New Michigan basketball PG Tre Donaldson has a big vision for himself in the 2024-25 season

When Dusty May left FAU to come to Ann Arbor to become the new head coach of the Michigan basketball team, he knew he had to build a new roster. There were only three Wolverines from the Juwan Howard era who came back to play under May: Nimari Burnett, Will Tschetter and Jace Howard. May said during his introductory press conference that he wanted to build a competitive roster, and that’s exactly what he did.

One of the players he snapped up was Auburn point guard Tre Donaldson. Donaldson played two years with the Tigers before entering the transfer portal. The 6’3″ point guard averaged 6.7 points, 3.2 assists and 2.4 rebounds in 19.2 minutes per game for the Tigers.

Recently, Donaldson was a guest on the Defend The Block podcast and was asked to describe his game to Michigan fans. Donaldson didn’t mince his words when describing what he will bring to Ann Arbor.

“Exciting,” Donaldson said. “Fast, exciting, lots of shots. I’m bringing the South to Michigan. A little bit of confidence. I just have a different confidence. I can be myself again. And you all can see that I’m very entertaining and funny. But I’m here to take over Ann Arbor.”

Like most D-1 college basketball players, they aspire to make it to the NBA. Even though the NBA has become a league that is all about shooting and scoring, defense is still a part of the game. Donaldson firmly believes that his ability to play defense and pay attention to the little details will potentially take him to the next level. Additionally, the Floridian native says his speed will really stand out.

“I play with a lot of energy,” Donaldson said. “Defense is a big thing that the next level looks at. You have to be able to focus on defense. Offensively, anyone who plays Power Five basketball can do something with the basketball. But the guys that pay attention to defense, little things like that, tend to stand out. And like I told you, I’m bringing the South to Ann Arbor. Bringing that toughness, the South’s speed and stuff like that here makes a big difference.”

Donaldson hasn’t talked enough about what he wants to do defensively. In fact, the junior has a big vision for what it will look like this year. You won’t see many point guards win a major award like Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, but that’s exactly what Donaldson’s expectations are for himself in the 2024-25 season as a Michigan Wolverine. He plans to lead in Ann Arbor and be a winner.

“Tre Donaldson is going to be the best defender on the field,” Donaldson said of himself. “I mean, we’ve got the big Vlad (Goldin) and stuff, but I’m going to play guard, and I feel like I’ve made a big jump there. And I feel like as a guard, I’m trying to be Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year, which is tough. I feel like I’ve grown a lot defensively. Just being able to continue to make shots and make the right decisions on time and on purpose. And then continue to lead and be the winner that I am.”

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