Inside Dusty May's rebuild: Nine players will add to great competition starting this summer

Michigan coach Dusty May hasn’t been able to rest much since leading his team to the national championship, rebuilding his roster with hopes of competing for another title in 2026-27. He and his staff signed nine players in the offseason, several of which are expected to at least compete for playing time immediately, and are waiting on decisions from a few more potential additions, May confirmed Wednesday. 

Though he didn’t go into detail, the coach acknowledged there were others still on the radar. 

“Yeah, and obviously, the guys who are affecting those decisions,” he noted of his players (Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr.) who were testing the NBA waters. “We’re in the information-gathering phase with a couple of guys.”

Of the nine additions, he added, the biggest component in their ability to sign them was the expansion of rosters. They have 15 spots now, “a great opportunity to maybe take a flyer on a guy or two that we feel like will be really, really good in a couple of years and develop them, pour into them, and help them, and give them all of everything that Michigan has to offer,” while also signing McDonald’s All-Americans like Brandon McCoy and Quinn Costello. 

Between that and elite portal additions like Moustapha Thiam, he’s proven he can build a winner no matter which route he goes.

“It just varies from year to year. It varies month to month, year to year, and sometimes you do it, and you think, ‘wow — I’m so glad we did that,’” May said. “Other times you think, ‘wow — we still have a gaping hole,’ or, ‘I wish we had another spot open’ or whatever the case. 

“Typically, freshmen, one of them will surprise us with how good he is. One will surprise us with he’s not quite as advanced as we thought, and the rest of them are going to be probably exactly what we thought. That’s typically the rule of thumb, the heuristics when it comes to recruiting freshmen, but we like our roster. 

They also expect freshmen might be little bit more forgiving if they’re playing a rotation off the bench or if they’re playing spot-up minutes, because they have a long road ahead of them, versus if they’re bringing in a senior out of the portal and he plays 12 minutes. 

“He’s probably going to be a little more disgruntled unless those were the terms that were laid out prior to signing,” May added. 

But each of Michigan’s signees will have an opportunity, of course, as soon as they get on campus. That’s when they’ll start to figure out who fits where, etc., and who might see the most minutes. With two players on the roster all but guaranteed to start in point guard Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney, it should be an extremely competitive competition. 

Breaking down Michigan’s biggest additions

The “big three” additions, though, start with Cincinnati transfer center Moustapha Thiam, McCoy, and Costello, who signed in the early period. 

Thiam chose the Wolverines over several other suitors. May had had a chance to see him play in U-M’s exhibition with the Bearcats earlier this year when he scored 15 points in 26 minutes. 

“He’s a lot different [than Michigan’s previous centers],” May said. “Obviously, he’s a center, and he’s big, and he’s talented, he’s skilled, but his game isn’t like theirs. So, it’s exciting to have another player with the talent he has that we can tweak our system to and play through a little bit. 

“He’s got a lot of weapons in this toolbox. He’s going to be fun to coach. But yeah, we’re excited for him. Obviously, the rim protection and things like that — if you’re going to have the type of defense we had this year, you need to build and clean some stuff up at the rim, and we think he’s able to do that on the defensive end. He runs … he makes threes. I mean, as you saw here in the exhibition game … that was before Morez and Aday, but we had no answers for him down low.

“So, he’s a guy that we think that he will be able to identify some matchup advantages for us and attack him on the perimeter and the low post and transition, whatever the case.”

Tennessee big man transfer JP Estrella (6-11) proved to be one of the top rebounders on a very good offensive rebounding team. He’s also got some untapped potential.

“I think JP’s ability to pick and pop to pick and roll, but also to be a physical screener … we learned from Trey Kaufman-Renn, and Tarris Reed,” May said. “I think those are the two best screeners we faced all year, and we think we felt like those guys helped their teammates be even more successful than they would have otherwise because of their ability to screen. We saw how potent Elliot was with Aday and Morez being able to throw a lob, so we felt like him having a lob threat …

“Ad then you factor in the shooting on the perimeter, I think Moustapha and JP are both capable of making threes. That certainly helps with the spacing and the cutting because I do think we have some good cutters, as well.”

McCoy, meanwhile, has a chance to be one of the top freshman contributors in the country given his skill set. His jump shot is evolving, but he’s elite getting to the rim, he defends, and he plays with extreme confidence. 

Along with guard Joseph Hartman, a top 100 player who has possibly been overlooked in this class, the Wolverines will add two outstanding backcourt players.

“I think they’re both going to be in contention to play … and I don’t want to single those two out, [because] it’s competition-based,” May said. “I’ve been very adamant that USA basketball, that experience, the play at the highest level of high school hoops, it prepares players …

“Traditionally, if you had a guy that was the best player in his town, county, state and he’s shooting 30 shots a game and then he comes to college, there’s an adjustment, because every play is not going to be run for him and things of that nature. With McCoy, he’s played at a very high level. He’s physically mature; he’s a specimen athletically, and we expect him to make major contributions. 

“Hartman is a very well-rounded basketball player. He can check a lot of boxes. He’s played a lot of positions. So anytime you have positional versatility, you come from the stock that Joseph comes from, as far as his dad being a coach, it gives him a leg up over the typical freshman.”

Costello, meanwhile, could provide a lift as a shooter after elevating his game tremendously over the summer. How much he plays could depend on how much weight he adds and his rebounding ability, but he’ll get a shot.

“Quinn is another one who, because he has positional versatility, gives himself a much better chance as a freshman of getting on the court,” May said. “Obviously, he’s good enough to play. His ascent was probably as high as anyone, where he didn’t get invited to the NBPA camp, Top 100 camp, and then got a last-minute add-on, flew down the day of, and performed really well there

“But he’s a 6-10. He’s skilled. He’s athletic. Obviously, if you’re in an era where you’re not playing against a bunch of 22 and 23-year-olds, it gives you a chance to be even more successful, but he’s smart. He’s tough. He’s going to work hard. He’s going to put himself in a position. Like our other freshman, Quinn brings a lot to the table.”

He also has one trait they all share that’s as important as anything.  

“Like our other guys, he’s a Michigan type of guy,” May said. 

Ready to (hopefully) lead U-M back to the mountaintop again in the near future.