Before kicking off today's episode, which was prepared a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to send out condolences to the family and friends of former Wolverine Darius Morris, who unfortunately passed away a few days ago at the age of 33.

Obviously, it's really tough anytime someone passes away, especially at such a young age.

Then you consider what Darius Morris meant to Michigan's program and its fan base when he

played and compare that to the here and now where Michigan's program is right now in a time

of transition, in a time of looking for building blocks.

I thought the head coach for Darius Morris when he was a Wolverine,

and the great John B-line summed it up so well in his message on X about Darius.

He was a leader in that program-changing 21-win season that laid the foundation for

Michigan's next decade of success, end quote. So much of what a program becomes is tied to the past and

darius morris was as important as anyone in the early stages of what turned out to be a golden

era for michigan men's basketball so to lose someone who was so important to a program and obviously so well liked by so many.

And to do it at the age of just 33 years old is heartbreaking.

Obviously no easy way to transition.

But again, our thoughts go out to the Morris family.

Now, here is this week's episode of Defend the Block.

Here this week, we can include our series introducing Michigan men's basketball's new staff

by visiting with a pair of former Florida Atlantic coaches who have made the trip north with Dusty May.

One of the first storylines coming from Michigan's hiring of May was who from that FAU staff

could and would come to Ann Arbor and who would be a potential

option to take over for Dusty May with the Owls because the thought was due to all the success

that FAUs had experienced in recent seasons, maybe a promotion from within would be in order.

Ultimately, the Owls decided not to elevate a former assistant to head coach.

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