Dusty May, Michigan’s new mens’ basketball coach, talked about how to tell if the Wolverines are on their game prior to their game on Sunday against Oakland University at Little Caesars Arena in downtown Detroit.
“The staple of our program will be what type of pace we are playing with, how we are moving the basketball and are we sharing it,” May said. “And, defensively, are we playing with great force and energy and passion? And then how long can we sustain these things if we are doing them right.”
They were certainly doing them right against the Grizzlies in an exhibition game to help raise money and awareness for Forgotten Harvest in May’s first game as head coach of the maize and blue. U-M dominated almost from the opening tip and cruised to a 92-48 victory to help get the May era off to a May-nifient start.
The new coach talked about sharing the basketball and the Wolverines certainly accomplished that with five players scoring in double figures and two more scoring eight or more points. Michigan made 34-69 shots from the floor including 9-18 from beyond the three-point line.
The Wolverines led 48-26 at halftime and outscored the Grizzlies 44-22 in the second half.
“Overall, it’s a great starting point,” May said after the game, which was organized in conjunction with 313 Presents, Detroit’s premier live entertainment company. “You never know until you get into the season where you are and I was encouraged by the performance and what we can be.”
In other words, the new coach saw some potential and things to be excited about but this is just the start, and the Wolverines have a long way to go – like all teams in October – to get to where they can be and a team that will be competitive in a very strong conference.
Will Tschetter led Michigan with 15 points off the bench on 6-for-8 shooting. Roddy Gayle Jr. had 13 points, Sam Walters scored 12 points (4-6 on three-pointers) and Vladislav Goldin and Danny Wolf (13 rebounds) each scored 11 points.
“We are going to be a work in progress until January and February,” May says.
And that’s to be expected with a new coach, new style and a lot of new names on the roster. But Sunday was as good a start as anyone could have hoped for – now let’s see if they can sustain it – and build on it.
U-M will play their second charity exhibition contest, hosting Toledo on Friday (Oct. 25) at 7:30 p.m. at Crisler Center. The game will benefit University of Michigan Health C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital and its Child and Family Life team, which offers a variety of therapies for patients including art, music, Lego and video games.
About Forgotten Harvest
Oak Park, Michigan-based Forgotten Harvest was formed in 1990 to fight food insecurity and hunger by rescuing surplus nutritious food. Forgotten Harvest rescues and distributes an average of 40 million pounds annually by collecting excess prepared and perishable food from over 560 locations, including grocery stores, fruit and vegetable markets, restaurants, caterers, dairies, farmers, wholesale food distributors and other Health Department-approved sources. This donated food, which would otherwise be lost, is delivered free of charge to over 220 emergency food providers in the Metro Detroit area. Learn more about Forgotten Harvest and how to help drive hunger from our community at www.forgotten harvest.org
