Since the day Dusty May left the Michigan men’s basketball program, the focus has been on what remains. After looking within the program for May’s replacement and hiring Mike Boynton Jr. for the role, the Wolverines managed to retain all but one athlete — junior guard L.J. Cason — who had been set to suit up in the 2026-27 season.
But in Michigan’s case, retention isn’t so simple a concept. Yes, almost an entire future roster that pledged itself to May reaffirmed its commitment to play for Boynton, and that is worthy of note. However, just two of those athletes — guards Trey McKenney and Elliot Cadeau — were a part of the Wolverines’ national championship-winning rotation last season. And among those lost in the offseason are three NBA Draft lottery picks and a whole lot of veteran depth pieces, now replaced by freshman recruits and transfers. Not to mention, the coach at the helm of last season’s well-oiled machine is gone as well. It’s not exactly a squad full of national champions that’s returning to Ann Arbor this year. That’s not lost on Boynton, either.
“Our talent will look a little bit different, we’ll miss guys like Will Tschetter, who weren’t necessarily highlighted in that manner, Nimari Burnett and their professionalism and care for the University of Michigan and Michigan basketball, as much as we’ll miss Aday (Mara)’s shot blocking and crazy touch around the rim and Morez (Johnson Jr.)’s force,” Boynton said Tuesday. “We’ll need guys to step up in those vocal leadership roles as well.”
So if this retention is significant, it’s not because the old personnel is grandfathered in. It’s because an identity is.
“It’s not like we rebuilt the (incoming) roster, we just reshored the roster that was already recruited here, so we’ll play the way we thought we were going to play when we recruited these guys all the way to June 21st,” Boynton said. “There was a plan already in place, and that plan is the plan that we’re looking forward to continuing to implement.”
The Wolverines had an identity when they recruited this roster, and that’s why it stayed together. Frontcourt transfers JP Estrella and Moustapha Thiam played against Michigan in 2025-26 and witnessed firsthand what three giants on the court at the same time could accomplish. Incoming high school recruits were able to follow McKenney’s own freshman journey that culminated in being trusted with the dagger in a national championship game at just 19 years old.
All of them together saw a nation-topping defense, a lineup constructed on depth and a fast-paced, creative offense win 37 games and wanted to be next in line.
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