Michigan
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.
ROTHBURY, Mich. — Michigan State Police (MSP) detectives shared some more information Friday about their investigation of the infant death at this year’s Electric Forest music festival in Rothbury.
Troopers recently received a tip about a Muskegon woman who was said to have information about the incident, but after interviewing her and completing other necessary investigative steps, MSP said they ruled her out as a suspect.
A restroom vending company employee at the festival found the body of a neonate, a newborn infant who is four weeks old or younger, in a portable restroom in the festival camping area on June 28, according to troopers.
The festival is hosted at the Double JJ Resort, which was locked down to anyone entering the following day as police surrounded the scene.
Troopers are asking for tips from the public at michigan.gov/michtip.
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Harmful algal blooms have been reported on two notable lakes in West Michigan: Gun Lake and Muskegon Lake.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy says cyanobacteria was reported on Muskegon Lake July 3, but no tests have confirmed it.
The Barry-Eaton District Health Department says a harmful algal bloom was confirmed Thursday on Gun Lake. The lake remains open, but the BEDHD is encouraging visitors to use caution and avoid water that has “visible algae.”
Visitors are encouraged to avoid any contact with water that appears bright green, blue-green, brown or red or has “floating mats of scum.”
Pets should also avoid the water. If they come into contact with the algae, pets should be rinsed off as soon as possible with clean, fresh water.
Exposure to algae can cause a rash or irritation to the skin, eyes, nose and throat. It can also cause stomach cramps, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, headache, fever and trouble breathing.
“If you become sick, contact your healthcare provider. Seek medical care right away if you have trouble breathing, severe vomiting, or other serious symptoms,” the BEDHD said in a statement. “If your pet was exposed, rinse them well with clean water and do not let them lick their fur until they have been washed. Contact your veterinarian right away if your pet has vomiting, diarrhea, weakness, trouble walking, excessive drooling, shaking, or seizures.”
Harmful algal blooms are powered by the sudden growth of cyanobacteria, also known as blue-green algae. Cyanobacteria occur naturally in lakes, rivers and ponds but is often boosted by a sudden excess of nutrients, often caused by fertilizer runoff from farms or failed septic systems.
They can last for several days and sometimes even months. The water will look “scummy” or like “spilled paint or pea soup.” They are typically found in the summer and fall — usually peaking in August or September and dying off by the end of October.
You can report a suspected harmful algal bloom to EGLE at AlgaeBloom@Michigan.gov or 1.800.662.9278.
Sterling Stamping Plant is the largest in the world
Ed Daniels, vice president of North America injection and stamping operations, discusses the process of producing metal parts for Stellantis models.
Warren — Hulking metal presses line one wall of Stellantis NV’s cavernous stamping plant here, punching out the raw shapes of Jeep doors, Dodge hoods and Ram tailgates in rapid succession.
Nearby, swinging yellow robots continue the tightly choreographed work, gluing and pressing and welding smaller components to the sheet metal that eventually will start to resemble the shape of a truck or SUV.
Seven miles north, in Sterling Heights, Stellantis operates an even larger stamping plant — the biggest in the world, at 2.7 million square feet — that does much of the same work, churning out various shapes of steel and aluminum 24 hours a day.
Together, these lesser-known links in the manufacturing supply chain support all of Stellantis’ big North American assembly plants — from next-door Warren Truck Assembly Plant, where the Jeep Grand Wagoneer SUV is built, to facilities in Windsor and Mexico that make minivans and pickups.
Inside Stellantis’ Huge Detroit Stamping Plants
The Detroit News recently got a rare look inside the automaker’s Sterling and Warren stamping plants, which are key to the company’s turnaround plan.
The Metro Detroit stamping plants, the automaker’s only two such facilities in the United States, have at times struggled in recent years, facing major job cuts and worker morale issues amid slowing sales and shifting production plans. But under Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, the facilities are expected to cram in more workload — and add staff — as Stellantis begins a new five-year strategic turnaround plan, which includes a heavy focus on its most profitable North American market.
The carmaker’s goal: grow sales by more than a third to 1.9 million annually by 2030 as it launches 23 vehicles, including 11 all-new models. The company also is directing billions of dollars of investment into its U.S. manufacturing footprint due to President Donald Trump’s tariffs.
“Stamping has never really been viewed as the sexy side of automotive manufacturing, we’re relatively invisible,” said Ed Daniels Jr., vice president of North America injection and stamping operations. “Because when you look at the commercials and advertisements, it’s always a beautiful Ram rolling off the assembly line or climbing the side of a mountain.
“But we’re the inception of that vehicle,” he said. “This is where raw materials are turned into commodities and parts.”
The Detroit News recently got a rare look inside the two plants that combined employ about 3,000 people. The automaker wanted to show off a newly-installed blanking press at Warren Stamping and other machinery like a high-speed transfer press and a robot that spots flaws in the metal.
Hiring expected
The blanking press unspools long coils of metal and chops them up into pieces that can then be shaped into roofs, fenders and floor pans. Stellantis shipped the massive machine to Warren from its idled Belvidere Assembly Plant in Illinois last year.
After upgrades to the machine, executives said it’s able to produce as many as 120,000 metal blanks per week. It will save Stellantis money since the plant will no longer need to pay a supplier to break down the coils before the metal arrives there.
The blanker addition is a big deal for the plant and signals that the company wants to bring more work in-house and invest in the facility over the coming years, said Romaine McKinney III, president of United Auto Workers Local 869, which represents workers at the factory.
The plant has already brought back all of its laid-off UAW workers, and McKinney said he anticipates more hiring to get underway if sales grow and new Stellantis vehicles come to market.
In another corner of the Warren facility, one of the fastest press lines in the world — known internally as the Hellcat — pushes as many as 15 pieces of metal through per minute. Dies that weigh up to 50 tons apiece squish the material into the shapes of doors and hoods before robotic arms snatch them out and place them on conveyor belts. Midway through a shift, workers can reconfigure the machine to make a different component, a process that takes just five minutes.
Robots check for quality
Curtis Booth, who manages Warren Stamping, said manual processes inside the plant have become increasingly automated, and safer, over the last couple decades, even as the automaker’s two stamping factories still utilize some presses that were installed in the 1960s.
The latest high-tech addition is the Automated Body Inspection System, or ABIS. It’s a camera system mounted on a robot that automatically checks the quality of components and flags anything in need of repair.
Auto plants of all kinds are increasingly turning to these types of camera systems, infused with artificial intelligence, to catch flaws in sheet metal and other components before they are shipped. Booth said worker visual inspections are still used. But in some cases the human eye has too much subjectivity, and the ABIS removes the guesswork.
Greg Bauer, who manages Sterling Stamping, said his plant has added staff over the past year, and expects to continue hiring as more work is assigned to the facility. There is no space at the plant to add more presses, but officials have figured out how to increase efficiency — quickly toggling back and forth between making doors for a Chrysler Pacifica and Dodge Charger on on a single machine, for example.
“We want to bring high-volume parts into the plant, and we want to maximize the capacity of the equipment,” Daniels said.
lramseth@detroitnews.com
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