U-M's national title adds to golden celebration for Alumni group

The long and storied history of the men’s basketball program at the University of Michigan — which now boasts two national championships after the Wolverines defeated Connecticut, 69-63, Monday night, April 6 — also includes significant contributions made by student-athletes from Detroit and the surrounding metropolitan area. A short list of local basketball standouts who have represented the maize and blue with distinction over the past few decades includes, Bill Buntin, Oliver Darden, Herman Fishman, Ron Kramer, George Lee, Don Lund, Terry Mills, Jalen Rose, Robert Traylor, Campy Russell, DeShawn Sims, Roy Tarpley, Maurice Taylor, Rudy Tomjanovich and Chris Webber. Because of those legendary players and more, who often made magic on the court in Ann Arbor while connecting with their brothers from Flint and other Michigan towns that have produced talented players, Detroit-area fans have had a long-time connection with Michigan’s basketball teams.

However, in today’s world of college athletics, where student-athletes have an opportunity to profit from their name, image and likeness through NIL deals, and have greater freedom to transfer to other programs in search of the best fit, college teams change their look much more often. Because of that, it is less likely that today’s players are closely linked to the towns or other major institutions near their universities. In fact, the Wolverines took the college basketball world by storm this season with a lineup featuring four-star transfer players — Elliot Cadeau, Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, and Morez Johnson Jr.

— from four different universities, that were playing their first season for Michigan. The lone Michigander on the Wolverines’ 2025-2026 championship roster was freshman sensation Trey McKenney, a Flint native, who won the Hal Schram Mr. Basketball Award in 2025 as the top high school senior in Michigan while playing for Orchard Lake St.

Mary’s. But, even if players from Detroit were not the ones making plays for the Wolverines this past season on the basketball court, Detroit remains well represented when it comes to Michigan basketball fans. This passionate fanbase includes members of the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary throughout 2026.