ATLANTA — Tre Donaldson’s journey in his one season at Michigan has been a year of growth. The junior guard has blossomed into a lead guard, one who makes clutch plays over and over while leading his team into a resurgent season. All of this work isn’t grounded in the program he represents now, though, Donaldson matured at Auburn, playing two seasons under coach Bruce Pearl.
Now, Donaldson’s path has wound back to his roots. The No. 5 seed Michigan men’s basketball team’s date with No. 1 seed Auburn Friday night will be more than a clash with a giant, but a chance for Donaldson to send his former team home for good.
Despite the opportunity for high emotions on either side of the reunion, Donaldson has been vigilant in staying focused on his play for the Wolverines.
“I’m not making no comments,” Donaldson said March 22. “Everybody knows who it is, I’ll see y’all in Atlanta.”
Short and to the point, Donaldson isn’t looking to let the weight of the matchup grow outside of the game itself. He doesn’t want his personal connections to create any external narrative for Michigan. He just wants the game to speak for itself when it comes to that.
But Donaldson’s perspective during the game isn’t the same as off the court. Describing his decision to transfer out of Auburn as a choice based solely on opportunity, with him seeing a better one with the Wolverines, Donaldson still keeps in contact with a number of Tigers players.
“(It’s) all love, all love,” Donaldson said Thursday. “That’s the program that gave me an opportunity. … (I’m) so appreciative of the opportunity they gave me coming out of high school.”
Donaldson is doing his best to balance the thin line between recognizing how he got to where he is and putting on the blinders for one game. It’s no easy task, but he has the peace of mind in the opportunity that coming to play for Michigan has given him. He’s averaging 12 more minutes per game than he did at Auburn, while his points per game has jumped by nearly five as well.
Furthermore, he has the help of his current teammates to get through the emotions. Junior guard Roddy Gayle Jr., for example, also played against his prior team earlier in the season against Ohio State.
“(I’m) just trying to reiterate to him that you’re gonna line up against some of your best friends, your brothers,” Gayle said Thursday. “And in that moment you’re not related, like you guys don’t know each other. But after the game you guys would go back to joking and stuff like that, but for this 40 minute window, we need you to be at your best.”
Donaldson stands in as hard of a position as any before Friday night’s Sweet Sixteen matchup. Not only does he have the pressure of guiding his team against the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament, but that team just so happens to be a group of some of his closest friends.
But through the guidance of the people currently around him, and with the mental fortitude he has built and demonstrated all season long, Donaldson is as ready as anyone can be for a unique test like this. As he likes to say, “Tre is going to be Tre,” and if he can put away his emotions and play at his highest level, that could be enough to send his old team packing.
The post Tre Donaldson preparing to face former team Auburn in Sweet Sixteen appeared first on The Michigan Daily.
Leave a Reply