Dusty May just wrapped up his first season in Ann Arbor and is now focused on building for next year. In a recent interview, he discussed team improvements moving forward, Tre Donaldson entering the transfer portal, and more:
Michigan Basketball fans are still celebrating a Big Ten Tournament championship and a Sweet Sixteen appearance in head coach Dusty May’s first year. There’s not much time to sit back and relax for the new coach, though, as he and his coaching staff are hard at work recruiting players for next year’s team.
The portal closes April 22, and until then, the Wolverines will work to bring in a new class of players. May spoke about that and more in a recent interview with Zach Gelb.
May on first year at Michigan
It’s not hard to give the Wolverines a good grade when it comes to May’s first year in Ann Arbor. The team turned things around from a dismal eight-win season last year to finishing third in the Big Ten regular season and coming away with a 27-10 overall record.
“When you go into the situation and move up, I was an assistant before, everything is different.” Still, he thought the team continued to grow throughout the season. May is committed to giving his team his best, and focused on authenticity from the coaching staff.
“We laid a very strong foundation,” said May. “We’ll assess what we’re going to keep and what we’re going to get rid of.”
Improvements for next year
One of the things May says they can do better moving forward is passing the ball, saying, they can do it at “a higher level.” He also mentioned they made great strives defensively and rebounding as well.
The Wolverines had 14 games against top-25 opponents, going 8-6 in those games. There’s definitely a lot to improve upon, but there’s certainly a lot the team can build on.
When asked about why his team is getting attention from some of the top players in the portal May said, “We were fun to watch. (We had a) unique deal with two 7-footers.” May pointed to his involvement with “good and skilled bigs” over his past few seasons as a head coach and why Michigan had so much attention around the country.
Managing the transfer portal, thoughts on Tre Donaldson
The college landscape is changing for most sports, and the same is true for basketball. May was asked about how he’s approaching conversations with players each season and said, “It’s important to tell the truth.” He continues to approach coaching and recruiting with authenticity and asks them to be part of the collaboration with staff as they figure out their approach this season.
Notably, starting point guard Tre Donaldson entered the transfer portal. May said his approach to Donaldson, and the other players who enter the portal, is he wishes them well, the team will follow them, and they will be there for them forever. May also admitted it’s difficult because he likes getting to know the players over a few seasons.
Was it surprising?
While May had some idea this group of players could be good, he wasn’t sure how the season would pan out. He recounted asking the staff several times, “We can be pretty good, can’t we?”
Turns out they could, in fact, be pretty good.