We risk looking foolish when we believe we know the contents of a man’s soul, but Dusty May sure seems like one of the good guys.
Nobody could deny he’s become one of college basketball’s premier coaches. He started winning big at Florida Atlantic and kept winning big at Michigan.
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May did not start out a “Michigan Man.” He’s an Indiana graduate and a former student manager for Bob Knight.
These past couple of seasons, though, May became Michigan’s man. Its good man. Its winning man. Its man heading to the Final Four, in just his second season, in charge of an incredible team.
Michigan sends message: You don’t want to play them
More: At Michigan, Dusty May’s son is the student manager his dad once was
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Michigan Wolverines guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) shakes hands with forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) against the Howard Bison during the second half of a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center.
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Michigan Wolverines guard Roddy Gayle Jr. (11) shakes hands with forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) against the Howard Bison during the second half of a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center.
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Michigan Wolverines center Aday Mara (15) dunks the ball against Howard Bison guard Bryce Harris (34) during the second half of a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center.
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Michigan Wolverines head coach Dusty May talks to forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) before a substitution against the Howard Bison during the second half of a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) shoots the ball against Howard Bison guards Cam Gillus (2) and Alex Cotton (4) during the second half of a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center.
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Michigan Wolverines guard Nimari Burnett (4) dunks the ball against the Howard Bison during the second half of a first round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) reacts after a dunk in the first half against the Saint Louis Billikens during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center.
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Michigan Wolverines bench reacts in the second half against the Saint Louis Billikens during a second round game of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center.
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Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with his teammates after defeating the Saint Louis Billikens in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 21, 2026 in Buffalo, New York.
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Aday Mara #15 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates with fans after defeating the Saint Louis Billikens in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 21, 2026 in Buffalo, New York.
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Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines dunks the ball against the Saint Louis Billikens in the second round of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at KeyBank Center on March 21, 2026 in Buffalo, New York.
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Michigan Wolverines huddles during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament against the Alabama Crimson Tide at United Center.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) reacts in the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide during a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center.
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Michigan Director of Basketball Operations KT Harrell, left, and Director of Player Development Drew Williamson celebrate a play against Alabama during the first half of NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 round at United Center in Chicago on Friday, March 27, 2026.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) reacts after defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in a Sweet Sixteen game of the Midwest Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center.
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Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a basket against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the first half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Elliot Cadeau #3 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates a basket against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois
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Trey McKenney #1 and Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates during the second half against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Head coach Dusty May of the Michigan Wolverines celebrates the 90-77 win against the Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Morez Johnson Jr. #21 and Roddy Gayle Jr. #11 of the Michigan Wolverines celebrate against the Alabama Crimson Tide during the second half in the Sweet Sixteen of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 27, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Head coach Dusty May of the Michigan Wolverines reacts against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 29, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Yaxel Lendeborg #23 embraces Aday Mara #15 of the Michigan Wolverines on the bench against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 29, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Yaxel Lendeborg #23, Aday Mara #15, and L.J. Cason #2 of the Michigan Wolverines react on the bench against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 29, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) reacts in the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers during an Elite Eight game of the Midwest Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) reacts in the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers during an Elite Eight game of the Midwest Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Yaxel Lendeborg (23) reacts from the bench in the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers during an Elite Eight game of the Midwest Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center.
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Michigan Wolverines forward Morez Johnson Jr. (21) dunks the ball in the second half against the Tennessee Volunteers during an Elite Eight game of the Midwest Regional of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at United Center.
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Yaxel Lendeborg #23 of the Michigan Wolverines reacts against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 29, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
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Elliot Cadeau #3, Yaxel Lendeborg #23, and Roddy Gayle Jr. #11 of the Michigan Wolverines react against the Tennessee Volunteers during the first half in the Elite Eight of the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 29, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois.
“They’ve become such a unit,” May said of his Wolverines, who’ll head to Indianapolis with a 35-3 record. “It’s a special group.”
With a special coach.
Michigan must keep this man, too, no matter how badly North Carolina might like to have him.
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UNC needs a no-nonsense basketball coach who’ll restore the program to such an elite status that you (mostly) forget all about the embarrassment of Bill Belichick and Tar Heels football.
Well, May has experience in that arena.
May and his basketball team are something fresh, something redeemable, for Michigan after the stench of Jim Harbaugh and Connor Stalions and Wolverines football cheating their way to glory.
May’s success and his team’s dominance helped Michigan provide some distance from the giant stain Sherrone Moore supplied, too.
I’ve seen more than a few pathetic coaches in my time, but I don’t know that I’ll ever see anyone look as pathetic as Moore did, sitting in a white jumpsuit in December, while a prosecutor accused Moore of terrorizing his ex-mistress before police arrested him.
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“The football stuff, there’s some, obviously, some poor decisions made across the board,” May said last winter, following Moore’s disgraceful exit.
True words.
As for the basketball stuff?
May made sure that corner of Michigan athletics shines a bright light.
Give Michigan credit for one good move these past few years, when it had the good sense to snap up May after his consecutive NCAA bids at FAU.
May’s Wolverines left no doubt within the Midwest Region of the NCAA Tournament. Michigan crushed four straight opponents and left Tennessee for dust on Sunday, in a win that sends Michigan to the Final Four for the first time since 2018.
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If Michigan isn’t the favorite in this Final Four, it’s about as close as it gets.
“We have a sign in our locker room that says April habits,” May said on CBS after Michigan annihilated Tennessee, 95-62. “Since this group got together this summer, we’ve been training to build championship habits.”
May evolves, too. He took FAU to the Final Four with a team fueled by guard play.
This Michigan team, in contrast, bullies opponents and starts a frontcourt that goes like this: 6-9. 6-9. 7-3.
Goodnight.
If North Carolina possessed any doubts as to what it needs out of its next coach, it need only take inspiration from how May straightened out Michigan after the tumultuous Juwan Howard era, the lowlight of which was Howard punching an opposing assistant coach. Just another black eye for Michigan.
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May cleaned it all up. He’d be a slam-dunk choice for the Tar Heels, if only he’d leave Michigan.
But, why should he stop being Michigan’s man?
May obviously can achieve at the highest level at Michigan, without the pressure that accompanies a blue-blood job.
Anyway, UNC must try for him, and Michigan must promise to give May what he needs to stay put. May is the antidote to the disgraces that occurred within Michigan football. He’s become Michigan’s main man.
Blake Toppmeyer is a columnist for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at [email protected] and follow him on X @btoppmeyer.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Michigan man Dusty May is just what UNC basketball needs
