Michigan

A timeline of Michigan men’s basketball’s 2024 offseason

Published

2 hours ago

August 12, 2024

A timeline of Michigan men’s basketball’s 2024 offseason

It’s been a busy offseason for the Michigan men’s basketball team, including a coaching change, a whole new coaching staff and 10 new players from the transfer portal and the freshman class.

Let’s recap this offseason so far, with a timeline of one of the busiest offseasons for the program in recent memory. This will focus on additions to the roster and won’t touch on departing players.

March 15: Warde Manuel fires Juwan Howard

In a press release that dropped a few days after Michigan was eliminated from the Big Ten Tournament, Manuel announced after a “comprehensive review of the program,” Juwan Howard would not return.

Howard posted an 82-67 record through five seasons as head coach. While he led the Wolverines to an Elite Eight in 2021 and a Sweet Sixteen in 2022, Michigan finished 8-24 overall and 3-18 in the Big Ten last season, the fewest conference wins since the Wolverines went 2-12 in 1966-67. Combine that with numerous issues off the court and Manuel felt the program needed a fresh start.

March 24: Michigan announces hiring of Dusty May

After being without a head coach for a little more than a week, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported that May was being hired at Michigan after six seasons as Florida Atlantic’s head coach. That successful FAU tenure included a Final Four run in 2022 and an NCAA Tournament bid the following season.

March 26: May introduced as Michigan’s head coach at press conference

Both May and Manuel spoke at this press conference, with May expressing excitement to get back to the Midwest and Manuel shedding light on what was a relatively quick hiring process.

March 29: 2024 guard Durral Brooks re-affirms commitment to Michigan basketball

While he initially committed to Michigan under Howard, Brooks was technically the first player May landed, re-affirming his commitment a few days after the introductory presser. Brooks played high school ball at Grand Rapids Catholic Central and is rated 202nd in his class on 247Sports composite.

April 4: Will Tschetter announces return

A little more than a week after the introductory presser, Tschetter announced he would be returning to the program.

Tschetter has been at Michigan for three years now, and despite the team’s struggles, he had a pretty solid individual season as Michigan’s sixth man in 2023-24. He averaged 6.8 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 51.9 percent (28-for-54) from beyond the arc and 58.2 percent from the field.

April 18: Dusty May announces coaching staff

Before Michigan officially brought in any new players, May filled out the rest of his coaching staff. That coaching staff includes:

• Mike Boynton Jr., assistant coach, former Oklahoma State head coach

• Justin Joyner, assistant coach, former associate head coach at St. Mary’s

• Akeem Miskdeen, assistant coach, former assistant at Georgia

• Kyle Church, assistant coach/general manager, formerly at FAU

• Drew Williamson, assistant coach/director of player development, formerly at FAU

• Brandon Gilbert, special assistant to the head coach, formerly at FAU

April 19: 2024 guard Justin Pippen, North Texas guard Rubin Jones commit to Michigan

Pippen was the first new player May landed. Pippen, the son of NBA Hall-of-Famer Scottie Pippen, played high school ball at Sierra Canyon in California and is rated 106th overall on the 247Sports composite.

The Pippen commitment kicked off a busy weekend for the Wolverines, which continued with Jones committing to Michigan out of the portal later that day. Jones is North Texas’ all-time leading scorer, and averaged 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game while shooting 39.6 percent from the field, 41.6 percent from three and 77.3 percent from the free throw line last season.

April 20: Yale center Danny Wolf commits to Michigan

May landed another commitment later that weekend in the 7-footer. Last season, Wolf averaged 14.1 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.4 assists per game while shooting 47.2 percent from the field, 34.5 percent from three and 71.7 percent from the free throw line at Yale.

April 21: Auburn guard Tre Donaldson commits to Michigan

The busy recruiting weekend for the program continued, with Donaldson also committing to May’s program. He started in 10 of Auburn’s 35 games this past season, averaging 6.7 points, 2.4 rebounds and 3.2 assists in 19.3 minutes per game.

April 22: Ohio State guard Roddy Gayle Jr., Alabama forward Sam Walters also commit

Michigan picked up its first transfer from the Big Ten, with Gayle coming over from Columbus. Gayle started in 35 of Ohio State’s 36 games last season and averaged 13.5 points, 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game while shooting 44.9 percent from the field, 28.4 percent from three and 83.2 percent from the free throw line.

Gayle wasn’t the only one to commit on the 22nd, as Michigan also landed Walters, who played 12 minutes per game as a freshman with the Crimson Tide. He averaged 5.4 points, 2.4 rebounds and 0.4 assists per game. He also shot 42.7 percent from the field and 39.4 percent from three-point range.

April 23: 2024 commit L.J. Cason commits to Michigan

Cason was the third player in the true freshman class to join Michigan. A combo guard from Lakeland, Florida, Cason was previously committed to FAU.

April 29: FAU center Vlad Goldin commits to Michigan

Michigan landed one of the key pieces to FAU’s 2022 Final Four run in Vlad Goldin. This past season was his best, as he started all 34 games and put up career-highs in minutes (25.0), points (15.7), rebounds (6.9) and blocks (1.6). He shot 67.3 percent from the field and 66.3 percent from the free throw line. May utilized Goldin in the pick-and-roll a lot at FAU, and could do the same thing at Michigan.

April 30: Nimari Burnett announces return

Burnett joined Tschetter as a player from Michigan’s 2023-24 roster to return to the Wolverines. He started all 32 games last season and averaged 9.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and shot 39.9 percent from the floor in 31.3 minutes per game.

June 10: Summer workouts commence

The Wolverines have been practicing for a good portion of this summer, working to mesh with all the new faces on this roster. We haven’t gotten much new info since workouts started, aside from the solid podcast interviews Brian Boesch has conducted with players , assistant coaches and Dusty May on Defend The Block.

August 5: Roster released

The Michigan Wolverines released their roster for the 2024-25 season last week. There is technically still one scholarship spot remaining; if May and his staff don’t want to add another player, they could either give that scholarship to a walk-on or utilize it to pursue another transfer or a 2025 recruit next season.

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Michigan

Jessica Fields, sister of Steelers’ Justin Fields, commits to Michigan women’s basketball

Published

10 hours ago

August 12, 2024

Press Room

Jessica Fields, sister of Steelers’ Justin Fields, commits to Michigan women’s basketball

The Michigan women’s basketball program added a significant addition to its 2025 recruiting class. And she has a last name that is familiar to Wolverines fans.

Power forward Jessica Fields committed to coach Kim Barnes Arico and Michigan on Sunday. She is the younger sister of former Ohio State football and current Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Justin Fields. Fields’ sister, Jaiden Fields, played softball at Georgia. Fields does not yet have a ranking on 247Sports composite rankings, but picked the Wolverines over offers from Northwestern and Georgetown.

REQUIRED READING: Michigan women, Kim Barnes Arico living up to lesson from UConn coaching legend

Fields committed to Michigan after visiting each of the three finalists. She announced her commitment on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday afternoon.

“I was ready to wrap up my recruitment process,” Fields said to On3 Sports. “I started very early in eighth grade, so it’s been a very long process. I got to see both of my siblings go through it, so I always looked forward to when coaches would finally focus on me in visits instead of being the little sibling running around.”

Fields is entering her senior season at Mount Paran Christian School in Kennesaw, Georgia. Fields joins 4-star guard McKenzie Mathurin in the 2025 recruiting class for the Wolverines. Mathurin is the No. 7 overall player and the No. 2 shooting guard in the recruiting class. She committed to U-M on Aug. 7.

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Michigan

2024 Western Michigan football predictions: Ranked No. 113 by RJ Young

Published

17 hours ago

August 11, 2024

Press Room

RJ Young

FOX Sports National College Football Analyst

Western Michigan Broncos Ranking: 113/134

[Check out RJ Young’s ultimate 134 college football rankings here]

Conference ranking: 12th in Mid-American Conference (+650 to win conference)
Teams ahead of them: Massachusetts (112), Rice (111), San Jose State (110), Sam Houston State (109), Navy (108)
Teams behind them: East Carolina (114), Nevada (115), North Texas (116), Ohio (117), New Mexico (118)

[Western Michigan 2024 schedule]

RJ’s take: Lance Taylor is in Year 2. He’s already on his fourth coordinator. That kind of change can’t help continuity, and it’s likely to get you beat if players don’t pick up the new scheme in a hurry.

They bring back their leading passer, Hayden Wolff, but that ain’t saying much as he only threw for 1,505 yards. The run-game could be promising, however, with leading rusher Jalen Buckley coming off a 1,005-yard, 10-TD season.

A program that lost seven games by 13 points or more and four by 24 or more was lucky to finish 4-8. Hang this on the bulletin board, Broncos.

Western Michigan’s Win Total Odds: Over 6.5 (-115) Under 6.5 (115)

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REPORT: Where Does Michigan State Football’s Schedule Rank?

Published

24 hours ago

August 11, 2024

Press Room

REPORT: Where Does Michigan State Football’s Schedule Rank?

The 2024 season is supposed to be a year of implementation for Michigan State football.

It is the first season for Coach Jonathan Smith and his hand-picked staff. They are installing a completely new offense that prioritizes a balance of vertical passing and explosive runs. Think San Fransisco 49ers under Kyle Shanahan.

Defensively, Spartans defensive coordinator Joe Rossi is installing his hybrid 4-3/3-4 defense (depending on how you look at it) that utilizes a stand-up rush end and a whole lot of commotion in the front seven to disorient opposing offenses.

A rebuilding year, a recovery year, a debut season. Call it whatever you want. That’s not to say there isn’t plenty to be excited for. Aidan Chiles, transfer quarterback who might be the biggest storyline of the offseason outside of his head coach, looks all of the part to be the guy in East Lansing for years to come. He is young — but the intangibles, athleticism, and arm all seem to be there.

Tight end Jack Velling is considered to be among the conference’s best. True freshman wide receiver Nick Marsh looks like he can make an impact far beyond his class standing. The linebacking room might be one of the best in the Big Ten.

The Spartans will be grounded by a first-year staff and one of the toughest schedules in the country. The 19th toughest, in fact. ESPN released a list of the Top 25 hardest schedules in college football, per the Football Power Index, back in June. Recently, ESPN named the Spartans again as a team facing a tough schedule this season.

“In the new-look Big Ten, Michigan State is the only school that will play No. 2 Ohio State, No. 4 Oregon and No. 10 Michigan,” ESPN wrote. “The Ohio State and Oregon games are in back-to-back weeks, Sept. 28 and Oct. 4, which is a Friday, making it a short week for the Spartans. Both the Oregon and Michigan (Oct. 26) games are on the road.”

The schedule is a result of a retooled conference looking to compete with the SEC. This Spartans team, with the overlooked talent and an excellent coaching staff, could definitely jump some teams.

Rivalry games, such as one with Michigan, always have the potential to be closer than they should be. Oregon is good. They might even win the conference. But Smith knows how to play the Ducks. The Spartans certainly won’t lie down. The Buckeyes are likely the best of them all. The only advantage the Spartans will have in that matchup is Spartan Stadium.

The Spartans are an unenviable position — a debut season for a new coaching staff and a gauntlet of a schedule. But isn’t resiliency a Spartans hallmark? Along with sneaky good seasons (see 2017 and 2021)?

Don’t forget to follow the official Spartan Nation Page on Facebook Spartan Nation WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE, and be a part of our vibrant community group Go Green Go White as well WHEN YOU CLICK RIGHT HERE.

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