Michigan European Basketball Trip “90% Success”, Injury Updates and What It Means Along With Who Surprised
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Michigan European Basketball Trip “90% Success”, Injury Updates and What It Means Along With Who Surprised
Michigan forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) warms up with assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. ahead of the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 between Michigan and Alabama at United Center in Chicago on Friday, March 27, 2026. | Source: Lastwordonsports.com - Daniel Benjamin, Editor
Daniel Benjamin, Editor
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7 min read
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Michigan basketballis continuing to recuperate from its 10-day trip to Lithuania, Croatia, and Montenegro, which first-year head coach Mike Boynton Jr. called "90% successful."
Michigan European Basketball Trip "90% Successful", Plus, Injury Updates and What It Means for the Upcoming Season
Boynton, the former Oklahoma State head coach (2017-24), served as an assistant on Dusty May's staff the last two seasons as the Wolverines' defense coordinator before being elevated this summer following May's surprising departure. While the Wolverines are the defending national champions, they will look totally different from last year's squad, which set a program record by winning 37 games and 19 Big Ten contests.
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Michigan lost four starters this offseason — with three players ending up in the NBA — and six of its top nine players overall. The Wolverines also saw budding freshman guard Brandon McCoy Jr.'s season end after he suffered a torn ACL in the second game of the European trip.
On the positive side,Elliott Cadeau— 2026 NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player– and rising sophomoreTrey McKenneyreturned. Also, key reserveRoddy Gayleis attempting to return for a fifth season, though he, like many other players who have sued the NCAA,is still being held up in the courts. The Wolverines also brought in a high-quality recruiting class that consists of 10 newcomers, including six freshmen.
Wolverines Return To Ann Arbor With One Win and Banged Up
Michigan went 1-2 during their European trip. After getting run out of the gym in the second half (52-28) of their first outing by the Lithuania national team, the shorthanded Wolverines also fell to Lithuania's B squad (82-77). The Wolverines did bounce back and closed the trip with an 84-81 victory over Croatian professional club Mega SuperBet as McKenney, Cadeau andJP Estrellacombined for 56 points. The Wolverines were withoutMoustapha Thiam, who was injured in the first quarter of the loss to Lithuania's national team, as well as Ricky Liburd,Jalen Reed, and Lincoln Cosby.
From my perspective, the trip was 90-plus percent successful," Boynton Jr. said on the'Defend The Block' podcast with host Brian Boesch. "One [negative] being a pretty significant setback for our team. No question, Brandon McCoy is a guy we expected to have a major impact on our team, a guy who worked his butt off this summer to put himself in position to earn that right.
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"Certainly disappointed, but injuries are an unfortunate part of sport," Boynton continued. "We see it every year with most teams. We've been really fortunate here the last couple years, staying fairly injury-free."
Michigan played against professionals, and it was the team's first time out. So, it is not surprising that the Wolverines struggled shooting the ball. Their 64 turnovers over the three games are very concerning. However, the Wolverines did rebound and defend the 3-point well.
Michigan guards Trey McKenney (1) and Elliot Cadeau (3) react to a play during the second half of the NCAA national championship game against Connecticut at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026. Photo Credit: USA Today via Reuters Connect
McKenney was excellent in his two games, totaling 40 points while making 13 of 24 shots (54.2%) and 6 of 14 from deep (42.9%). Cadeau was second on the team during the trip with 13.7 points and a team-high 5.7 assists, though he also committed a total of 14 turnovers. Freshman Quinn Costello, who was 11 of 24 from deep, and Estrella contributed 11.7 points apiece.
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"Quinn wound up playing like 20 minutes a game. Even [freshman center] Marcus [Moller], who I talked about how impressed I was [with] before we left, I didn't expect to play him as much," Boynton said. "I thought I would get a chance to see him out there, get him some reps, but he ended up being basically the backup '5,' and played 16, 17 minutes a game, when he probably, under different circumstances, wouldn't have gotten so much experience on that trip in terms of playing. There are some positives that come out of it. Been studying the film and doing some debriefing with our staff about what we saw and what we can expect to do moving forward."
UM's Injuries and What It Means Going Forward
According toClayton Safie of The Wolverine,McCoy will undergo surgery once the swelling subsides. McCoy showed some of his promise during his three games and was expected to start on the wing alongside McKenney. The 18-year-old wing totaled 29 points and 9 steals in 62 minutes, though he did struggle shooting the ball.
With McCoy sidelined, Boynton will have to adjust his rotation.Oscar Goodman, who averaged 9.6 points and 6.3 rebounds in the three games in Europe, is a candidate to start at the 3. However, Gayle orKenny Nolandwill likely get the nod if they are given the green light.
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Gayle is a defense-oriented glue guy who was a part-time starter for the Wolverines in 2024-25. Meanwhile, Noland spent the last four seasons at Columbia and is coming off a career season in which he averaged 17.1 points with shooting splits of 44.9/37.5/92.1.
Thiamwas injured late in the first quarterof the opening game of the trip when Cadeau fell on his leg after missing a driving layup. The Cincinnati transfer tallied 6 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 1 steal in 6 minutes on the court against the Lithuanian national team.
"Moustapha, very, very similarly, something minor, but it was enough that we didn't want to take a chance," Boynton told Safie. "He is going to have a chance to have a great impact on our team on both ends of the court. One thing that was fairly evident was not only his rim pressure and his ability to be a good pick-and-roll threat with Elliot — that was pretty obvious in the first few possessions — but also his defensive presence, his ability to protect the rim and play in our drop ball screen coverage and be kind of a menace around the basket defensively."
Liburd, who redshirted last season, was unable to play on the trip after suffering a setback with his hip impingement, per Boynton. Liburd is expected to compete for playing time, though he likely will have a bigger role if Gayle and
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"Ricky kind of had a little bit of a setback, in terms of he had a hip impingement," Boynton noted. "Nothing super major, but we did a small procedure with him — nothing invasive — right before we left, and it was at the recommendation of the doctor that he have some time to rest and recover from that. He's been back in the gym since we've been back; he's doing the rehab in the necessary forms to get himself back in position to play.
"Nothing long-term that should have any kind of impact on our playing season or even our practice season, which will start in a couple weeks."
Jalen Reedand Lincoln Cosby are still recovering from injuries. Reed has appeared in just 14 games over the last two seasons due to a torn ACL followed by an Achilles rupture. He is expected to be cleared to return to 5-on-5 and could be ready by the start of the season.
Cosby is not expected to play this season as he continues to rehab from the ACL injury that he suffered at Monteverde (FL) Academy. However, he could practice with the team later this season.
