As new-look Michigan basketball gels, one thing is clear: 'We've got a bunch of winners'

New Michigan basketball shooting guard Roddy Gayle Jr. said he's still not sure if his new teammates know what the gesture meant to him.

Gayle, a former Ohio State standout who transferred to new head coach Dusty May and the Wolverines this summer, turned 21 on July 23 and though he said he's not normally a big birthday guy, he got a handful of text messages from his new Michigan basketball brothers.

The group, which only now has finally had a few days with the team entirely together after various injuries and class schedules disrupted things throughout the summer, wanted to do something to celebrate Gayle and knew exactly what the moment called for: dinner at The Chophouse.

"On the court success starts off the court,” Gayle explained inside the Crisler Center media room Thursday. “We’ve been doing a great job of getting connected and getting to know each other. We have a very tight group of good guys, not just on the court, but good people and that’s a key when trying to build a team.

"Just getting dinner, I feel like it may be cliché, but it goes a long way. The guys (reaching out) ... that meant something a lot deeper than they will probably ever know. Just having that kind of connection I think goes a long way when it comes to on the court success."

Gayle is far from the only new face in Ann Arbor getting adjusted to a new coach, new teammates, new university, new schedule and a new routine. In total, Michigan brought in nine new players in this offseason − six from the transfer portal and three from the high school ranks − as well its entire 10-man coaching staff.

May said there's been intentional bonding times, like when the team would get together for the NBA playoffs or more recently around the training table when they've watched the Olympics together.

"Every single day you should be developing and working on your culture," May said. "How we are, how we interact with each other in practice, in the weight room; that all contributes to it, that way the dinner and all that should just be more of spending time and enjoying each other's company."

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While the players certainly want to have fun together, even more than that, they want to win, something that was scarce around Ann Arbor last season. The Wolverines ended up going 8-24 overall and 3-17 in the Big Ten and one could argue it was the worst season in more than 100 years of the program's existence.

However, those who come from other programs say there's no lingering stench in the air, only the smell of optimism.

"The biggest thing with all of the newcomers, especially the transfers, we have a culture of winners," said Yale transfer Danny Wolf. "Sam Walters (Alabama) went to a Final Four, Vlad Goldin (FAU) went to a Final Four, Tre Donaldson (Auburn) won the SEC championship, Rubin Jones (North Texas) is the winningest player in North Texas history and I've won two Ivy League championships and won a game in March Madness.

"So, a lot of guys who know winning and at the end of practice today, Coach May was emphasizing winning and the little habits that make up winning."

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Wolf failed to mention his NCAA tournament win came over Donaldson's Auburn Tigers − don't worry, he gave the PG some friendly jabs earlier this summer, only for May to come to Donaldson's defense and show the pair a picture of the point guard finishing a tough layup over the 7-footer in traffic − but the point remains there's a good amount of experience on the team.

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The emphasis now is on putting it all together, which is a work in progress. For instance, one of the lineups the Wolverines are working on consists of both 7-footers, Wolf and Goldin, on the court together at the same time.

Though it hasn't always been seamless, the potential is obvious, according to players. Gayle, for his part, is just glad he's wearing the same color jersey as them.

"Terrible to play against, I can tell you that, and a beauty to play with," he said. "Against, you got Danny coming off a screen from Vlad and it's like, what kind of coverage do you go to? You can't really switch that and not too many teams have two 7-footers ... I've never really seen a guy like that who can move like a guard, then Vlad's touch around the rim and IQ for basketball is something I've not really seen yet.

"When people hear two 7-footers on the court they think it's going to shrink the defense, but with Danny's ability to shoot and then drive and read the kind of penetration and stuff and even play make when he has the ball in the high post, it's amazing."

With so many changes, coupled with a few summer setbacks in getting the group together (something May said is not at all uncommon), it would be almost be understandable if it took the roster some time to come together.

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The Big Ten is deeper than ever with the additions of Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington and May intentionally scheduled a tough non-conference schedule − Wake Forest, TCU, Virginia Tech and either Xavier or South Carolina are already on the list − which could spell trouble for a group that's never played together.

But if the vibes from the early practices this summer are any indication, Wolf said the team isn't going to "put a lid" on any expectation. His former adversary, turned teammate, said as much.

"I'm not going to sell us short," Donaldson began. "Giving us a chance to go win a team as a Big Ten championship, that's the goal. And Dusty is a winner too, so I'm pretty sure he'll tell you that himself."