Tag: Dusty May

What will Michigan basketball look like in 2023-24 under Dusty May?

Getting excited for basketball in May? Getting excited for basketball in May. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Things are changing in a hurry for Michigan basketball with just three players returning from last year’s team after Juwan Howard was dismissed from the program. In the aftermath, new head coach Dusty May revamped the roster through both recruiting and the transfer portal, and the Wolverines will basically look like a brand new team this upcoming season.

Given all of the new players and the new philosophy, what can you expect to see on the court? May said on Tuesday that the transfer additions fit what he’s looking to accomplish and further delved into the overall ethos for this upcoming team.

“I think it’s very conducive to how we want to play. That’s to shoot a lot of 3s, that’s to get to the rim and get fouled — which allows you to set your defense,” May said. “I think out of all the guys we’ve signed, there’s only one of them that has a lesser 3-point percentage than we prefer but he shot really well the year before that and we think he is a much better shooter than his numbers indicate last year. That’s the feel versus the science.

“I think we will be able to play very similar. It’s going to look a little bit different, we’re going to be bigger. We probably won’t be quite as fast. We recruited to do the things we think will produce the highest value shots and that’s what we’re always going to look for. If there’s ever a case for it, and this group can’t do that, we’ll have to figure out another way to win. Like I said earlier, we have competitors and competitors have to find a way, they’re obsessed with finding a way to win.”

So how did he go about finding the right guys who could fit the philosophy he’s working to establish in Ann Arbor?

It’s one thing when you get recruits and bring them into the fold out of high school, as they can be molded to fit your vision. But transfers? They’ve already been molded somewhat.

May constantly reiterated ‘mindset’ as being crucial, but also shared what attributes he was looking for when looking for transfer players to come to Ann Arbor.

“The mindset is extremely important. We’re trying to find guys who are incredibly competitive, love the game of basketball and what comes with it,” May said. “We’ve typically been attracted to those guys and those guys have been attracted to us. Luckily, now, when you look at our roster, there’s always a connection. We felt like we could get real information on players. They can get real information on us. They were direct messaging our former players, checking up on us and making sure. It’s a different era where it’s very difficult to be dishonest and not be held accountable for it.

“The mindset was extremely important. As far as the pass-first and stylistic stuff, there has to be talent, skill, also, we feel like if they’re really, really competitive then they’ll figure some things out. That’s what competitors do, they find ways to win. It wasn’t that we had to have this or we had to have this guy who didn’t shoot this percentage, if he didn’t fit the criteria perfectly, we just kind of analyzed why and maybe he could support the team in different areas. There’s always a give and take with every player.”

Why Dusty May feels like Michigan basketball is ready to win in 2024

It’s easy to root for this guy. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Michigan basketball needed an offseason exorcism and Dusty May certainly played the role of a priest.

The past two years, the roster was a mess, not working as a cohesive unit. There was little depth and the leadership was close to absent, if not absent entirely. Thus, it was no surprise that the Wolverines went 8-24 — the worst record in program history.

When Dusty May took over, he inherited a program not only in disarray, but one with three scholarship players. Stars like Tarris Reed Jr. and Dug McDaniel were in the transfer portal and ended up elsewhere and stalwarts like Terrance Williams did the same. So May had Nimari Burnett, Jace Howard, and Will Tschetter to work with — if he could keep them.

And keep them he did. But then what he did was even more impressive. Through recruiting and the transfer portal, May assembled a complete team with a ton of star power. It’s one that has depth and looks like it could contend in his first year at the helm.

At his introductory press conference, May said that Michigan would not be in rebuilding mode and that they would win in year one, and meeting with the media on Tuesday, he affirmed that he likes the direction his first team in Ann Arbor is moving in.

“Probably more confident saying that now than I was then,” May said. “We expect to win. There won’t be a night where we walk on the court this season where we say, ‘Hey, we need to do this in preparation for later.’ We’ll have expectations when we set foot on the court to win every single night or be in a position to win.

“A lot goes into winning. Coach Knight used to say a lot, you put yourself into position to win every single night and then you end up winning a lot more than you lose and you put yourself into position to win championships.”

So how did May go about bringing together his version of the Avengers? How did he assemble his team?

It started with bringing in the right staff, people who complement him and are strong where he’s weak. Then, they went out and found players that fit his vision.

The surprising thing to him was that he basically was able to highlight targets and secure them, with very little pushback. In essence, he got the players he wanted and that should help propel the team forward.

“We’re a very confident group, we believe in our work. We believe in our principles, our way of doing things,” May said. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised with how well-received this university and this basketball program has been. We’ve also been pleasantly surprised with the guys who joined us.

“Did I anticipate it was going to go like this? I probably thought we would miss on a few guys than we had but it’s speed dating like I said in the initial press conference and decisions are made quickly. I do think we provided a really unique situation for a lot of these guys.”

Watch Michigan basketball head coach Dusty May (May 7, 2024) press conference

This is really, really good stuff. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Dusty May has been on the job in Ann Arbor for a little over a month now and while it took him a while to get his roster in place, May has overcome the mass departures following Juwan Howard’s firing.

From former FAU and Yale centers Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf, to other big players like former Ohio State guard Roddy Gayle Jr., to incoming freshman Justin Pippen (Scottie Pippen’s son), May and his new staff reloaded and got the Wolverines into contender mode, potentially, in year one.

On Tuesday, for the first time since his introductory press conference, May met with the media to discuss the state of the Michigan Wolverines basketball team. He talked about the roster, individual players, goals for the team overall as well as goals for this year, how he’s acclimating to Ann Arbor, and much, much more.

WolverinesWire’s Isaiah Hole was on hand at Crisler Center and captured the entire 33-minute press conference. You can watch the entire thing below.

Dusty May explains planned C rotation with Vlad Goldin and Danny Wolf

Was wondering about this. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — He’s only been on the job with Michigan basketball for over a month, but Dusty May was a bit surprised at how well he was able to secure most of his big targets. Among them are the two centers who came to Ann Arbor in former FAU center Vlad Goldin and Yale’s Danny Wolf.

Both Goldin and Wolf were ranked relatively high in the 247Sports transfer portal rankings, with Wolf coming in as the sixth-ranked center and Goldin being the eighth. But generally, basketball teams don’t run a lot of formations with two centers, and not May especially, so there’s going to be some kind of rotation.

But with two starting-caliber centers on board, how will that work? May shared on Tuesday that during the recruitment of both, he shared the plan with them and that Goldin will likely be the main starter while Wolf will come in for pivotal rotational minutes. But there will also be times we do likely see both on the court at the same time.

“Through the recruiting process, we pride ourselves on being very transparent and open and honest. And what we tell you today is what we imagined is going to happen,” May said. “Not that it’s definitely going to happen because the scoreboard and injuries and things like that can change and derail anything.

“But yeah, Vlad I think last year played 25 minutes a game. In a perfect world, we get him a few more minutes, but we play up-tempo with a lot of possessions. So it’s difficult for our players to play 32 to 35 minutes a game if we’re playing the style that we like to play. And so Vlad will probably have around that mid-20s if he’s playing at his best and hopefully, we’re able to take care of some games before the last five minutes so you can get those guys some rest or whatever.

“But yeah, that left us probably playing Danny 14 minutes a game at the five when Vlad’s not in is how we probably envision it. And we’ll play stylistically a different brand of basketball with Danny being more of a five out, a facilitator. Vlad’s still more of a traditional center, but also he’s expanded his game. So we definitely envision those guys playing together significant minutes and also complementing each other.”

Of course, May already has the familiarity with Goldin as he coached him at Florida Atlantic but what was it about Wolf that caught his eye? And what does he bring to the table?

May is ecstatic about Wolf’s ball-handling, his shooting prowess — especially from outside — as well as his footwork. The Michigan basketball head coach feels that once Wolf goes through strength and conditioning this summer, it will help him acclimate that much more to the role that they hope to have him in come the late fall.

“Danny, he’s a very, very good 3-point shooter for a 7-footer,” May said. “He dribbles the ball well, he handles the ball like a guard. He passes it. They played through him offensively. So that’s how we used our backup center last year, Rosado. And so we’re very well-versed in that style of play. And he fits us offensively.

“And so the question was, does it fit defensively with another 7-footer or 7-foot-1 guy, and after watching Danny we felt like he moves his feet well, he’s got good mobility for a 7-footer and he embraces contact. So we think with a summer of really strong, consistent weight work, and speed work with our new strength coach, then he’ll be ready to go. And the Big Ten is a bigger league than we’re accustomed to playing in, too. It’s not as if these guys are out in the Big Ten playing small ball or whatever 20 nights of the season.”

Why Dusty May is excited about adding former Ohio State G Roddy Gayle Jr.

Always fun to fleece a rival. #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — Though it may not have been meant to be, Dusty May quickly made a shot across the bow of a rivalry, stealing Roddy Gayle Jr. away from Ohio State.

The former Buckeyes guard who averaged just shy of 31 minutes a game last year entered the transfer portal and went to bed one night wearing scarlet and gray before waking up wearing maize and blue.

But what made May decide to chase after a former rival? He says that Gayle adds something in terms of getting to the foul line, and that’s not something that happens organically — a player has to have that ability coming in.

“Well, I watched him play a few times randomly just throughout the season. And I liked his game,” May said. “I think he’s got the unique ability to get downhill and draw fouls.

“Guy’s backstory — and I’ve got a lot of stories. The first couple of years at FAU we couldn’t get to the free throw line, we just couldn’t get there. And I’m reaching out to the best coaches and teachers that I know and I have access to. And finally, a good friend who I lean on a lot for advice, just said, ‘Hey, you got to recruit them. That’s something you have to recruit.’ And so now that’s always kind of stuck with me. And then the guys that I’ve coached that got to the foul line, it was usually something that they had well before college and something that they did organically, I should say.”

More than that, Gayle provides a lot to the Wolverines. In 2023-24, he averaged 13.5 points per game, 4.6 rebounds, and 3 assists on 45% shooting.

May sees a lot that Gayle does well and though his 3-point shooting wasn’t as good last year as it was the year before (going down from 42.9% from deep to 28.4%) he sees a lot that indicates he could be a plus-player as a Wolverine.

“He has the ability to get downhill, offensive rebound, he runs in transition,” May said. “He plays off the pick-and-roll well, he’s very efficient, playing off the pick-and-roll as a passer. He’s efficient with his movements in his games. He doesn’t over-dribble. And like I said, I believe that his jump shot — I know he didn’t shoot a great percentage last year, but I think he’s a much better shooter than that. And, when you watch him in transition, when he had a clean look, he knocked it down a very good percentage of the time.

“So we are excited about him on a number of levels. I could probably go on for about another 30 minutes talking about it. I think he’s I think he’s a special guy.”

Certainly, Buckeye fans aren’t happy that Gayle chose to defect to the enemy, but given May’s need to fill out a decimated roster, it’s worked out well for Michigan basketball.

Michigan basketball steals player from Ohio State

They’re gonna take this well in Columbus. #GoBlue

New Michigan basketball head coach Dusty May has been on something of a heater over the past few days. And you never walk away from the recruiting trail when you’re on a heater.

May has managed to secure a four-star 2024 recruit in Justin Pippen, son of Scottie Pippen, as well as three transfers — all since Friday afternoon. And on Monday, he made a move that will certainly earn him the affinity of on-the-fence Wolverines fans.

On Monday, Michigan basketball earned a commitment from guard Roddy Gayle Jr. Why is this significant? Not only is he a playmaker, but he’s transferring to Ann Arbor from Columbus, Ohio as a former Buckeye via the transfer portal.

The scouting report from 247Sports’ Jerry Meyer:

Has a college ready body with good length (long arms) and great strength. Is a powerful athlete who thrives in traffic. Handles contact extremely well and loves to dish out the contact. Shoots the ball well off the catch with an efficient and smooth low release. Also scores with pull up jumpers where he elevates and can also score at the rim. Most notably, he has a niche as a potent post up player. Ball handling is solid and efficient. Has the ability to deliver to the open man. Rebounds his position quite well and can ignite the fast break. Has potential to be a formidable and versatile defender. Overall has a well rounded game that impacts a game in virtually all facets.

With Gayle in the fold, Michigan basketball has gotten four guards and one center via either high school recruiting or the transfer portal.

The guard from Utah was rated a four-star as a recruit but also as a transfer prospect. He’s not the first basketball player in recent memory to change sides in the rivalry, with Andrew Dakich having moved from the maize and blue to scarlet and gray in the John Beilein era.

Could Florida Atlantic’s latest hire make them ‘the next Gonzaga?’

Can former Baylor and Gonzaga assistant John Jakus keep Florida Atlantic among the premier mid-major programs in college basketball?

In March of 1999 the Gonzaga Bulldogs went on a magical run to the Elite Eight as an 11-seed, punctuated by a game winner over Florida which led to the iconic Gus Johnson call: ‘the slipper still fits!’

The next year head coach Dan Monson departed for a job in the Big Ten at Minnesota, and an unknown assistant coach named Mark Few took over the program – and the rest is history.

While the story doesn’t quite line up perfectly, there are a lot of similarities to what is currently happening in Boca Raton with the Owls of Florida Atlantic.

FAU went on a miracle run in the NCAA Tournament in 2023, going all the way to the Final Four under coach Dusty May as a nine seed. One year later, he too departed for greener pastures in the Big Ten – taking the head coaching job at Michigan. He will be replaced by John Jakus, a relatively unknown assistant coach who has a background at Baylor and – you guessed it – Gonzaga.

Will Jakus turn around and lead FAU to 25 consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances and cement himself as a future Hall of Fame coach? It’s unlikely, simply because of the extreme rarity that is Few and Gonzaga’s story.

However, a program coming off a great two year run, in an improved basketball conference, with an invigorated fanbase, hiring a coach who developed under Few and Scott Drew, and who has professional coaching experience in Europe, is certainly one that is trending in the right direction.

Many programs have at times been given the label of ‘the next Gonzaga’ and none have kept it long term – mostly because their coach departed for a bigger job before the program was able to grab a strong enough foothold to succeed without them.

Loyola Chicago lost Drew Valentine, VCU lost Shaka Smart, George Mason lost Jim Larranaga, Florida Gulf Coast lost Andy Enfield, Oral Roberts lost Paul Mills, the list goes on and on – and in the transfer portal era the ability to retain talent at the mid-major level is harder than ever.

Jakus is a phenomenal basketball mind, and both the Gonzaga and Baylor coaching trees are rife with successful names – like Tommy Lloyd, Jerome Tang, Grant McCasland, Leon Rice, and Mills – but the journey to being Gonzaga in Florida will require Jakus not only to stick around long term, but to continue to fight through college basketball rule changes which heavily favor the Power-6 programs.

Perhaps it’s unfair to toss the Gonzaga label around before Jakus has even coached his first game, but FAU has the infrastructure and current momentum to keep it going in the post-May era, and they are a team well worth keeping on the radar going forward.

Former Michigan basketball head coach praises new hire

He was instrumental in the new hire. #GoBlue

While Michigan’s 2023-24 basketball season might not have lived up to expectations, the program has a new sense of direction after replacing Juwan Howard with former Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May.

The May hire came as a surprise to many as he was originally expected to take the Louisville job, but former Michigan head coach John Beilein was able to sit down with him and swing his decision at the last minute.

“I asked him several questions,” May said. “We just talked basketball and what we thought the best way to win here was.”

Beilein was Michigan’s head coach from 2007 to 2019, leading Michigan to two national title games and nine total tournament appearances. Beilein is currently serving in an off-the-court role for the Detroit Pistons but obviously still has love for Michigan.

So, of course, it was natural for Beilein to give May his public vote of confidence.

May is an exciting hire plain and simple. He spent six seasons at FAU and went 126-69 in that time frame. His FAU tenure concluded with back-to-back March Madness bids and a Final Four run in 2023. Unfortunately for May, FAU was bounced from the dance in the first round this year after getting in as an eighth seed. Importantly, however, May never had a season below .500 at FAU despite the previous seven seasons before his arrival being under the mark.

The guy just finds a way to win. He turned around FAU and made it into a strong mid-major conference contender, so there’s no reason he won’t be a terrific hire at Michigan.

Of course, May will have his work cut out for him when his first season starts later in 2024. The Wolverines have already lost leading scorer Dug McDaniels to the NCAA transfer portal with promising center Tarris Reed entering his name as well. The first task on his plate will, of course, be building a roster… and this is where Michigan fans will need to practice patience. Due to the nature of the transfer portal, May has already lost his two best players and might see more leave before the season starts. It’s a tough task to ask a new head coach to pull together a competent team without strong NIL or any returning talent, so it might be another sad season or two before Michigan is back playing in March Madness.

Why Dusty May picked the Michigan basketball job over Louisville

NO ONE thought he was coming here! Ha! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — To call it a whirlwind is an understatement. Dusty May was the head coach of Florida Atlantic basketball on Friday evening and by Saturday evening, he was the head coach of the storied Michigan Wolverines program, the 18th in school history.

So how did it all happen from his perspective?

Coming off of a Final Four year with FAU, the Owls were an 8-seed facing off against 9-seed Northwestern in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Playing in Brooklyn, FAU lost to the Wildcats in overtime, and from that moment, the whirlwind started in earnest.

He traveled back to Florida and before long heard that Michigan was interested in him filling its vacancy.

“Walking off the floor — wow, a range of emotions,” May said. “It had been such a challenging season and I don’t say that in a negative way. And typically when your season ends, you feel like you’re going to collapse, you’re emotionally fatigued. You’re just ready for the next chapter, which usually is recruiting and retention and planning meetings.

“I think it was the net that night or the next morning, I get a text from my agent Andy. And he said, ‘Michigan would like to meet in person. We have to work out some logistics.’ So we worked out the logistics. It was Saturday, Saturday evening. We got back at 1 or 2 am Friday night, Saturday evening, drove to Fort Lauderdale, and met with Warde, Doug, Chad at Turnkey, and Andy, myself — and had a great conversation. And I probably showed my hand too early because this was the place that I wanted to be.”

It was a huge shock to the college basketball world that May ended up in Ann Arbor because all of the online speculation all day on Saturday was that he was Louisville-bound. Steeped in basketball tradition, the Cardinals appeared set to hire May as their first choice — it was seen as a done deal.

However, Warde Manuel and the University of Michigan athletic department made a strong, late push, even getting former head coach John Beilein involved in the process.

So, why did May turn Louisville down? It’s as simple as Michigan, he felt, is a better fit.

“Louisville is an unbelievable basketball school. But this was the right fit for me, my family, and it just felt right,” May said. “And I’m a big feel guy, I’m a big fit guy. And from day one, this was one that I just thought would match me and allow me and those around me to have the highest level of success doing it the way that we enjoy doing it.”

May landed in metropolitan Detroit on Sunday and wasted no time. He was supposed to go with his family back to his hotel, but he couldn’t wait. He instead asked if he could see the facilities, as the former Eastern Michigan assistant hasn’t been on campus in Ann Arbor since 2006.

“I think we came here while we were going to the hotel. And I said to them, ‘Well, we don’t have a lot of time. But let’s go ahead and go check out the facilities and tour campus,'” May said. “It’s been a while since I was here. And we walked in and we took about eight detours. So I see the practice facility and the weight rooms, football stadium. So the first thing we did was come here and really get a tour of the place and meet all the people that were here.”

Dusty May says the right thing when it comes to Michigan basketball rivalries

He gets it! #GoBlue

ANN ARBOR, Mich. — The thing that makes college sports better than their professional counterparts is that the rivalries are much more heated and more intense. There’s a lot more pride on the line with college allegiances than that in the pros, so getting a head coach who understands his school’s rivalries is of paramount importance.

New Michigan basketball head coach Dusty May has had quite a few stops ranging from his time as a player to throughout his coaching career, so he’s seen his share. He was a student manager at Indiana under Bobby Knight before getting his coaching start at Eastern Michigan — just seven miles down the road from Ann Arbor in Ypsilanti. He’s coached at Florida under Mike White, so he knows both rivalries as well as this region — both from his time in Bloomington as well as being an Illinois native.

Though he’s had something of a whirlwind — coaching FAU in the NCAA Tournament on Friday before accepting the Michigan job on Saturday — May doesn’t need to acclimatize to who the Wolverines’ rivals are in Ohio State and Michigan State.

WolverinesWire asked him on Tuesday at his introductory press conference what he knows about Michigan’s rivalries and he dropped one line that indicates he’s well aware of how things work up in Ann Arbor.

“I grew up in Big Ten country — you’re well aware of the rivalries,” May said. “And I became really, really close with a few guys that played football at the school down south. And Cris Carter lived in a neighborhood next door he works at FAU now. So I’m very, very familiar with the rivalries.”

The most Michigan thing ever is to not mention Michigan State while acknowledging Ohio State as ‘the school down south.’ Whether that was already in May’s vernacular or he learned that upon taking the job is unclear, but he already seems to have a good first grasp on what the maize and blue are all about in respect to the schools Michigan loathes.