THIS TEAM: From Day 1 to the Natty – the story of the 2026 National Champion Michigan Wolverines!

[All right, welcome to the first Go Blue Hoops podcast. My name is Tim McCormick.

I absolutely love the potential of this team and Dusty May’s coaching and recruiting. I want to identify a Michigan legend every week, bring them to you, share their stories, and then have some fun as well.

Dusty, I mean, wow. He’s got these guys playing some great basketball, which I’m super excited about. And I will get the opportunity to come up there and scout a little bit, which is going to be a big honor for me because it’s always an honor to get back and be able to walk into Crisler Arena.

Proud to just see them have great success, winning a lot of games at the University of Michigan. That was the most important part to me, to see them win games. And being an alumnus, hey, Go Blue!

I certainly think there’s a camaraderie and acknowledgment that comes with having worn the jersey. I always try to stay tapped into the current team, and it’s always cool to see them matriculate into their professional careers.

And so the last three games for them is kind of the first time that, as fans, all of us are starting to realize, wow, this group could be very special.

Now, are they going to do that every single night for the rest of the season? Probably not. But now there’s a benchmark in terms of what we know they’re capable of. And so I think for any college team, it’s whether you’re able to be playing your best basketball come March.

You know, it’s great. It’s good to see them on top right now. Although we might be number two, number one in the coaches poll, number two in the AP, these guys are just getting started. They’ve only been together for a couple of months. So as they continue to grow and get used to each other, which sounds weird because they’re 10-0, I expect nothing but greater things from them.

Man, this current team, they might be one of the best teams I’ve ever seen. They are incredible to watch. I think they have a chance to be one of the best teams of all time.

Regardless of the year, we couldn’t be happier with where the program is at right now and the team that we have. It’s not just that they’re winning, but this is a group of guys that’s really easy to root for. Love the way they play. Love the way they carry each other.

You’re so excited with how well the team’s doing. You want to text all the time, but I’m like, “Hey, man, great win. Guys are playing great.” And he’s super responsive. So yeah, absolutely excited, man. Just a special team.

When they first started off, I said that this team probably wouldn’t break a lot of individual records because they’re so much a team. But a lot of those team-oriented records, they’re coming down, and I’m seeing them start to fall.

I kind of overemphasize a lot about teammates liking each other. This is genuine with this team. We go on the road, these guys are playing checkers together. They’re playing cards together. You don’t have certain groups over here and a certain group over there. It’s amazing just to see the way those guys click.

They don’t play and say, “I’ve got to get my shot.” They play as a unit, and they play to win. And that’s what’s going to get them the national title.

Well, they love to play. They’re having fun. They play together. They play for each other. They have a great coach. I think they have a chance. It’s as good a team as I’ve seen in college basketball in a long time.

I compare them a little to Villanova in 2018 because they both had experience and talent on their side. This team may be even better than that.

That doesn’t predict they’re going to win a national championship. You’ve got to get lucky to get to the Final Four and national championship. So it doesn’t mean they’re a failure if they don’t make it, to me. But they are really a talented team, and everybody’s going to give their best shot. They’re going to have to withstand all those things and keep winning because winning is hard to sustain, and they’ve been able to do it.

So I love my team. I love my school. I was there at the Wisconsin loss, and I felt like I cursed us. That’s why I came back to the Michigan State game.

So when I look at the games today, I look at the fact that Michigan is really, really good at both ends of the floor, and they have enough, Tim, to go all the way.

I got a chance to see them practice this past summer, and I just knew they were going to be really good, man. They’ve got good size. That’s huge for the tournament. You get stops and rebounds, that’s huge. So I’m high on them, man. I did a bracket with a couple of my Michigan alumni guys. We’ve got them winning it.

I like the confidence and the courage, and I love the unity. I love the brotherhood. That was the biggest thing about being a Michigan man, the brotherhood, the camaraderie. And I see that along with the fearlessness, man. It’s a beautiful sight.

I’m so proud of this team. I’m so proud of Dusty May, and I’m proud to be a Wolverine. Like, I love rooting for this squad.

I think from there, I just went to practice games. You know, I’m just messing with the guys. I’m like, “Michigan’s going to win the national championship.”

You get the same old response, like, “Ah, okay.” I’m like, “I’m serious, dog. They’ve got like seven, nine guys that could go start for another Division I team.”

So it’s like they’re deep, they’re loaded. If you learn how to play together and everybody puts their egos aside, which they did, you’re going to have a national championship under your belt.

So all I needed was one game, and you could just tell that they play hard and they love playing for each other.

I’m good friends with some of the guys, of course, and could not be happier for them. I was able to watch as many games as I could. I was actually down in Indy for the Final Four, which was pretty special, and it was definitely a fun season for those guys.

Wow, what an incredible finish to an unforgettable season.

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