ANN ARBOR, Mich. – No. 3-ranked Michigan Wolverines head coach Dusty May discussed his team’s health, roster planning, and preparations for the Big Ten tournament following their rivalry victory vs. the Michigan State Spartans.
May said guard L.J. Cason will redshirt during his junior season, as he was expected to be out until January of 2027.
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“I mean, he hasn’t had a surgery yet. And I think I can’t imagine bringing him back in January after not playing for a year and a half,” said May.
May said the timing of surgery and rehabilitation remains unresolved, and that medical staff will guide decisions on recovery and any return timeline.
May said the program will not rush medical decisions and is relying on its elite support staff for guidance.
“I just lean on our elite support staff,” May said.
He emphasized the team is in a good place mentally and physically overall, though May noted concern for Cason identified.
L.J. Cason
Cason tore his right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the Wolverines’ victory over the Illinois Fighting Illini on Friday (Feb. 27), the University of Michigan announced on Feb. 28, 2026.
The sophomore guard was a key reserve during Michigan’s breakout season and helped the Wolverines secure the 2026 Big Ten regular-season title.
He came off the bench in every game and posted career highs in scoring (8.4 points), assists (2.4), rebounds (1.9), and steals (1.0).
He shot a career-best 50.3% from the field and made 33 three-pointers after making 15 as a freshman.
There is no timeline for surgery, as May said the team wants Cason to be part of the magical run they are on.
The men in maize do not want Cason to miss the NCAA Tournament or the Big Ten Tournament.
“I think the longer we play, the longer surgery will be, but no, we don’t have a date for sure. And then the medical people sometimes they want to get all the swelling out.
Sometimes we lean on them. Once again, I don’t comment on things that I haven’t spent a lot of time thinking, studying, and reading about. And so when it comes to the medical side, I just lean on our elite support staff.”
Dusty May
Discussing the redistribution of minutes after Cason’s injury, May framed the change as an opportunity for other players to grow into larger roles.
“This is a great opportunity for you to really get back into playing longer in longer stretches and being more aggressive,” May said.
May singled out Trey McKenney for poise and noted Roddy Gayle Jr.‘s return to form.
“Trey McKenney’s poise, he played his second half, was phenomenal,” May said.
Big Ten awards
The Big Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Year award is expected to be handed out on Tuesday (March 10), and forward Yaxel Lendeborg, according to all reports, is expected to win the award.
Following Sunday’s 90-80 victory against the Spartans, Lendeborg told reporters that he had three goals: to win the Big Ten championship, win player of the year, and to win a national championship with the Wolverines.
Lendeborg led all scorers with 27 points while shooting 8-12 from the field, 5-6 from three, and 6-6 from the charity stripe.
It was the first time in his career that he had over 25 points and made five three-pointers.
“I think it’s pretty obvious why he’s player of the year. He does everything on the basketball court, and he’s incredibly unselfish while doing it, and he’s just scratching the surface of how good he can be,” May said on Sunday.
“Yeah, as coaches, we always want more. Like we’re continuing to push our players and motivate them to be better and to do more and get better in this area, that area.
But when you look back to where he was in November to where he is now, um, man, he’s come a long way, and he’s still scratching the surface, as you saw a couple of the plays last night.
He had one rebound, and I was even shocked he could jump that high. And so, because he’s so new to the game that he doesn’t understand how impactful he can be, and he’s already incredibly impactful.
I mean, to me, if he’s not Big Ten Player of the Year, then I’ll be shocked. But whatever.
I mean, he’s done everything. He, as I said, has outperformed his contract. He’s outperformed all expectations to this point, but he still has to get better. And we still have one big goal to chase.
Actually, two big goals to chase in the Big Ten Tournament championship and then the NCAA Tournament.”
Dusty May
Four-part season
May framed the season as four parts and said the team has finished three of them.
He stressed adaptability in schemes and roster construction, saying the staff tailors strategy to personnel.
“We’ve changed a lot over the year. Every year we’ve changed because we feel like we have to be adaptable to our personnel,” May said.
May emphasized recruiting priorities: find skilled players who are strong teammates and hard workers.
“Our goal is to find really good players who are also great teammates, hard workers,” May said.
When asked whether roster size and practice matchups influenced his approach, May said he values size to help defensively.
“I mean, we just felt like the size gave us the best chance to be defensively,” May said.
May said he and the staff are continuously recruiting every class and that the program will adapt to roster movement in the current transfer era.
“We’re recruiting all the time for every class for every year.”
He declined to speculate about negotiations or which players will return, suggesting agents may be the best source for immediate answers.
“If you want those answers, you probably need to tap their agents’ phones right now.”
May detailed how the program develops younger players through practice reps and failure-driven growth.
He highlighted progress by the players named in the transcript: Ricky Liburd, Malick Kordel, and McKenney.
Tournament play
May described how the staff prepares for tournament play, focusing on fixing weaknesses rather than full opponent scouting until matchups are known.
“We won’t start preparing for an opponent. But, we will look at things if we struggled against any of the three teams we could potentially play,” May said.
He said the team will emphasize post defense, screening, and reading ball screens heading into the tournament.
“Our post defense was horrendous yesterday. So, we’ll spend some time working on our post defense, challenging some catches, forcing them off the block a little bit more,” May said.
May praised his staff, calling them overqualified and central to the program’s development efforts.
“They’re all overqualified for the position they’re in. They’re all probably underpaid market value for what they bring,” May said.
Michigan earned the conference’s No. 1 seed and a triple bye, advancing directly to the quarterfinals on Friday, March 13.
Their opponent hasn’t been announced yet, but they’ll tip off at 11 a.m. Central Time, noon Eastern Standard Time.
Conference championships
On the value of a conference championship, May said that winning the Big Ten regular-season title is difficult and positions teams for deeper NCAA Tournament runs.
“Winning a Big Ten regular season championship is really, really difficult. And if you’re able to do that, then you’re probably in position to compete for Final Fours or national championships,” May said.
He acknowledged logistical concerns around tournament scheduling and travel, and said the program preferred a schedule that minimized late returns to campus.
“If you get home Sunday night at midnight or 1 a.m., playing Thursday and Friday is a significant difference,” May said.
May also reflected on transition defense, admitting disappointment in certain lapses and noting the team has improved since November.
“I remember us stressing over and over and over again the lag time of getting from one thing to the next against them because they’re (MSU) elite at it, and they always have been.
It’s no secret that next year they’re going to be elite at it as long as coach (Tom Izzo) is there. They’re going to be elite at running on makes and misses and trying to score in the first couple of seconds, and if they don’t, then pulling it out and running a set.
And so we thought it seemed like every day we talked about the lag time and sprinting back and doing these certain things, and we didn’t stress it that much, and we didn’t have the practice time, as we said, we were delayed from Iowa getting home.
We got back the evening of the day following the game, and so we had a film session and a stretch and a brief walk-through of a couple of points, and then the next day we essentially had a quick practice and another walk-through and film session.
So, I was disappointed myself that we weren’t hammering home that lag time because that’s the difference in the game that getting from one thing to the next against those guys is probably the thing that can get you beat the easiest.”
Dusty May