RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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See the full story · 1 sourcesCoach Dusty May left this offseason, but Michigan basketball isn't going anywhere.
That's according to new coach Mike Boynton Jr., who spoke on "The Rich Eisen Show" on Monday, July 27. He knows that a program-record 37-3 season, a Big Ten regular-season title and a second national championship are hard marks to follow, but feels that the people are in place to make it happen.
"I feel confident on the roster, now putting a staff together that I believe can keep the standard where it is," Boynton told Eisen. "There should be no expectation of dropoff from the Michigan basketball fans. None at all."
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Boynton achieved his first goal: keeping the roster intact. Of 14 scholarship players committed to May for the 2026-27 season, 13 stayed in the fold. (Guard L.J. Cason was the lone exception: he transferred to Miami in Florida, though he's still recovering from a torn ACL and surgery in April.)
Michigan has opened the summer portion of its schedule ahead of its trip to Croatia and Lithuania next month for three exhibition games and team bonding. While U-M won't have NBA lottery picks Morez Johnson Jr., Yaxel Lendeborg and Aday Mara in its frontcourt, it will have two of the top guards in the nation returning, in Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney.
Following the old adage that guard play wins in March, it gives Boynton additional belief that the Wolverines will be extremely competitive this upcoming season.
"I feel confident. We've got a really talented group, led by two guards," he said. "Guard play is the name of the game at every level. We've got probably the best backcourt in the country, in my opinion. We've got a really good frontcourt.
"There will be some tweaks because we won't have quite the depth on our frontcourt we did last year; it's almost impossible to with three of those guys picked in the top 12 of the NBA. But we're still good enough to compete at the top of the conference and on a national level."
There's notable intrigue around the defending national champions, with a new coach and Cadeau and McKenney as the only members of last season's main rotation returning. With so many new faces, there's some concern about U-M taking a notable step back.
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It's one reason Boynton's two-year contract was incentive-laden : In order to earn a second season, he needs to either make the Final Four or hit two of the following four benchmarks: 24 regular-season wins, a top-four finish in the Big Ten, a Big Ten Tournament title or a Sweet 16 berth in the NCAA Tournament.
Although there was more change this offseason than expected, and there will certainly be some differences on the court, Boynton had a front-row seat to what made U-M so successful and doesn't plan to drastically deviate from that plan.
"We've got some really good young guys who people may not know as much about," he said. "Quinn Costello, Brandon McCoy as freshmen McDonald's All-Americans. Ricky Liburd, Oscar Goodman, guys who've been in our program, who understand what it takes to get to this level, just haven't been a part of it on the court as much.
"When I think about how this team should play, it was recruited to play in a certain way," he said. "I've watched for two years, a wild level of success in a day and age where you have to be adaptable − a lot of what we've done, we'll continue to do."
Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia .
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Mike Boynton Jr. expects 'no ... dropoff' for Michigan basketball
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