Dusty May outlined his goals when taking the platform for the first time on Tuesday as the head coach of the Michigan men’s basketball team.
May mentioned competing right after his rookie year. He cited the reflections of Bob Knight, the renowned Indiana coach who served as his previous mentor. He talked about his family’s decision to move to Ann Arbor and why it was the best move for them.
But before he addressed any of it, or even answered a question, May mentioned another important aspect of his plans for the Wolverines. He wants to bring back the enjoyment of watching Michigan men’s basketball after a challenging campaign.
“We want to be entertaining to watch in terms of play style,” May stated. “We want to be visually appealing and draw in crowds in addition to winning titles. Teamwork is what you should notice when you watch us play. Effective play should be seen on both sides of the ball.
“Enjoyable to watch” will be a significant change from the Wolverines’ 8–24 season last season. Even while it makes sense that few fans would attend a game when they anticipate a landslide defeat, Michigan nonetheless saw most games at Crisler Center vacant or even taken over by rival supporters. May hopes to change that through his team’s performance, not merely the early enthusiasm that a new coach generates.
But May must first assemble a team if she is to create one that is entertaining to watch. Just four players are on scholarships at the moment, and the Wolverines have two committed freshmen joining them. May needs to work hard on the transfer site in order to assemble the productive, entertaining roster he describes.
May stated, “I prefer having younger players and continuity, building, and growing together.” “.. But since it’s modern athletics, the portal will continue to be a useful resource every year. We’re going to use it. Finding the greatest players we can locate and assisting them in reaching their full potential has always been our aim.
May may not be a big fan of using the transfer portal, but he does have the advantage of already knowing a few possible recruits who were under his tutelage at Florida Atlantic. As of right now, May is unsure of which players, if any, will decide to leave the Owls after him. But if they travel to Ann Arbor, they would be indispensable in May’s effort to introduce to Michigan the kind of entertaining basketball that helped the Owls become a national sensation in 2023.
May will still need to find players outside of Boca Raton, regardless of if some of his old teammates decide to follow him north in reverse migration. This entails finding targets that May may not be as familiar with and persuading them that reviving a legendary program is the best course of action for them, as it was for him.
May remarked, “Recruiting through the portal now is more akin to speed dating than traditional recruiting.” “.. After casting a wide net, we will focus it. We have multiple spaces, so we won’t take the incorrect guys, so we’ll be extremely patient. There are numerous options, but not all of them are excellent choices.
May won’t just accept anyone when he goes on speed dates with players through the portal, even if it appears that the present roster situation demands it. He will be searching for guys who can play with “a lot of action, very few stoppages and hopefully score a lot of points” and who can maintain his offense operating at the same high level as it did at FAU.
For May, assembling his dream team in a single offseason will be challenging. However, that does not imply that he sees this year as merely one of reconstruction.
When launching a product that people want to use, the first year is crucial, according to May. “.. It is my belief that a strong team must be fielded from the start of the season and continued to develop beyond that. We hope to succeed and be able to build on our first year’s performance moving ahead.
May will have his work cut out for him as he must fill nine scholarship seats. However, he has an idea of how his Wolverines will approach the match.
He thinks it will be entertaining to see.
