The Michigan basketball officially introduced Dusty May as their new head coach on Tuesday with an introductory press conference. The Wolverines recently moved on from Juwan Howard after five seasons. Howard had a lot of success early on with Michigan as they won the Big Ten in 2021, and they also went to the Elite 8. Howard won AP Coach of the Year that season as well, but things have gone down hill ever since.
Michigan basketball just wrapped up one of the worst seasons in program history. The Wolverines finished the year with an 8-24 overall record and they finished 3-17 in Big Ten conference play. After the hot start Juwan Howard had with Michigan, it was very surprising to see the program head into a downwards spiral so quickly. The Wolverines have now missed the NCAA Tournament two seasons in a row, and that is not something that the fan base is used to. John Beilein had the squad in the big dance on a consistent basis, and the fan base wants to get back to that. It was time for a change, and Michigan made a good hire by bringing Dusty May over from Florida Atlantic.
Dusty May was one of the hottest names on the coaching market this offseason, and Michigan was able to land him. A big reason why May was such an attractive candidate for a lot of schools was the run that he went on with the Owls in last year's NCAA Tournament. FAU was a nine seed last season and they rattled off four straight wins against eight seed Memphis, 16 seed Fairleigh Dickinson, four seed Tennessee and three seed Kansas State. The Owls were seconds away from making it to the national title game, but they lost on a buzzer beater against five seed San Diego State.
Not only did May take FAU all the way to the Final Four, but he also did a great job of building the program up when they were in a bad place. In the seven seasons before May became the head coach of the Owls, the team had a losing record in every single one of those seasons. May did not inherit a good situation, and Florida Atlantic finished with a winning record in his first year. He ended up coaching the Owls for six seasons, and they had a winning record every year. He left the school with an overall record of 126-69.
Florida Atlantic was May's first head coaching gig, but he had a lot of roles as an assistant coach before going to Boca Raton. In fact, his first assistant coaching job was at Eastern Michigan in Ypsilanti, Michigan, which is a neighboring city to Ann Arbor. May was very close to the University of Michigan back then, and now he is the head coach of the Michigan basketball team.
After his time with Eastern Michigan, he was an assistant at Murray State, UAB, Louisiana Tech and Florida before becoming the head coach at FAU. Now, he is with the Wolverines.
Bold Predictions for Dusty May at Michigan
One thing that will be different for May at Michigan compared to Florida Atlantic is that this fan base always demands excellence. At FAU, there isn't a ton of pressure to make it to the Final Four and win national championships. That is the goal every season for Michigan. Obviously, it's going to take some time for the Wolverines to build back up as they aren't in a great spot right now, but May is going to have to take this team on some runs if he is going to stay. He seems like a good fit for the job, and here are some predictions for his time in Ann Arbor.
Michigan will make the NCAA Tournament in 2025
It has now been two years since Michigan made the NCAA Tournament, and that isn't acceptable for this program. Making it in Dusty May's first season is not going to be an easy task, but May can get it done. The Wolverines are essentially hitting the reset button as they have already lost a lot of players from the 2023-24 team to the transfer portal, but the portal goes both ways. There is optimism around the program right now, and with a new coach that got a lot of attention coming into a program that has been traditionally good, it could be an attractive destination for transfers. Perhaps some FAU players will follow May to Ann Arbor as well.
Getting back to the big dance won't be easy for May and the Wolverines next year, but it would be a huge accomplishment in year one of his tenure, and it is an achievable goal.
Michigan will make the Sweet 16 within three years
It will probably take a couple years for Michigan to get settled in and back to where they were, but once they do, they could be a dangerous team in the Big Ten. Dusty May has proven that he can bring back a program, and he should have much better resources to do it this time around at a school like Michigan. There is rebuilding to do, there's no question about that, but in a few years, May should have something good built in Ann Arbor, and the team will be capable of making a run in March Madness.
Michigan will make the Final Four within five years
This is the goal, right? May is in Ann Arbor to bring the Wolverines back to where they were, and that was making deep runs in the NCAA Tournament. The Wolverines went all the way to the national title game in 2013 and in 2018. Now, that's the expectation from the fan base.
If May can take FAU to a Final Four in five years, there is no reason to believe that he won't be able to do the same at Michigan. He signed a five-year contract with the Wolverines, and before the contract is up, expect him and Michigan to make a run at a national title, and if May hasn't already been extended by then, that will certainly do the trick.
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