Tschetter Stepped Up to Help Carry Michigan Past Oregon; Inspires Team Daily

Coach May on Tschetter after his 17 points in less than 17 minutes: 'He’s helped us win so many games this year. And I don’t know that I’ve ever been around a better teammate.'

Photos Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography

Wolverine sixth man Will Tschetter launching a three-point shot against Oregon and center Nate Bittle (No. 32).

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – Will Tschetter always contributes a spark for the Wolverines. He’s the quintessential basketball sixth man – playing like his hair is on fire every second he’s on the court.

Need a big three-pointer?

Tschetter delivers.

Need an important rebound?

Tschetter grabs it.

Need an inspirational thought in a huddle?

Tschetter’s your man.

The 6-foot-8, 230-pound redshirt junior from Stewartville (Minn.) High was at his best in Wednesday night’s 80-76 Michigan win over Oregon.

He scored a season-high 17 points with 3 rebounds in 16:32 on the court.

“You look at it,” said Michigan center Danny Wolf. “Seventeen points in 16 minutes. That’s an efficient player. But outside of basketball, just his energy, his charisma. His leadership is invaluable. You can’t put a price tag on it. We’re lucky to have him – to say the least.”

Neither of the Wolverines’ seven-foot frontcourt starters – the “Area 50-1” combo of Vlad Goldin and Wolf -- scored in the first 10:46 minutes of the game. But Tschetter was called upon and scored 10 points in the first half.

Tschetter (pronounced cheddar) got the crowd going with a three-pointer for the team’s first lead of the night nearly seven minutes into the game, and then drove hard to the hoop for a bucket.

He was feeling it, and didn’t hesitate when getting another pass behind the arc.

Swish!

Then it was time to score on a finger roll after receiving a nifty pass from Wolf while driving the lane.

He scored 10 points in nine minutes in the first half.

Tschetter scored 7 during a span of 3:35 early in the second half.

He scored on the right block before hustling down court and taking a charge – a defensive call that’s harder to draw from officials this season due to rules changes.

Tschetter scored again off the glass with a put back, and then did something special by baiting to get fouled on a three-point attempt. He calmly drained all three free throws.

He scored within seconds upon checking into the game for the first time in both halves.

Joining a game in progress and instantly finding its flow is no simple task. I asked Goldin about the difficulty in doing that, and he tied it to Tschetter’s unbridled energy.

“I cannot imagine the amount of energy he brings us every practice,” said Goldin. “Every game, every practice, every film session – he brings us up every single time. He does way more off the court even than he does on the court.”

And after Wolf (15 points, 12 rebounds) and Goldin (15 points, 6 rebounds) joined the party and the Wolverines held off the Ducks in a wild finish, Tschetter shouted for joy near mid-court, and put an arm around guard Roddy Gayle, Jr., whose two free throws with 8.3 seconds left brought about the final score.

“I’m very, very happy for him to have the kind of efficient game he had tonight,” said Michigan coach Dusty May. “He’s helped us win so many games this year. And I don’t know that I’ve ever been around a better teammate. Maybe some that are as good. But it’s nice to see him rewarded for the work he puts in.

“His consistency and approach are impressive.”

And as for his impact on this game?

“He changed it,” Michigan Network radio analyst Terry Mills, a member of the 1989 national champions, told listeners. “I can’t say enough about Will Tschetter. He makes things happen. He brings all the intangibles. He’s the blue-collar worker. And is one of the most improved players in the Big Ten.”

Tschetter provided all his team’s scoring off the bench.

However, it isn’t like he doesn’t know how to score points in bunches. Tschetter totaled 2,467 points in high school and averaged 30.3 as a senior in 2020-21, when he finished second to current NBA star Chet Holmgren in Minnesota’s Mr. Basketball award voting.

Holmgren went to Gonzaga, became the No. 2 overall pick in the 2022 NBA Draft, and has become a key component for the highly-successful Oklahoma City Thunder.

Tschetter wasn’t even near being the biggest star the Wolverines got in his recruiting class that included NBA players Kobe Bufkin, Moussa Diabate and Caleb Houstan along with current college standouts Frankie Collins of TCU and Tulsa’s Isaiah Barnes.

However, Tschetter is the only one of that six-man class still in Ann Arbor – having to fight for playing time, and getting more each year. I remember him during those first two seasons. He came out on the Crisler Center court to shoot three-pointers with a student manager rebounding while reporters typed their game stories two levels higher.

I admired that, and his attitude has carried him to playing important minutes for the No. 24 Wolverines, who are 17-5 overall and battling for a Big Ten championship at 9-2 after finishing in last place and going 8-24 last year.

Tschetter averaged 6.8 points and 2.4 rebounds in 17.9 minutes last season, with six starts, and is averaging 7.0 points, 2.4 rebounds and 15.2 minutes this season. He slimmed down, losing 15 pounds, and also got stronger while realizing better endurance.

May was sold on keeping Tschetter after speaking with out-going Wolverine coach Juwan Howard and others.

“I’d spoken to Coach Howard, I’d spoken to several people,” said May. “I’d [already] heard some great things about him. I was excited to coach the human Will Tschetter more than the basketball player, from what I’d heard from the previous staff and the people here at Michigan.”

Michigan forward Will Tschetter hit the court and got this loose ball to point guard Tre Donaldson Wednesday night against Oregon.

Tschetter wasn’t brought out to speak to the media Wednesday night, but to provide insight into what has made him who he is, I’m sharing the lead of a story I wrote about him last season:

Tschetter smiles when recalling where he developed his sweet shooting touch. It was back home in rural Minnesota on the family’s backyard basketball court, and mostly with his mother.

Tschetter said, “I was always just getting shots up with her out there or in the high school gym, the middle school gym – really any gym we could find. Up at our cabin, we’ve got a hoop up there, and we spend a lot of time up there in the summer. So, there’s never a question if you can find a basketball court, and just do a lot of work.”

His mother, Kasey Morlock, scored 2,233 points as the career scoring leader at North Dakota State, where she met her future husband and Will’s father, Garth Tschetter, a football wide receiver there. She’s in the Bison Athletic Hall of Fame, and was the 1997 Honda Award winner as the Division II Collegiate Woman Athlete of the Year.

Tschetter is nothing if not a competitor, and credits his family for that.

“If we’re really going to be honest,” he said, “my mom and dad growing up, my grandpa, they would always [say], ‘If things aren’t going your way, work a little bit harder.’ So, that’s kind of where it stems from.

“I’ve always had to work in order to get where I’m at. Every night, empty the tank is my mentality. Give it all you’ve got. That way, when you walk off the floor, you have no regrets.”

He’s also something special on campus.

Tschetter graduated in three years with a degree in Earth & Environmental Science, and has since been in a master’s program in Environment and Sustainability in Ecosystem Science and Management.

He’s a two-time Academic All-Big Ten selection.

Tschetter has had a summer internship at the North Bridger Bison ranch near Bozeman, Mont. He’s had projects to help rebuild and maintain wetlands – even creating a beaver mimicry structure resembling a beaver dam to moderate the flow of streams and retain water on the ranch.

What Will Tschetter is, perhaps more than anything, is a problem solver.

Need a plan in dire straits?

Tschetter’s your man.

Need progress in anything from beaver dams to bringing down the Ducks?

Tschetter’s your man.

Need to smile about what’s good in life?

Tschetter’s your man.