Over the last few years, we’ve borrowed an idea from Adam Jardy of the Columbus Dispatch to roll out our season preview player profiles in a power-ranking format. We’ll preview every player on the roster while ranking them by some arbitrary combination of ability, importance, and role.
We’re bringing the same thing back this season. I ranked each scholarship player (1 through 13) based on their expected impact on the 2025-26 season, and we’ll dive into each player in-depth as we near tip-off. This approach is more straightforward than a position-by-position preview because those often get bogged down in a debate about each player’s position rather than their importance and role on the roster.
Next up is sophomore guard LJ Cason.
Previously: No. 8 Trey McKenney, No. 9 Will Tschetter, No. 10 Winters Grady, No. 11 Oscar Goodman, No. 12 Malick Kordel and No. 13 Ricky Liburd
No. 7: LJ Cason
#2 | 6-2, 195 pounds | Sophomore | Guard
LJ Cason’s freshman year was a tumultuous one. In the preseason, he looked like he might be Michigan’s sixth man or better. By Christmas, he had fallen out of the rotation. In the last month of the year, he helped save Michigan’s season with key shots and performances in the most significant moments of the season.
The final stat line for Cason’s freshman year wasn’t a work of art, but the late-season flashes and Dusty May’s post-hoc assessment that he mishandled Cason’s role have created significant promise for his sophomore year.
Relying on late-season production as an indicator for future performance can be very risky — call it the Rocket Watts Law. Even with his improved play late in the season, Cason shot 39% on twos (11-of-28) and 21% on threes (6-of-29) in that 11-game spurt after re-entering the rotation.
There were moments, but if Cason is going to have a breakout sophomore season, he needs to become significantly more efficient with his overall production.
Strengths
Downhill attack
The foundation of Cason’s game is his ability to put the ball on the deck and get into the paint. He’s a downhill attacker who showed solid finishing ability as a freshman.
He shot 54% at the rim, and an impressive 59% in the half-court. According to box score data, just 28% of his shots at the basket were assisted.
According to Synergy, Cason logged 33 drives in 353 minutes. That equates to 3.7 drives per 40 minutes, which was the best rate on the team last year– Roddy Gayle Jr. (2.1 drives per 40) and Tre Donaldson (1.9 drives per 40) –and on par with Elliot Cadeau’s numbers last year at North Carolina (3.8).
Whether Cason is playing either guard spot, his ability to get downhill and finish will be fundamental to his effectiveness.
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