Dusty May’s Monday press conference previewing Middle Tennessee

I think it's inconclusive. The sooner the better, but it might not happen. You don't ever know. I mean, if you have a guy that's on the fringe and he comes in and the team functions better with him on the court and he's brings this or that quality to the game, obviously we probably need to figure out a way to implement that.

But no, I think just on any given night, we have to have a group. I think we have enough really good players that if it's not happening for you, you have to be willing to sacrifice your minutes that game because someone else is playing well. We just, we need more guys playing well. Antonio.

Play good basketball possession by possession so you're not in the position is obviously the answer that we want. Um, why are we 15-4? We never panic. We believe we're going to win.

I think we have a culture of belief that we're going to find a way, and we're not terrified of the results. I mean, we truly are process-oriented. I care much more about having a very spirited practice, a very intentional, well-planned film session today than I do the result of the game. And, you know, we preach our players that we want them to be happy for the win and all that.

And as a coach, I'm not terribly happy when we win and we don't play well and perform well. So, you know, the process is extremely important. So I do think because we live it and we don't just say it, that no, I'm not happy as the head coach that we won. I'm happy that it beats the alternative.

It's better than the other column. But no, I think we need to start playing better basketball. But over a 5-month season, I also think that we're humming along right now. And I've been on teams several places where you're humming along this time of year and then you just have different problems.

So, we just need to get a little bit better. That's it. We need to figure some things out. I think our guys are in a good space mentally where they're learning each other, they're trusting each other.

I think our culture and our environment in the locker room is healthy and strong. And that's the most important thing. We're probably going to not play well every game. We're probably going to lose a few here and there.

That's what the numbers would say. But most importantly, are our guys still excited to come to work to improve? Do they still look like a connected group? Those are the things that are going to allow us to be really good in March.

Charles. What have you seen from Trey through the first 3 games, and what do you envision his role being as the season progresses? Well, he's carved out a role now where he's playing minutes and winning time and crunch time. I think his consistency— he doesn't make very many mistakes, and when he does, they're over-aggressive mistakes, and those are the ones we can live with.

His focus, his concentration, um, him being a team-first guy— those are all the things that, outside of him being a good scorer, a good passer, and a good defender, that are keeping him on the court. I think his role will continue to grow and grow as, as long as he continues to minimize his mistakes and play efficient basketball. But he's gotten a little bit better out of the 5 games.

He's gotten a little bit better each game outside of the box score. We're very, very pleased with where Trey is now because he's, he's proven to be very, very dependable.

Um, you know, it's, it's, it's kind of like Morez Johnson, when Morez Johnson is playing the 4 one minute and then he's playing the 5. His role on both sides of the ball just flip at the blink of an eye. And that's not easy for a guy that hasn't done it. You know, some guys have done that, that's the way they've always played.

And it's what's going to make us dangerous later on, but right now there's a transition. So even with Yaxel Lendeborg playing on the court with Morez Johnson and Aday Mara, Yaxel Lendeborg and Roddy Gayle have to be different play— different Yaxel Lendeborg and Roddies than they do when, say, Aday Mara's out of the game and they're playing just with Morez Johnson.

Or when we played Will and Yaxel Lendeborg together to 4-5 in a few minutes. So that— those transitions, we haven't done a good enough job of in real time getting them to understand that our spacing's been very, very poor. And that's, if I had to say one thing other than the decision-making on the turnovers, our spacing has been the thing that I've been most disappointed in at times.

And it doesn't always have to be pretty. When you're playing big and you're grinding it out. But for example, against TCU, our biggest lineup had a, in, I think, I don't remember how many, 10 possessions, whatever, let's call it 10 possessions, had a 0.37 DER. 0.37 is pretty good.

But the offensive efficiency rate was 0.80, and that's with the turnovers, that's with everything that goes with it. So at the end of the day, if you can produce at a half a point better per possession every single possession you're on the court, that's a good lineup. Now, is it going to be aesthetically the way we want it? No.

Is it going to be fun to watch on TV? Probably not, unless you just really want Michigan to win. Um, and so we're still figuring those things out. But back to that, where yes, I, we have to figure out a way to get Yaxel Lendeborg in space better.

And he has to trust his jump shot more. He's a good shooter, but he's not trusting his 3-point shot. When he's open, he needs to shoot it. But when you look at our big possessions, our dunks and layups and wide open shots, he had a, he played a big role in most of those possessions.

You look at Aday Mara's seal dunk late, that's a Yaxel Lendeborg post feed. When you look at the cuts to the basket, it's usually started with a quick swing from Yaxel Lendeborg to Roddy Gayle, quick drive, and then our spacing was good and our cutting was good. So, um, just finding different ways. But he's also never been a guy that demands the ball, that wants the ball.

He just wants to play good basketball. So he's a unique one where he's not going— he's not going to grab the rebound and push if the point guard's asking for the outlet because he's such a good teammate. In reality, we have to do a better job as a group of when he has the ball and getting out in space and letting him use his his creative abilities to make plays happen and whatnot.

So I think that's one thing that we learned from Danny last year, and this actually came from me overhearing the players talk about it. Danny was apt at his best, at least it seemed, when he defensive rebounded and led our break. And we've always talked about our guards rebounding, but that's not the true guard. And so if Yaxel Lendeborg, being a really good rebounder, if he can rebound and lead our break, I think we can add maybe 3 or 4 more really efficient possessions throughout the course of the game.

So there's one way. But yeah, we, we don't have a lot of our package in because we're still tinkering with lineups and what do these guys really, really do well within the framework of how we play. But to answer your question, we need to get him in space more. We need to have him create more.

We need to have him trust his jump shot more. And so, yeah, those things will come with time, but he's going to continue to get better. And even when he's not playing well, he still gets 14 and 10 and 5 and 4, whatever it is. So he impacts the game in a lot of ways.

Anthony? Elliot Cadeau's been up and down at times and Nimari's been a little bit quiet early this year. I guess what do you make of your starting guards through 3 games? Nimari, yeah, I think the first game or 2 he didn't play up to his standards and some of it's the rotations, but, you know, after each game, I think if you have a really good team, after you review the film, you say these 2 or 3 guys deserve to play more in that game.

And then going forward, they're probably going to get the nod a little bit more. And so that's on them to play, continue to play well and earn more. I thought he played well at TCU. Sometimes he got lost in the shuffle with having so many guys, but his play, we don't win the game without some of the, uh, the invisible plays he made, the free throws, the spacing.

And, and so yeah, it obviously, it's not the start that he anticipated, I think, based on his work. But, um, I think we told the guys that yesterday in film. I think if you, uh, polled our entire locker room, is, is everyone happy with the way they're performing compared to what their expectations were, I would say they would be a 0%. Um, and I don't think that's uncommon for any team.

You, you spend all offseason working on your game and, and and you feel good about it. And success is never a straight line to the top. And so this is part of it. We're going to figure it out. And Nimari is going to be a big part of that. Good.