Different college basketball programs have different problems.
For some, it’s landing players in the transfer portal. For others, Others still, it’s a lack of financial support. Michigan basketball has a problem of sorts, but it’s one most teams would welcome compared to the rest.
The Wolverines continue to develop players at elite rates, which has shrunk their shelf life in the college basketball ranks. In Year 1 under Dusty May, U-M recruited Danny Wolf from Yale with two years of eligibility remaining. Instead, after one standout season in Ann Arbor, Wolf left and became a first-round NBA draft pick.
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It’s happening again. U-M brought in Aday Mara (two years remaining) and Morez Johnson Jr. (three years remaining) for the 2025-26 season, yet both played so well while helping propel Michigan to a 2025-26 national championshp that they’ve both entered the 2026 NBA Draft.
While neither has ruled out a return to Ann Arbor, the expectation is both will take the next step in their careers.
“I think Morez and Aday are gauging the interest of the NBA,” May said. “With the way they’ve played, they’ve positioned themselves to have a very, very difficult decision. … We get feedback from the NBA daily. We talk to their agents, we talk to them. I’d rather not comment on those guys. Let them comment on whatever their futures hold.”
Johnson is the most likely of the two to return. Mara told the Free Press he would definitely leave if he was seen as a top-20 player and some mock drafts, like the latest from ESPN’s Jeremy Woo, have Mara going at No. 14 overall.
Johnson isn’t far behind, at No. 20, in the same mock, but the Wolverines have left the door open for a return. The uncertainty presents a challenge when rounding out a roster, but U-M will not “recruit against it,” May said.
“What are we going to tell Morez?” he added. “I think he knows us. But, yeah, I talk to him. Yesterday was probably the first day that I haven’t talked to Morez in a couple weeks. I talk to him every day. But it’s more just supporting him, checking on him, just having a conversation about his well-being and whatnot.
“When guys declare for the draft, we don’t ever recruit them back. This is our vision – we present our vision, our plan, what we think it will look like – and then they decide what’s best for them.”
The Wolverines had a surprise draft entrant just before the deadline, in point guard Elliot Cadeau. He has already agreed to a deal for next season, but Cadeau wants to begin to make connections at the next level to receive specific feedback from teams as far as what they’re looking for in his development.
May said he takes the same approach with Cadeau as anybody else. While U-M is banking on his return (and it’s essentially a certainty), May remains adamant that his priorities are his program as well as the development of his players.
“If he wants to go see what a workout is like to prepare himself for next year to hear what the people, our future employers are going to say about us, then I’m fully supportive of him,” May said. “I don’t feel good. I don’t feel bad. We support our players with whatever their personal ambition is outside of season.
“If an NBA team said, ‘We’re going to draft you in the top 10,’ I’d probably tell Elliot to go to the NBA and we’d figure this out.”
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 patient waiting on Aday Mara, Morez Johnson NBA draft decisions
Reporting by Tony Garcia, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
