More shots, more creation, more leadership: Trey McKenney’s next step

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After Michigan’s 100-98 exhibition loss to Cincinnati last October, then-assistant coach Mike Boynton had a question for Trey McKenney.

The former McDonald’s All-American and consensus No. 1 recruit in the state of Michigan had just gone 0-for-8 from the field in his first collegiate game, and Boynton, who’d watched plenty of that stellar high school tape during McKenney’s recruitment process, wanted to know if McKenney even remembered what that felt like.

“I remember playing Cincinnati and asking Trey the day after the game, ‘When is the last time you didn’t score a point in a basketball game?’ He couldn’t remember.”

Fast-forward to the present, and it’s hard for anyone to remember a time they haven’t seen McKenney excel on the collegiate court, either. After that early hiccup against the Bearcats, McKenney became a key piece of the Wolverines’ rotation, averaging 9.9 points a night and, most famously, drilling the 3-pointer that put UConn to bed in the national championship game. There’s no better bookend to a season of growth.

McKenney was a star in high school, but that was no longer good enough at the next level, so he elevated his game to exceed increased expectations. Now, the goalposts are moving again for McKenney. He’s now a part of what’s expected to be one of the best backcourts in the nation, and he’s one of the few returners from that national championship squad. With expectations growing, Boynton once again needs more from McKenney.

The spotlight shifts its focus to Michigan’s backcourt this season, and McKenney is back in uncharted waters. Yes, he was already a consistent scorer a season ago and one of the country’s most efficient scorers, but as Boynton points out, he did it with much more open space and far less attention on him.

“A lot of the looks he got, in all honesty, were shots that he got based off the leverage that the other guys created for him,” Boynton said Oct. 22. “There were times where he was able to create and show his individual playmaking skill, but a lot of his points came off of (a defender thinking) ‘What do I do with this Elliot-Mara ball screen or this Yaxel Lendeborg-Morez Johnson ball screen?’ And, ‘Oh, we got to leave the McDonald’s All-American over here and hope he misses.’”

“He didn’t miss much, so we’re going to ask him probably to create a little bit more for himself (this season), but also just be a little bit more aggressive looking for a shot against the coverages that he’ll see this year.”

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