When Michigan opened the season against Oakland, Mike Boynton Jr. didn’t get the lineup he expected. About 30 minutes before tip-off, the No. 16 Wolverines learned junior center Moustapha Thiam would miss the game because of an illness, forcing Boynton to improvise on the fly.
That meant a different starting five, and a different look overall. Redshirt sophomore Oscar Goodman got the start in Thiam’s place, a choice Boynton said he had been weighing among several possibilities.
“We probably have three options in that situation, well, really four,” Boynton said Monday. “I just thought Oscar earned an opportunity.”
Goodman doesn’t bring Thiam’s 7-foot-3 frame, but he does bring traits Boynton clearly trusts. His length helps him pressure the ball, and his physicality showed up at the rim, most notably with a ferocious second-half block. The tradeoff, though, was obvious: Michigan’s lineup got smaller, with Goodman sliding into a power forward role at 6-foot-7.
That wasn’t the only wrinkle Boynton tried. As the game wore on, he kept reaching for different combinations, especially when the first group wasn’t getting the job done.
With Michigan down 18-13 in the first half, he went all the way into a small-ball setup, putting four guards on the floor - sophomore Trey McKenney, senior Elliot Cadeau, graduate Kenny Noland and graduate Roddy Gayle Jr. - with graduate forward J.P. Estrella as the lone big.
The group lasted just a minute and a half, but it offered a glimpse of how far Boynton is willing to push that idea.
“You could play (sophomore Ricky Liburd) in there and move (Gayle) down,” Boynton alluded to as a guard-heavy lineup that could have started the game.
The appeal is easy to see. Boynton has talked about how disruptive his guards can be on the perimeter, and that showed up against Oakland.
Michigan came away with 10 steals in the opener, including four from Cadeau, and used that activity to throw the Golden Grizzlies off in the half-court. But the aggression had a cost, too: eight Wolverines picked up multiple fouls.
The bigger issue with going small showed up on the glass. Michigan gave up 21 offensive rebounds, and 16 of those came after halftime. That kind of damage can undo a lot of good work.
“We need (Gayle and McKenney) in a five-six rebound range,” Boynton said. “UConn’s always been one of the best rebounding teams, and you know that’s what we got next. They got the film.”
Boynton eventually leaned back into size to help settle things down around the foul trouble. Graduate forward Jalen Reed spent most of the game at center in place of Estrella and made his presence felt with six offensive rebounds. Quinn Costello also got a chance to show he could hold up physically, and he responded with active defense both on the perimeter and inside.
“Two weeks ago when he was getting iso’d, guys were literally just getting all the way to the rim,” Boynton said. “That’s the part that I’m encouraged about.”
Thiam is expected back for Michigan’s matchup with Connecticut, so Boynton shouldn’t have to juggle the starting lineup the same way in that one. Still, the Oakland game gave him a chance to learn more about what he has beyond the starters, and those early-season minutes could matter later when he’s sorting out the bench.
In Other News...
Michigans Kicking Battle Just Got A Surprise Twist
Michigans search for stability on special teams just picked up an unexpected wrinkle. Ryan Jung, the kicking prospect committed to the Wolverines, is planning to reclassify to the 2027 recruiting class and arrive a year early, according to a report from Hayes Fawcett of On3.com. The move gives Michigan another name to plug into a kicking picture that has already been unsettled, with sophomore Trey Butkowski still working through struggles and the staff keeping the competition wide open.
Kerry Coombs appears to have played a real part in the decision, encouraging Jung to come in early and fight for a roster spot instead of waiting another year. For Michigan, that adds a fresh layer to a battle that already mattered, because kicking has a way of turning into a season-long storyline when it is not settled. Jungs timeline may have changed, but the bigger question is whether the early arrival can help the Wolverines find the kind of consistency they have been chasing. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Knows Exactly What Could Decide The Michigan State Rivalry
The rushing battle has become the clearest place to look in Michigans rivalry meeting with Michigan State, and the Wolverines know it. Players on the team pointed to the ground game as a major separator in a series where the team that wins the rushing battle has taken 49 of the last 57 matchups, a trend that fits the kind of physical, possession-by-possession game this one usually turns into.
Both offenses have had trouble getting much going on the ground this season, which makes short-yardage consistency even more important than usual. Michigans defense has done a strong job of limiting opponents rushing yards, and if that holds up again, it could tilt the game in the Wolverines favor before the bigger rivalry swings even have a chance to take over. [Read more 🡒]
Rutgers Watched Michigan Players Turn This Loss Into A Draft Showcase
Rutgers left Ann Arbor with a loss, but it also got a long look at several Michigan players who helped turn the afternoon into a showcase. The Wolverines moved to 5-3, and for scouts in attendance, the appeal was less about the final score than the individual tape. Senior nose tackle Enow Etta continued to build on his starting role with strong work against the run and enough pass-rush production to keep showing up in the backfield, while cornerback Jyaire Hill made his presence felt by limiting the looks Rutgers wanted to throw his way.
Blake Frazier, meanwhile, had a more uneven day, which is part of the reality for a young offensive lineman trying to find consistency. But the broader picture for Michigan was clear: this was the kind of game that can sharpen a draft conversation for some players and raise questions for others, all while the Wolverines keep stacking wins. [Read more 🡒]