Michigan basketball’s place in Jon Rothstein’s latest top 40 turned a few heads on Wednesday.
The Wolverines slid to No. 7 in Rothstein’s updated ranking, and in the Big Ten pecking order they landed behind Michigan State and Illinois. For a team that has gone through plenty of offseason turnover, that kind of drop might not look dramatic at first glance. But the bigger question is whether Michigan is being viewed too cautiously under new head coach Mike Boynton.
There’s reason to think the Wolverines still have plenty to work with. Elliot Cadeau remains the kind of point guard who can tilt a game on his own, and Trey McKenney is expected to make a major jump this season - enough of one that he could enter the Big Ten Player of the Year conversation.
Boynton arrives without the same résumé Dusty May brought to the job, but he does have a track record worth respecting. At Oklahoma State, he coached three top-20 defenses in seven seasons, and his last two teams there were elite on that end. Michigan’s roster also gives him a chance to work with the most talented group he has ever had, even if he did once sign Cade Cunningham out of high school.
If Boynton can bring that defensive edge to Ann Arbor and recruit at a high level, Michigan should be in good shape.
McKenney is already sold. “I think he's going to bring a lot of energy to this school. And I don't think there will be a big gap between last year and this year," McKenney said to Hail Media Group.
The roster retention is a big part of why the skepticism feels a little harsh. Boynton kept 13 of the 14 players on the Michigan roster after Dusty May left for the Dallas Mavericks. The only departure so far is LJ Cason, who said earlier this week that he was entering the transfer portal.
Cason’s exit matters, even if he was expected to miss a chunk of the season because of injury. He still would have had an important role later in the year. But it’s hard to argue that one loss, or the coaching change alone, should have pushed Michigan down three spots.
The pieces are there for a strong run. Cadeau and McKenney give the Wolverines a dangerous backcourt, the team has proven additions at forward and center, and five-star Brandon McCoy adds another layer of talent. If the defense holds up the way Boynton’s best teams have, Michigan has a path to a big season.
That’s why the No. 7 spot feels a little low to some observers. Rothstein’s ranking says respect is still there. The question is whether Michigan is being written off a bit too soon.
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For Michigan, the miss may linger because Taylor kept climbing in the rankings while the Wolverines watched Nebraska land his commitment. Rivals and 247Sports now both have him as the top quarterback and top prospect in Nebraska, and his profile has only grown with the kind of offseason exposure that tends to separate a good recruit from a cant-miss one. Even so, Michigan has already stayed active in the class and will keep looking to make sure the next quarterback target does not get away. [Read more 🡒]