Brandon McCoy Jr. Injury Throws Yet Another Wrench Into Michigan’s Repeat Bid

It’s not unprecedented for a college basketball team to look completely different the year after winning a national championship. Look at North Carolina in 2010 or Kentucky in ’13, two teams that hightailed it to the NIT after losing gobs of talent to the NBA.

And then there’s Michigan. The Wolverines had a specific vision as to how their team would look in 2027, mixing returnees and newcomers—only to have the rug pulled from under them twice.

Guard Brandon McCoy Jr.—a five-star recruit and candidate to go in the top 10 of June’s NBA draft—is out for the season after tearing his ACL in Montenegro, Michigan said in a release Tuesday.

The injury is a massive blow to the Wolverines, and will likely force them to reshuffle their roster once again as the season draws near.

McCoy was the crown jewel of a loaded class of Michigan additions

The Wolverines hauled in the nation’s No. 3-ranked class of commitments this offseason per 247Sports, including a robust set of both recruits and transfers. McCoy headed up the former group along with four four-star players; forward Quinn Costello of Boston’s Newman School is the highest ranked of the quartet. The latter group is paced by forward J.P. Estrella (late of Tennessee) and center Moustapha Thiam (Cincinnati).

The newcomer class is light on guards beyond McCoy—four-star recruit Joseph Hartman is the best—but that’s because guards Elliott Cadeau and Trey McKenney return. Even without its prized freshman, Michigan will have a deep backcourt rotation to work with—but McCoy’s gravity will be sorely missed.

However! There is a wild card (wild guard?) in the Wolverines’ deck in Roddy Gayle Jr. Gayle, part of the increasingly infamous high school class of 2022, sued the NCAA Tuesday in New York in a bid to return to school. The four-year guard for Ohio State and Michigan played Summer League for the Pistons but never signed, and could provide much-needed added depth if his bid succeeds.

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Michigan has already adjusted on the fly this offseason with coach Dusty May leaving for the Mavericks

May split for Dallas on June 23 after months of open disillusionment with the state of college basketball. That stirred fears of a mass transfer exodus, and the Wolverines quickly moved to prevent that by elevating assistant coach Mike Boynton to May’s role. As if Michigan needed any more change, the university announced athletic director Warde Manuel’s departure on July 20.

The moral of the story: McCoy’s departure isn’t the first time this offseason the Wolverines have had to go back to the drawing board. Michigan still has a respected coaching staff, the DNA of a championship team and newcomers most teams would kill for.

Odds of a repeat are long—but look how quickly the Wolverines rose to the top after hiring May. Things change quickly in this game. If McCoy chooses to ever suit up for Michigan, expect a successful program to be waiting for him. No Wildcats- or Tar Heels-style gap year required.

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