Michigan basketball and Louisville basketball met up in the 2013 national title game and the Cardinals won a thriller. The two programs were in great spots back then, but that isn't the case right now. Instead of competing for a national title, the Wolverines and Cardinals were competing for a head coach during the NCAA Tournament this year. That head coach is Dusty May, and he chose Michigan.
The Michigan basketball team and Louisville both just finished historically bad seasons. In fact, both the Wolverines and the Cardinals finished with the exact same record and they both finished in last place in their respective conferences. Both finished the regular season with an 8-24 overall record and a 3-17 mark in conference. Juwan Howard was let go from Michigan, and Kenny Payne was let go from Louisville.
Dusty May had been coaching his Florida Atlantic basketball team when the openings surfaced, but when his Owls lost in the first round against Northwestern, there began to be reports that May was going to take the job at Louisville. It looked like it was close to being a done deal, but at the last second, Michigan swooped in and brought May to Ann Arbor.
“Louisville is an unbelievable basketball school, but this was the right fit for me, my family,” May said, according to an article from The Athletic. “It just felt right. I’m a big feel guy. I’m a big fit guy. From Day 1, this was one that I just thought would match me and allow me and those around me to have the highest level of success.”
Dusty May is a good fit for Michigan basketball
Not only does May think that this is the right fit for him, but Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel also believes that this is the right fit for the Wolverines. As he looked over May's resume, he saw no blemishes, and that is rare.
“Normally, in every search I’ve ever conducted, you hear something — some issue arose, somebody didn’t think he handled it right, they didn’t think they handled this student-athlete right or this team,” Manuel said. “Nothing (with May). Everything was positive.”
Another characteristic of May that is good for this job is that May is Midwest guy. He is from the Midwest, and he even got his first college coaching job at Eastern Michigan, about 15 minutes away from the University of Michigan. He was given the job by Charles Ramsey (who used to be an assistant at Michigan), and he also talked to Ramsey this week before taking the job with the Wolverines.
“He’s a down-to-earth, Midwest guy,” Charles Ramsey said. “Louisville would be able to sprinkle a lot of dollars, but other than that, I didn’t see the fit.”
May was definitely considering the Louisville job, but Michigan was where we wanted to be all along.
“I probably showed my hand too early,” May said. “Because this was a place that I wanted to be.”
Michigan basketball got their guy, and the fan base is excited for this new era.
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