Interim Michigan men’s basketball head coach Mike Boynton has already done the hard part: he’s kept a major chunk of the roster intact. Trey McKenney, Elliott Cadeau, Moustapha Thiam and J.P Estrella are back, and that group gives the Wolverines a real shot to stay in the Big Ten conversation.
Now comes the next test. If Michigan wants any chance at one of the most unlikely championship repeats the sport has ever seen, Boynton has to keep working the retention board. Here’s how the remaining priorities stack up.
The biggest name to lock in is Brandon McCoy. He’s the second-rated shooting guard and No. 10 overall player in the 2026 class, and his profile screams immediate impact.
At 6-foot-5, he brings size, physicality and competitiveness that should carry over right away on both ends. He also fits cleanly with Michigan’s current pieces, since his off-ball game could open the door to a three-guard look alongside the frontcourt presence of Thiam and Estrella.
Scouts already see him as the top Wolverine in the 2027 NBA Draft, and he’s not dealing with a knee injury, which only adds to the appeal.
Right behind him is L.J. Cason, who was the best backup point guard in the country before his February knee injury against Illinois.
Before going down, he was averaging 8.4 points, 2.4 assists and 1.9 rebounds while shooting 50.3 percent from the field and 40.2 percent from three. He was originally expected to redshirt next year, but with the expected passage of the 5-in-5 NCAA eligibility rule, he’s now on track for a late return.
The expectation is that he could be back in February for the heart of the conference schedule and ready to go for the postseason. For Michigan, that means leadership, continuity and a little less pressure on McCoy.
Jalen Reed is another key piece Boynton has to keep around. The 6-foot-10 LSU transfer gives Michigan needed frontcourt depth and experience, even if the injury history is impossible to ignore.
Reed has played only 14 games over the last two seasons and has suffered consecutive season-ending injuries, but when he has been on the floor, he’s produced: 10.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game, plus 46.5 percent shooting from three. That blend of rebounding and spacing makes him a natural fit next to a dominant center.
If he can give Michigan anything close to the kind of durability Nimari Burnett eventually found after an injury-riddled start, Reed could end up being the team’s most important swing role player.
Quinn Costello is the kind of player who fits the modern label perfectly: a stretch 4 through and through. At 6-foot-10, he’s a lean offensive talent with real shooting touch and a polished all-around game.
He can handle the ball some, he can catch and shoot, and that skill set could earn him minutes quickly off the bench. The concern is obvious - he’s listed at sub-200 pounds and will have to add strength to survive in the Big Ten, especially on defense - but the offensive polish is there.
And then there’s Lincoln Cosby, the long-term piece. He’s a true freshman, a reclassified 6-foot-8 wing from Florida, and the highest-rated natural wing on the roster.
He won’t be available until next season because of an extensive injury rehab, but his upside is obvious. Dusty May described him this way:
“Lincoln has great size, athleticism and versatility, and he impacts the game in a lot of ways. He can defend multiple positions, rebound, run the floor, and make plays with the ball in his hands. We’re excited to support him through his rehab process and help him come back even stronger.”
Keeping Cosby matters because he gives Boynton a future building block. Michigan can develop him inside the program, let him recover and train in the school’s facilities, and use the time to sharpen his game and learn the system. The reclassification may have cost him a star in the rankings, but it also gives the Wolverines a chance to mold him from the ground up.
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His first major assignments are already clear: helping Andrew Marsh clean up the details that separate good routes from dependable ones, while finding the best way to deploy JJ Buchanan, the Utah transfer with the size and flexibility to create problems in a few different spots. Simons track record suggests he can develop talent, but Michigan still has to see whether that experience translates quickly enough to give the passing game the lift it has been missing. [Read more 🡒]