After another impressive regular season, the Florida Atlantic men's basketball team could not repeat last year's magic in the NCAA Tournament. The Owls fell in a tough overtime game in the First Round to Northwestern, denying Dusty and FAU another potential Final Four run.
Florida Atlantic's early exit may be a disappointment to some, but it does not take away from what Dusty May has achieved over the last few years, writes Rush The Other 26 on Twitter.
“The fact that ‘Florida Atlantic suffers disappointing NCAA Tournament exit' is the correct narrative speaks volumes about the job Dusty May has done in Boca Raton,” the account writes. “The past two years have been nothing short of remarkable.”
The attention in Boca Raton now turns to Dusty May's future. FAU signed Dusty May to a 10-year extension worth more than $15 million just days after he took the program to the Final Four in 2023. While an impressive deal, it is still not as extravagant as what bigger programs can offer. Could a larger offer lure May elsewhere?
As one of the hottest coaches on the market, these are the best Dusty May coaching destinations.
1. Michigan
After a strong start to the season that included a road win over St. John's (possibly keeping the Red Storm out of the NCAA Tournament?), things quickly went downhill for Juwan Howard and Michigan. A home loss to Long Beach State started a 29-game run where the Wolverines won just five teams. Howard had an altercation with strength coach Jon Sanderson — who is no longer with the program — while the team suspended guard Dug McDaniel but only for road games.
Howard's tenure has been mired by his poor public relations and even worse behavior, digging a hole for any coach that follows him. Still, the Wolverines were a number-one seed as little as three years ago. As Michigan's new coach, Dusty May would be tasked with turning around a rather minor dip at a program with another program with a long history of success, making Ann Arbor an attractive option for the FAU leader.
2. West Virginia
Josh Eilert took over as the interim head coach for West Virginia after Bob Huggins' unexpected offseason firing. Eilert inherited a difficult situation, as Tre Mitchell, Joe Mitchell, and Jose Perez transferred out while Raequan Battle was ineligible to begin the season. The Mountaineers finished 9-23 as the last-place team in the Big 12. This was a rare blip for a successful WVU program that regularly reached the Sweet Sixteen under Bob Huggins.
Even with the imminent departure of Texas and Oklahoma, the Big 12 is still one of the premier basketball conferences in the country. West Virginia may not have the biggest budget in the league, but these departures and the history of success and fan support give the Mountaineers a good chance to rise in the league.
3. Louisville
Other than DePaul, no power conference team has experienced a worse few years than Louisville. The Cardinals went 8-24 this season — an improvement from their 4-28 record a year ago — but still far below the level set by the Louisville team that won a National Championship (later vacated) in 2013. This program needs a spark, and Dusty May can provide it.
May took over an FAU team in 2018 that was 12-19 the year prior and had just one NCAA Tournament in a quarter-century as a Division I program. He led the team to a winning record in his first season and took them to a Final Four in year five — resuscitating a dormant program with no history of success. Louisville offers the greatest challenge of any team on this list, but it has the fan base and the money to be attractive to a top coach.
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