BUFFALO − If anybody is debating the best frontcourt in the nation, Michigan basketball is in the conversation.
Boasting the massive front line of All-American Yaxel Lendeborg, second-team All-Big Ten forward Morez Johnson and third-team All-Big Ten center Aday Mara has provided the Wolverines an exceedingly high floor this season − the anchor that led the 1-seed Wolverines (31-3) to perhaps its best regular season in program history.
But in March, you need guards. For its opening round matchup against 16-seed Howard (7:10 p.m., CBS), U-M might not need the backcourt to be flawless, but if Michigan is to make a run, it can’t just be the frontcourt playing well.
It starts with Elliot Cadeau.
“He’s kind of a brain hub of what we do,” coach Dusty May said of Cadeau last weekend in Chicago. “His basketball IQ is off the charts. His defensive energy, when he’s locked in, is as good as anyone. We need him to lead our team to be at our best.”
In Michigan’s five games without L.J. Cason, Cadeau has been good, but not quite great. He had 11 points and nine assists at Iowa, but committed four turnovers. He had just two points and and two assists against MSU. He put up 15 and seven against OSU in the Big Ten Tournament, but that too came with four turnovers.
Perhaps his best game was a 10-point, 10-assist double-double in the Big Ten Tournament championship loss to Purdue. Even then, he was largely shut down in the second half. He was keenly aware postgame of what happened and acknowledged his best is imperative if U-M is to go from Buffalo to Chicago to Indianapolis.
“I’m going to have a big role, especially with L.J. going down,” he said. “I definitely have to step up.”
So, too, does Trey McKenney. Whether it’s right or wrong to put that level of expectation on a freshman is a different conversation, but U-M doesn’t have the luxury any longer of a backup point guard. McKenney has operated more on the ball the past five games, growing into the role. He comes off consecutive games with three assists in each − his previous six matchups he didn’t have one.
McKenney’s role this year wasn’t to be a facilitator. It was to be a tough shot taker and maker, to add scoring punch off the bench and be the second wave of a relentless Michigan roster, which included using his imposing physicality on defense.
Now, U-M is asking even more of him, but it’s something he was prepared for as soon as Cason went down.
“[May] definitely told me that I had to kind of step up into a new role and accept that,” McKenney said while seated in front of his locker inside KeyBank Center. “I think he’s really trusted me and gave me the opportunities to kind of accept some failure a little bit. Even if I turn the ball over, just get to the next thing.
“It’s obviously a new thing, playing point guard on this level, but I think I’ve done a really good job adjusting to it and I think now I’m starting to get in a place where I’m comfortable.”
Losing Cason has shrunk Michigan’s margin for error, but for the most part, the Wolverines have still been stable. They picked up four consecutive wins over teams in the NCAA Tournament, before falling in their third game in three days to a hungry Purdue squad at United Center.
And to be clear, this doesn’t exclusively fall on the point guards. Michigan needs Roddy Gayle Jr. to get downhill on offense and remain a pest on defense. He did as much when he scored 15 against MSU in the regular season finale.
Then, there’s sixth-year shooting guard Nimari Burnett. He scored 12 against the Boilermakers and has hit two or more 3s in seven of his past 13 games. Should U-M gets to next weekend, he might have to hit multiple 3s every game from there on out.
The good news is there are options, so the burden doesn’t all fall on Cadeau and McKenney, but the entire group.
“The bigs are very stable and give us what we need each and every game,” Burnett said. “Us guards, we can be very versatile and impact the game at a high level. I think we’re going to be very, very key going into April.”
Tony Garcia is the Michigan beat writer for the Detroit Free Press. Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan’s big men give it a high floor, guards will determine ceiling