschetter and Burnett are two important pieces for the Wolverines, who improved to 35-3 on the year with Sunday’s win in the Midwest Regional final. They were with the program in 2024-25 under Juwan Howard and stayed when the new staff took over. But May also had to integrate new faces from the high school recruiting trail and the transfer portal to keep things on track.

He did just that. Now, Michigan is now off to Indianapolis for its first Final Four appearance since its national title game appearance in 2018.

“It’s impressive,” Michigan AD Warde Manuel told a group of reporters on the court after the game. “He’s done an impressive job in two years. The team last year came together, I think we had two or three that stayed.

“What he does is, he focuses on the right kids on the team that are the right people and they’re good teammates. And they can play ball, but you’ve got to have it all for him to want you to come. He’s done an excellent job.”

Yaxel Lendeborg, the Midwest Regional most outstanding player, and freshman Trey McKenney have also been instrumental during their first seasons in Ann Arbor. Morez Johnson, another transfer addition, ranks second on the Wolverines roster in scoring behind Lendeborg.

But May said there’s another factor in play with this Michigan roster. He needed to put a group together he was comfortable with through wins or losses.

“We felt like once we got these guys to stay and we added the pieces that we did in the portal that we had a chance to be good, and a lot has to go right,” May said postgame. “But no, it was more along the lines, let’s get the guys in here that we can lose with. And if we’re not good, then we’re going to be building towards something great and they’re going to be foundational pieces, and that’s what we did. Just like we have this year, we have a group that personally, I could have lost with these guys. I didn’t think we would because we’re so talented. But if we did, I wouldn’t feel much less about them.

“I would feel guilty we didn’t give them the experiences that they deserve. But for the most part, this is a group that you can lose with because of all the other attributes they bring to the table. But obviously when you have the talent we have, you’re not going to lose much as long as they stay connected.”

Dusty May brought in ‘great people’

Will Tschetter was in his sophomore season at Michigan when the Wolverines struggled under Juwan Howard. Nimari Burnett had just arrived from Alabama that year. Michigan finished 8-24 and parted ways with Howard following a Big Ten Tournament loss to Penn State.

But UM made a splash by hiring Dusty May, considered one of the top candidates of that coaching cycle. It was a year after a Final Four run with Florida Atlantic, and he took the Owls back to the NCAA Tournament in 2024 following the move to the American Athletic Conference.

After sticking around, Tschetter and Burnett played important roles in Michigan’s quick turnaround under May. As for why he chose to stay, Tschetter recalled a quick connection with the new head coach and the type of player he and the staff brought with him. The rest, as they say, is history.

“Man, I just think it’s obviously such a blessing to be surrounded by such great people,” Tschetter said. “Hitting it off with Coach May bringing in and surrounding the program with great mentors and great coaches and then great players. It’s easy to be successful when you’re surrounded by great people.”