Dusty May has taken over as the head coach of the Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball program, and he’s got plenty of work to do. There are plenty of scholarships availability to distribute, and there is a world where there are no returning players from last year’s team. While that’s unlikely, May and the Wolverines are not wasting any time reaching out to players in the portal.
Connor Essegian
The first named with rumored mutual interest was Connor Essegian. The combo guard entered the transfer portal from Big Ten rival Wisconsin due to a lack of playing time his sophomore season. But as a true freshman, Essegian was sensational. The 6-foot-4 Fort Wayne native shot 35.9 percent from deep and averaged 11.7 points per game that year, earning him All-Big Ten Freshman first-team honors.
Jason Rivera-Torres
Another guard in the mix is Vanderbilt freshman Jason Rivera-Torres. The former four-star recruit out of Virginia was recruited by May at FAU, so there is familiarity. In his freshman season, Rivera-Torres came off the bench scoring 6.4 points per game in 29 appearances. Three-point shooting was disappointing for the true freshman, hitting only 24.1 percent from behind the arc.
Cade Tyson
May said in his introductory press conference he wants Michigan to shoot the three-ball with consistency. It makes sense then for him to reach out to one of the top shooters in the country in Belmont small forward Cade Tyson.
He’ll be a junior in 2024-25, but he shot an unbelievable 46.5 percent from deep on 5.5 attempts per game while scoring 16.2 points per contest. 247Sports lists Tyson as the No. 15 player in the portal.
J’Vonne Hadley
The most experienced player Michigan has checked in with is Colorado guard J’Vonne Hadley. Hadley began his career at Northeastern in 2020 and then went to Indian Hills Community College in 2021-22. The last two years he has been with the Buffaloes and started almost every game. As a senior last year, he scored 11.6 points a game and shot 53.8 percent from the field. He could come to Ann Arbor and help establish a culture as an experienced leader of this team.
