Wolverines Connect with Crisler Center Fans in Basketball Lovefest

Coach Dusty May told players 'the unselfishness, and spirit and passion that you play with' will connect with fans, bringing Crisler enthusiasm and sellouts -- which are at five and counting

Photos Courtesy of University of Michigan Photography

Michigan center Vlad Goldin, posing with two happy fans, said: “I knew how great of a crowd this could be if we play the way everybody likes to see…We appreciate every fan who comes to our game because all we are trying to do is make everyone proud of how hard we play, and the work we do. We’re trying to play good basketball for everybody – the school, the people, for everybody.”

Wolverine guard Nimari Burnett, here signing autographs for fans, said: “I think the strengths that we all have as a group has definitely tied into being engaged with the crowd. It’s fun basketball. It’s a fun style of basketball.”

By Steve Kornacki

ANN ARBOR, Mich. – The Wolverines, perhaps as much as anything, are a fun team to watch.

I became aware of that at the first home game this season under new coach Dusty May. Basketball fans were standing, without scoreboard prompting, to applaud the new Michigan play and spirit. They were smiling from the very beginning, and haven’t stopped as the No. 24 Wolverines have won all 10 home games headed into Wednesday’s matchup with Oregon (16-6, 5-6 Big Ten) on the Big Ten Network at 6:30 p.m.

And first-time visitors also quickly pick up on the effervescence and togetherness of this team.

“It’s really fun to watch how much this group loves each other,” Big Ten Network play-by-play announcer James Ross, Jr., told viewers.

When I came across an old friend at a game, the first thing Kevin Goheen of Belleville said was, “This is a really fun team! They move the basketball and are constantly in motion.”

Brian Miller, a long-time Michigan fan, said, “It’s fun to see the team play like a team and not five individuals on the court who don’t know (or care) what the others are doing. I can understand the plays, offensively and defensively, and I enjoy the athleticism of these guys.”

That fun, fun, fun in the wintertime feel didn’t just happen by chance. It was part of the plan for May, who two seasons ago took unheralded Florida Atlantic University to the Final Four while building a spirited fan base in Boca Raton.

I asked May after that opening home game win over Cleveland State, if he could feel and hear the appreciation from the Wolverine faithful, who were starved for such a performance after last year’s rock-bottom 8-24 season.

“Yes,” May said with a smile. “Usually, I don’t hear anything. Sometimes it’s deafening and your ears start buzzing, Your head starts buzzing because it’s so loud. I do think our fans appreciated the way our guys played the game tonight.

“And that’s something that we talk about [having] even late in the game. The unselfishness, and spirit and passion that you play with – you don’t ever turn that off. We told them before the game today, ‘This place will probably be half-full tonight, and by the next month, because of the way we play, and the way we interact with each other, and the way we represent Michigan. We want it to be full, and we’ll give ‘em a month.’ ”

The crowd was listed at 10,334 in the 12,707-seat arena. But that figure included tickets sold to fans not attending, and it was about half full.

There have been five consecutive sellouts, beginning with Dec. 22 win over Purdue Fort Wayne. And season ticket holders are showing up for every game, filling nearly every seat.

They are picking up on the fun these Wolverines have together on and off the court. The players are so naturally supportive of one another on the court, and even huddle on the court before halftime to share thoughts before heading to the locker room. Their arms are around one another in a big circle, heads nodding as different players speak.

And check them out on the bench. They talk freely with one another all the time, like guys just hanging out.

May was right. He knew fans would pick up on the pure, fun vibe of this team. And when they roared approval during the 91-75 win over Washington, it impacted the team.

“Before I got here,” said center Vlad Goldin, a graduate transfer from FAU, “I knew how great of a crowd this could be if we play the way everybody likes to see. So, it is something we appreciate. We appreciate every fan who comes to our game because all we are trying to do is make everyone proud of how hard we play, and the work we do.

“We’re trying to play good basketball for everybody – the school, the people, for everybody.”

I asked Oscar Goldman, the incoming recruit from New Zealand who is practicing but not playing the rest of this season, what has turned his head about this new experience.

“I think it’s the crowd,” said Goldman. “The fans are amazing. I’ve seen videos of it, but it’s a whole different thing now when you’re courtside with the boys. It’s definitely that.”

Wolverine guard Nimari Burnett is one of just three scholarship players back from last year’s last-place Big Ten team. He’s seen the Crisler crowds go from shaking their heads in disbelief to shaking their fists in support for a squad that’s now 16-5 overall and 8-2 in the Big Ten.

“I just think we have a group of guys that play the game hard, play the game the right way,” Burnett told me. “It’s fun to lock in and we’re doing a good job of winning games. Especially after the year we had.

“I think the strengths that we all have as a group has definitely tied into being engaged with the crowd. It’s fun basketball. It’s a fun style of basketball.”

They play tight defense, love to run the fastbreak after stops, and tend to either shoot the ball deep or drive to the bucket.

When Burnett and Goldin made their way into the press conference after the overtime win over Northwestern, a large number of fans perched on the nearby arena walkway and escalator cheered them loudly.

And when given the opportunity to say something over the public address system to the faithful fans in a post-game interview on the court, Burnett shouted, “Go Blue! Thanks to you guys, so much. You make our job easy on the court.”

A group of fans up in the rafters literally screamed for joy.

It’s been a basketball lovefest – one enjoyed by the players and their fans to a high degree.

And after coming back in the final minutes to deny and beat Penn State, 76-72, in the last home game, May said, “The energy in the building elevated our defense. It distracted them.”

Now it’s five sellouts and counting, and the crowd advantage is mounting.

After the maize and blue-clad fans roared down the stretch against the Nittany Lions, May said, “I noticed it, and I don’t notice a lot [of crowd reactions]. So, only when it gets really, really loud, would I notice the crowd.

“And it erupted. It sounded comparatively to [Purdue’s] Mackey Arena. I mean, you couldn’t hear. And that helped our defense without a doubt.”

Asked if there was any way to extend those loud stretches of crowd support, May smiled, stuck tongue in cheek, and said, “Yes, we’re going to coach better and play better. And then they’re going to get louder.”

Everyone at the press conference laughed along with May.

It’s been a good run this season – a fun run, too.

Michigan guard Roddy Gayle, Jr., exchanging handshakes with young fans at a recent game at Crisler Center.