Michigan Basketball Stars Talk Reactions to Dusty May Leaving Ann Arbor

The Wolverines' standout guards discussed the emotions surrounding Dusty May's departure and the effort to preserve Michigan's roster.

Apr 6, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines guard Trey McKenney (1) and Michigan Wolverines guard Elliot Cadeau (3) celebrate after a play against the UConn Huskies in the second half during the national championship of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

It has now been over a month since the Michigan Wolverine basketball program lost its National Champion head coach Dusty May to the Dallas Mavericks. Despite losing May, new head coach Mike Boynton Jr. has managed to keep the majority of the roster intact, only losing guard L.J. Cason to the transfer portal (Miami).

Yesterday (July 27), the Michigan backcourt tandem of Trey McKenney and Elliot Cadeau sat down on the Rich Eisen Show and talked about May’s departure from the program.

Michigan men's basketball players Trey McKenney and Elliot Cadeau share their reactions to their former head coach Dusty May leaving for the NBA on the @RichEisenShow 👀

"Our main focus was to keep the team together." pic.twitter.com/qxAO0y3yjj

— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) July 27, 2026

What They Said

“As one of the leaders of the team, me and Trey talked about it; our main focus was to keep the team together,” Cadeau said. “We both talked about it the day it happened and we both kind of told each other that we wanted to stay here. It was our job to help coach keep the roster together.”

With only Cason gone, it is clear that Cadeau and McKenney were successful in that mission to keep the squad together. Redshirt junior forward Harrison Hochberg was also a key to retaining the team, as he has talked about publicly as well.

Michigan guard Elliot Cadeau celebrates a play during the first half of the NCAA national championship game against Connecticut at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

McKenney said when he first heard the news about May, there was a lot of confusion about what would be next for the program.

“I was definitely kind of upset, but I think there was just a level of uncertainty with everybody in the room,” McKenney said. “I didn’t know what was going on, Elliot didn’t know what was going on, the whole team didn’t know what was going on. The biggest thing for me and Elliot was to just try and calm the team down.”

Michigan guard Trey McKenney (1) celebrates a 3-pointer against Wisconsin during the first half of Big Ten Tournament semifinal at United Center in Chicago on Saturday, March 14, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

After it was official that May was leaving, McKenney was the first player to announce that he would be returning to Ann Arbor for the 2026-27 season through a post on Instagram the day after May left. It was a photo of himself vs. UConn with the caption "Victors always stay."

Boynton and the Wolverines are lucky to have strong leadership like this from their stars. 

Not only is this backcourt duo going to be impressive on the court, but knowing their dedication and love for the Maize and Blue is an added bonus.

Of course, it will hurt losing a coach who brought a national championship to the program after just two seasons at the helm. But UofM is in good hands with the student-athletes that they retained and a new head coach who has been around the program.