In the aftermath of Dusty May's decision to leave the Michigan basketball program to be the head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, the key moving forward is who will be back?
That means the players. There are also questions about the staff. May will surely take some assistants with him to Dallas. One that won't be going with him is Mike Boynton, who has been named the interim head coach for the 2026-27 season.
Boynton got some good news on Monday night, as Trey McKenney confirmed with the Detroit News that he would be back next season. He said he hoped others would come back, too.
Getting Trey back is massive. Making sure that Elliot Cadeau comes back will be just as important. We haven't heard from Cadeau yet, but according to McKenney, he is also working to keep the Michigan basketball roster together.
“Definitely trying to find the best way to go about this and try to keep the group as close as possible," McKenney said via Clayton Sayfie of The Wolverine.
Elliot Cadeau returning would be massive for the Wolverines
Cadeau was dominant down the stretch for the Wolverines, especially in the NCAA Tournament. He needed to be nearly flawless for Michigan to win the national championship, and he was.
The former North Carolina point guard, who was known as a poor 3-point shooter, had three different games in the NCAA Tournament with at least 3-point makes. He was 12-of-31 overall, which came in addition to 45 assists. He had seven assists or more in every game but the national championship game, where his teammates struggled to finish.
As much as it hurts to lose May, and it does, if Michigan can keep McKenney and Cadeau, it could still have a top-10 team, assuming the Wolverines are able to hang onto projected starters Moustapha Thiam, J.P. Estrella, and Brandon McCoy.
Today’s ROTHSTEIN 45 is LIVE.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) June 23, 2026
TOP 10:
1. Florida
2. Duke
3. Illinois
4. Michigan
5. UConn
6. Michigan State
7. Arizona
8. Gonzaga
9. Virginia
10. St. John’s
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Jon Rothstein of CBS Sports still has Michigan ranked fourth this morning in his preseason "Rothstein 45."
That's where Michigan has been ranked for weeks. That tells me he sees the key pieces for Michigan returning next season. There are no guarantees, but if Boynton can convince his two lead guards to come back, it will be a much easier transition.
And the Wolverines will at least have a shot at defending their national championship, or at least making it back to the Final Four.
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