Last week, we started our offseason series of ranking the best Michigan men’s basketball players since the first time the Wolverines won a national championship back in 1989 to celebrate a 37-year history of Michigan basketball between titles. Today, we look at the next tier up, and it’s a significant one from our scoring model from a batch of already quality list of players in the first rendition of this series.
Michigan
2 dead and 19 injured after Detroit shooting, Michigan State Police say
The fatal shooting took place Sunday morning at a block party on Detroit’s east side, according to a release from the Detroit Police Department.
DETROIT — Two people are dead and more than a dozen others were injured after a shooting Sunday in Detroit, according to Michigan State Police, the latest deadly incident involving the use of firearms in the nation.
The shooting took place Sunday morning at a block party on Detroit’s east side, according to a release from the Detroit Police Department. An earlier release from Michigan State Police on social media said there were 19 injured victims and two fatalities.
A 20-year-old woman, who was shot in the head, and a 21-year-old man who was shot in the back were killed, according to WDIV-TV, which also reported the woman was pronounced dead at the scene and the man pronounced dead at the hospital.
Among the injured is a 17-year-old girl in critical condition, 13 people in temporary serious condition, and three in stable condition, according to WDIV.
No one is in custody, according to the Michigan State Police.
“The violence at several block parties over the last three days has been heartbreaking for this city,” Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan told the Detroit Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network. “Young people and innocent neighbors are being put at risk every weekend. Chief (James) White and I will hold a full briefing tomorrow to discuss this spike in violence at these events and our plans to address it.”
John Roach, Duggan spokesman, said they understood there were other instances of violence at other block parties over the weekend. Specific details were not immediately available.
The topic will be addressed at a press conference slated for Monday, Donakowski told the Free Press.
‘We can’t continue to have this level of violence’
City Councilman Scott Benson lives just a couple blocks away from where the shooting took place and said he was “shaken” on Sunday. He was asleep when it happened but he’s heard of a block party spilling over, yelling, and screams for help in reports from his community leaders.
He was told multiple guns were recovered from the scene — nine, according to his information. Benson questioned why anyone would feel the need to bring a gun to a block party.
“Phone, keys, gun? Why is the gun on the list?” he said, urging: “We can’t continue to have this level of violence.”
George Preston, President of the Mohican Regent Homeowners Association, which organizes monthly meetings to encourage residents to come up with solutions that affect their communities, lamented the deadly shooting.
“It’s heartbreaking to see that someone has lost their life here,” said Preston, who plans on talking and listening to community members about the violence in the neighborhood.
Michigan State Police is assisting the Detroit Police Department in investigating the shooting and asking anyone with information to call Crime Stoppers at 800-773-2587.
Fourth of July weekend shootings across the US
Violence and mass shootings surge during the summer months as temperatures rise and people gather in large crowds for activities. Each year, the Fourth of July ranks as the most violent day of the year, according to Northeastern University criminologist James Alan Fox.
The Gun Violence Archive — which records gun violence incidents — defines mass shootings as a minimum of four victims, excluding the suspect, injured or killed by gunfire. Since the Fourth of July, at least 16 people were killed and 167 injured in several shootings across the country, according to the most recent data from the Gun Violence Archive.
These incidents include a shooting in Florence, Kentucky, that left four people dead and three people injured at a 21st birthday party on Saturday.
A series of unrelated shootings also occurred around Chicago following Fourth of July celebrations. The largest shooting happened at around 12:15 a.m. Friday, when eight people were wounded after two people exchanged gunfire.
Contributing: Ahjané Forbes, USA TODAY
Jalen Williams is an intern at the Detroit Free Press. Contact him at jawilliams1@freepress.com. Julia is a trending reporter for USA TODAY. She has covered various topics, from local businesses and government in her hometown, Miami, to tech and pop culture. You can connect with her on LinkedIn or follow her on X, formerly Twitter, Instagram and TikTok: @juliamariegz
No. 22 – F Morez Johnson Jr. – Score: 78.4
The first player from Michigan’s 2025-26 team has made it on the list, and it’s the bodyguard himself, Morez Johnson Jr. His stint in Ann Arbor was short, but impactful. After transferring in from Illinois, he found his way into a starting lineup with two other players 6-foot-9 or taller in Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara. The trio wreaked havoc all season long thanks to their length and athleticism in a scheme tailor-made by head coach Dusty May.
Johnson was one of the most efficient players in the country, averaging 13.1 points per game on a 62.3 percent clip. He also led the team with 7.3 rebounds per game and was commonly considered one of the best defensive players on the floor with his ability to guard all five positions. He was a Second-Team All-Big Ten and was on the All-Big Ten Defensive Team as well.
No. 21 – F Deshawn Sims – Score: 78.9
In the transition from Tommy Amaker to John Beilein, Deshawn Sims was a part of a special group that propelled the program to relevancy again. Sims was the 19th player in program history to reach 1,500 career points, and the 15th to surpass 700 rebounds. Consistency was key, as he played in 129 consecutive games over four seasons, starting 92 of them.
Everything came together for the Wolverines in the 2008-09 season when Sims and co-star Manny Harris led the team to its first NCAA Tournament appearance in more than a decade. The team underperformed in 2009-10, but Sims’ play stayed consistent.
Along with the elite company Sims established with his longevity, he was also a three-time All-Big Ten honoree and averaged 16.1 points and 7.2 rebounds per game over his final two seasons.
No. 20 – F Ray Jackson – Score: 81.6
Not only did we have the introduction to the 2026 championship team, but this stretch also introduces us to the Fab Five with forward Ray Jackson, the final member of the historic 1991 class.
Jackson not only has the pedigree tied to the culture that surrounded the Fab Five and their two runner-up finishes in the NCAA Tournament, but he was also a great player. One could argue he was the most unheralded of the bunch and deserves more credit than he does. Somehow, he was only a two-time All-Big Ten performer, but he averaged 17.1 points and 7.3 rebounds per game in his final three seasons with the program.
He ascended from the last of the Fab Five to a premier Big Ten player during his four-year career, helping guide Maurice Taylor — an honorable mention in this series — to being a member of the All-Big Ten freshman team when Jackson was a senior.
Jackson’s impact was profound, not just for his role in the Fab Five but for the transition out of it with future players who had impossible shoes to fill. The Wolverines not only stayed afloat, but remained tournament teams in the years following, which would have meant more had that era not been tarnished with “scandal” for a fraction of what is being done today in the NIL world.
- The Top 25 Michigan men’s basketball players since 1989: No. 25-23
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As temperatures rise in Michigan each summer, so to do the chances of harmful algal blooms (HABs) developing in our lakes, causing a risk to both ecosystems and public health.
HABs are formed wherever there is rapid growth of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algae, which are naturally found in lakes, rivers and ponds. Some cyanobacteria found in blooms contain toxins that can be harmful to people and animals, and often present as blue-green, yellow or brown streaks, foam, or thick paint-like scums on the water surface, according to the Michigan Departments of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE)
To help keep track of these harmful algal blooms across the state, EGLE has teamed up with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) to update its online reporting form to include harmful algal blooms. Now the public can easily report suspected HABs to the state by filling out the form at Michigan.gov/HABs. Individuals can also make a report by calling EGLE’s Environmental Assistance Center at 800-662-9278.
“This new online form is an easy and efficient way for Michiganders to help monitor and safeguard our water resources,” said Jerrod Sanders, director of Water Resources Division at EGLE, in a news release. “This tool improves efficiency and helps us respond to potential risks more effectively.”
It will also allow EGLE and MDHHS staff to better understand how HABs develop, and creates the potential to send out public notifications about what areas to avoid as a way of keeping people and pets safe when they’re detected.
Breathing in or swallowing water with HAB toxins can cause asthma-like symptoms, difficulty breathing, stomach pain, vomiting, diarrhea, runny eyes and nose, weakness, headaches or dizziness. Skin contact can also cause rashes, blisters or hives.
“If you had contact with or swallowed water with a suspected HAB and feel sick, call your health care provider or seek medical attention as soon as possible,” said Dr. Natasha Bagdasarian, chief medical executive.
Locations of HAB reports verified by EGLE and results of cyanotoxin testing will be displayed on the Michigan Harmful Algal Bloom Reports Map for the public to review.
For more information on health effects, causes and reports on the occurrence of HABs in Michigan lakes, visit Michigan.gov/HABs.
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