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.

A smiling Dr. Susan Holmes, who earned three degrees from the University of Michigan, was among the 70,720 fans that packed Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis to watch Michigan's men's basketball team win the national championship against Connecticut on April 6, 2026. Holmes also is the chair of the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary throughout 2026.

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. And a few UMBA members spoke to the Detroit Free Press about their love for Michigan’s latest championship team and their own special bonds to the university.

Brenda Jegede: The community spirit on the court resembled a community she remains connected to through U-M

“We showed up Monday night (at the BLVD, located in Southfield, on Northwestern Highway) to cheer for our team because, in a short amount of time, those players had developed their own sense of community and they were proudly representing Michigan,” said Brenda Jegede, a 1987 graduate of Detroit’s Cass Technical High School, who earned her first of two degrees from the University of Michigan in 1992.

“I got quiet during the game because I didn’t know all of the players and their stats as well as the people that were sitting around me. But in my mind, I was talking to each player and I told them to ‘Do what you know how to do.’ I kept repeating that and everything turned out fine.”

The BLVD, located on Southfield on Northwestern Highway, was the site of a “NCAA Championship Title Game Watch Party” hosted by the University of Michigan Black Alumni (UMBA), which is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

When it comes to Jegede’s family and the University of Michigan, things generally have a way of working out “fine.”

Jegede’s husband, I.D. Jegede, also earned two degrees from the University of Michigan, including an MBA with a focus on finance. And their daughter and son — Olajumoke (Jumi) Jegede and Olajide Jegede — are University of Michigan graduates as well.

However, before this family was even imagined, Brenda Jegede, a native Detroit east sider, said she met students on the Michigan campus who eventually became a second family for her away from home.

“The first time I stepped foot on the Michigan campus in Ann Arbor was when I arrived to begin my freshman year,  but I soon found a community with other students from my high school and the city of Detroit,” said Jegede, who watched Monday night’s championship game with other Michigan alums as part of a “NCAA Championship Title Game Watch Party” hosted by the UMBA.

Michigan celebrates winning the NCAA national championship against Connecticut at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Michigan celebrates winning the NCAA national championship against Connecticut at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Fans react as the University of Michigan defeats University of Connecticut to win the NCAA men’s basketball national championship. They cheered the team on during a watch party at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Adithi Voleti, right, and her brother Praneet Voleti react as the University of Michigan defeats University of Connecticut to win the NCAA men’s basketball national championship. They cheered the team on during a watch party at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Elliott Pike, Ben Taylor and Noah Link (from left to right) celebrate as the University of Michigan defeats University of Connecticut to win the NCAA men’s basketball national championship. They cheered the team on during a watch party at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Monday, April 6, 2026.

Elliott Pike and Ben Taylor (left to right) give a high five while celebrating as the University of Michigan defeats University of Connecticut to win the NCAA men’s basketball national championship. They cheered the team on during a watch party at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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See the celebration: Michigan players, fans embrace national championship

Michigan celebrates winning the NCAA national championship against Connecticut at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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See the celebration: Michigan players, fans embrace national championship

Michigan celebrates winning the NCAA national championship against Connecticut at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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See the celebration: Michigan players, fans embrace national championship

Michigan celebrates winning the NCAA national championship against Connecticut at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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See the celebration: Michigan players, fans embrace national championship

Fans react as the University of Michigan defeats University of Connecticut to win the NCAA men’s basketball national championship. They cheered the team on during a watch party at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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See the celebration: Michigan players, fans embrace national championship

Adithi Voleti, right, and her brother Praneet Voleti react as the University of Michigan defeats University of Connecticut to win the NCAA men’s basketball national championship. They cheered the team on during a watch party at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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See the celebration: Michigan players, fans embrace national championship

Elliott Pike, Ben Taylor and Noah Link (from left to right) celebrate as the University of Michigan defeats University of Connecticut to win the NCAA men’s basketball national championship. They cheered the team on during a watch party at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Monday, April 6, 2026.

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See the celebration: Michigan players, fans embrace national championship

Elliott Pike and Ben Taylor (left to right) give a high five while celebrating as the University of Michigan defeats University of Connecticut to win the NCAA men’s basketball national championship. They cheered the team on during a watch party at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Monday, April 6, 2026.

“But when you’re a student, you want to get through your classes and graduate. So, now I really like Michigan even more because we can come together at these events as a community and continue to support each other, our teams, and also current students at Michigan."

A family gathering for any occasion is also an opportunity for Jegede family members to show their pride as graduates of the University of Michigan. Pictured are Olajide Jegede (far left), Olajumoke (Jumi) Jegede (in blue top), I.D. Jegede (far right) and Brenda Jegede.

Donna McKay: Relationships are priceless

Like Brenda Jegede, Donna McKay says she felt a little uneasy while watching the early portions of Michigan’s championship game, in part because McKay knows more than a thing or two about basketball.

As Romulus native Donna McKay watched the University of Michigan men's basketball team win the national championship, she no doubt had flashbacks to her days as a member of the women's basketball team at the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where she graduated from in 1990.

“In my opinion, the fellas weren’t playing as well as they could to start the game,” McKay, a 1990 graduate of the University of Michigan-Dearborn, where she and her teammates on the women’s basketball team used to pile into a van and travel roughly 350 miles one way for road games against Lake Superior State University, said. “But, in the end, like Charles Barkley said (as part of the nationally televised broadcast), the team that played the best offense all season won because they played the best defense and that was Michigan.

"I’m glad the game wasn’t a blowout because I don’t like blowouts. But it was still a decisive win for Michigan. They proved their dominance for sure.”

And just as the Michigan basketball players got the job done on the court, McKay also accomplished a personal goal as the game played out Monday night.

“I had the pleasure of watching the game with a group of young Black Michigan alums who are now working in the Bay area,” explained McKay, who said watching the game at Everett & Jones Barbecue, a popular Black family-owned restaurant in Oakland, California, had a Michigan feel because she was dining and viewing with a party of eight Wolverines.

"I bleed blue," says Donna McKay who watched Michigan's national championship basketball victory at Everett & Jones Barbecue in Oakland, California.

McKay, who used the gathering to continue her efforts to establish a UMBA collective in the Bay Area, continued: “I bleed blue and relationships are very important to me. I’m happy that the college players today are being compensated, but I’m sad that the players today don’t get a chance to build the same type of relationships with their teammates as I did.

"The team I played with is still a close-knit group of ladies today. I’ve gotten jobs because of my relationships with teammates; I’ve been a godparent because of those relationships; and it’s why I’m excited about creating a UMBA collective in the Bay Area, because it will help Michigan alums living in this area maintain strong relationships.”

Lanie Dixon: Her need to attend the championship game represented something bigger than basketball

When Michigan advanced to Monday’s championship game with a 91-73 victory against Arizona on April 4 at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis — the site of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Final Four — Lanie Dixon, a 1992 graduate of Detroit’s Southwestern High School, who earned two degrees at the University of Michigan, was watching the action on TV from her home in Morristown, New Jersey.

But by the evening of April 6, Dixon was among the 70,720 fans that packed Lucas Oil Stadium to watch the championship game live.

“It’s hard to put into words, and it was a last-minute decision. But after the win Saturday night, I started to think 'If this is going down, I need to be there,'” said Dixon, who booked a Sunday afternoon flight which took her from New Jersey to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport, where she then drove to Indianapolis in time to make Monday night’s championship game.

“It was great to be in a place and space where there was so much positive energy about Michigan. The atmosphere was electric!”

Lanie Dixon says "it was a last-minute decision," which brought her to Indianapolis in time to watch her beloved Michigan Wolverines men's basketball team play for the national championship on Monday, April 6.

And when Dixon was talking about “atmosphere” it became clear that she was describing a scene and a vibe that was separate from the action on the basketball court.

“Connecting is fun. And my friends, the people I follow and care about, are connected to the University of Michigan,” said Dixon, who spoke the evening of April 7 from Detroit Metro Airport as she was awaiting a flight back to New Jersey.

“And as Black alumni of the University of Michigan, especially during these times, it’s important for us to be at events like that, in our Michigan alumni gear. It shows that we love this university as much as anyone else. It also shows that we have been here (at the University of Michigan), we are here and we’re always going to be here.”

Dr. Susan Holmes: A lifelong sports fan who is driven to lead

Waiting for Dixon when she arrived in Indianapolis for the championship game was Dr. Susan Holmes, who chairs the UMBA, which is an affiliate group of the Alumni Association of the University of Michigan.

Before Holmes earned a bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees from Michigan, she never missed a home Wolverine football or men's basketball game as an undergraduate student — which included Michigan’s first men's basketball national championship in 1989.

As an undergraduate student, Susan Holmes never missed a home Michigan football or men's basketball game. And while attending this year's Final Four, Holmes did not miss out on an opportunity to take a picture with Michigan basketball great Terry Mills, who helped the Wolverines win the program's first national championship in 1989.

While watching Monday’s championship game, Holmes says her thoughts often turned to her late father, Richard Holmes, who introduced her to sports at an early age while also planting seeds that ultimately inspired Dixon to be a leader, including within the UMBA.

“My father said he never thought that he would have two children graduate from the University of Michigan, because he could remember a time in football when Michigan would only play one Black player on offense and one on defense because they didn’t want to have two Black players on the field at the same time,” Holmes said while reflecting on her father, a 1950 graduate of Jackson High School and later the first youth athletic coach of Jackson native Tony Dungy, who coached the Indianapolis Colts to a Super Bowl championship in 2007.

Susan Holmes, who has mentored student-athletes at Michigan continued: “Michigan won the national championship in basketball my last year as an undergraduate, so to see Michigan win a second national title in Indianapolis, is like coming full circle for me.

"It’s great to celebrate the championship just as we are celebrating the 50th anniversary of the University of Michigan Black Alumni. We remember all of the challenges that we have overcome, and we look forward to continuing the legacy while leading with purpose.”

Scott Talley is a native Detroiter, a proud product of Detroit Public Schools and a lifelong lover of Detroit culture in its diverse forms. In his second tour with the Free Press, which he grew up reading as a child, he is excited and humbled to cover the city’s neighborhoods and the many interesting people who define its various communities. Contact him at stalley@freepress.com or follow him on Twitter @STalleyfreep. Read more of Scott's stories at www.freep.com/mosaic/detroit-is/. Please help us grow great community-focused journalism by becoming a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Alumni group celebrates friendships and U-M in championship style