Will Dusty May leave Michigan to coach Indiana basketball? Here's what the former IU student manager said.

Will Dusty May leave Michigan to coach Indiana basketball? Here’s what the former IU student manager said.

Posted by author February 8, 2025 Basketball

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Dusty May was a student manager under former Indiana basketball coach Bob Knight. He returned to Assembly Hall on Saturday as Michigan’s coach.
May grew up in Greene County and has been on the visiting sideline once as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan.
With some fans wanting Dusty May to be the next Hoosiers coach after Mike Woodson steps down, here’s what May said about the job, and other things.

BLOOMINGTON — Michigan coach Dusty May knows many people are currently thinking about whether he is the correct coach to lead Indiana basketball in the future, but he’s not one of them.

The first questions at his news conference following a 73-70 victory over the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall concerned his speculative candidacy. The former student manager under Bobby Knight called having his name tied to the job opening “flattering.”

He also reiterated his commitment to the Wolverines, who are a half game out of first place in his first season as coach.

“I love being at Michigan,” May said. “I love our team. We’re fighting like crazy — that’s it.

“This place is my foundation, but I’m very, very happy at the University of Michigan. Came here to win a game and mission accomplished.

Here’s everything Michigan’s coach said about Saturday’s game, the Hoosiers and his alma mater:

Dusty May’s opening statement after Michigan’s win at Indiana

“I want to begin by complimenting Indiana on the second half. They played really good basketball. They played determined. This was a great game for our sport, for our league. Fortunately, we found a way to make the plays when we needed to.

“I thought the difference in the game was holding a team that gets 33-plus percent of their shots back offensive rebounding-wise, to 22%. We’re not winning this game if we can’t control the glass like we were able to tonight. And it really started at the last possession against Oregon. We’ve been very — I don’t want to say lax on our block-outs and our physicality — when shots went went up in the last possession. Our guys showed that we could be the hammer when we choose to. And I thought for the most part tonight, even the ones they got, it was because the ball bounced a certain way or because they had a numbers advantage.

“I thought our guys played with great physicality and determination to rebound the ball. And to go 0-9 from 3 in the second half and still find a way is a testament of a team that just has belief that they’re gonna figure it out.”

Is Dusty May interested in coaching Indiana basketball?

“First of all, it’s flattering. When you have the path that I had, and have — I’m still on the same path — it makes you feel good. Because what’s your competitive advantage as a student manager that transferred in as a marginal Division II player. You just think back and it’s like, man, all I did was show up with great energy and passion for this game and helping people every day. And because of that, I think people always saw something or believed in me. And then you get to this point.

“But that stuff’s crazy. I mean, I love being at Michigan. I love our team. We’re fighting like crazy — that’s it. I mean, this place is my foundation, but I’m very, very happy at the University of Michigan. Came here to win a game and mission accomplished.”

Dusty May’s message to Michigan fans worried he may leave

“I mean, there’s nothing I can say that’s gonna make this one way or the other. I love being at Michigan. That hasn’t crossed my mind, other than just what friends and family have said, and to be honest, I’ve eliminated all that.”

Dusty May on Michigan’s Danny Wolf, Vladislav Goldin and Tre Donaldson’s play vs Indiana basketball

“Yeah, they made the plays. I’m sitting here today feeling really, really great about our performance, because those guys made big plays down the stretch. And, you know, I thought Ruben Jones made a lot of invisible plays. There were five or 10 that jump out that aren’t going to be on the stat sheet that contribute to winning. And when you take a back seat and you start looking for guys as they emerge as your go-to guys, it shows great humility and self awareness. And I think our guys are doing that.

“But the flip side of it is, when those three cause an overreaction, we have to trust that they’re going to play off that. And I thought they did a nice job of that as well. So, very proud of how our guys are growing together.”

Dusty May on Michigan’s play despite blowing a 17-point lead vs Indiana

“For the most part, I thought we continued to play pretty good basketball. Look, you drop the ball — I don’t know what to say. Sometimes stuff happens. So we’re not going to dwell on those possessions, even though those are the plays that ultimately got the snowball moving, right, and going downhill. So we’re going to continue to work on being ball strong and playing with greater focus and attention to detail for 40 minutes.

“But there wasn’t ever a time when I felt like, man, we aren’t competing at a high level. We missed a block out or two, but for the most part, I would say we graded about 90 to 95% on our block outs, I thought we ran the floor and even late in the game, when our offensive possessions weren’t clicking. And I thought their zone was really good, and it changed the tempo of the game and their press. But I thought we did the same thing to them. We forced them to go later clock before they could find what they were looking for.

“So I thought both teams did a nice job. All 10 players on the court did a nice job of disrupting the rhythm of the game. But late, I felt like we were a little bit fatigued, and we wanted to shorten the game — and I don’t know if I’ve ever wanted to shorten a game. It just felt like down the stretch, if we could just get it to that four where we’re even — I think we’re even at under-4 (timeout) — that we could find a way, because we’ve been in so many of these.”

Dusty May on Michigan’s close wins

“I’m not counting this as a three-point win, though. Half-court shot at the buzzer? Hopefully this doesn’t cause Twitter to go crazy because of the other side of college athletics. Sometimes winning is not enough.

“I haven’t watched the film yet, but there have been times this year when I felt like we had real lapses in concentration and we were starting to splinter apart. I thought we stayed connected. I thought our guys, for 40 minutes, were trying to figure out a way to win.”

Dusty May on what Indiana basketball means to him and the state of the program

“First of all, everything’s changed. I don’t want to lecture anyone, but 18-2 is probably 15-5 or 14-6 now, with the amount of talent. Everything’s dispersed. The game is completely different. Everyone’s on TV now. Everyone has nice facilities, so everything’s changed about all this. I mean, do we all agree it’s not like it used to be? Obviously there’s a few still at the top of the mountain, but for the most part, the mountain’s continuing to shift a little bit and move in, move out.

“Look, I enjoy watching all Indiana athletics. I don’t want to comment on what they have going on, because I don’t follow that closely anymore. If I turn the TV on the Big Ten Network and IU soccer playing in the Final Four, I’m cheering, because I went to school here. But I’m not following it and I’m not setting my calendar to watch. IU football, if it’s on, I love watching it and cheering for those guys that had a wonderful year. But this is an all-encompassing job, and I’m focused on us. Every day is a fight, too.

“I think they have a good basketball team. If the breaks go a little bit different then they’re gonna be one of many teams in the Big Ten in the NCAA Tournament.”

Dusty May on his return to Assembly Hall

“I’ve never been into self-promotion and talking about me. That’s the beautiful thing about basketball. I’m on a team. I’m on a coaching staff that made incredible decisions and adjustments that I happen to co-sign and agree with on the fly tonight. And I’m in a locker room with a bunch of guys that contribute to winning.

“Obviously there’s a camera as you walk in in your face and someone’s listening, but you know, we’ve had that experience before. If it’s good for our game, if it’s good for our sport, if it’s good for our league, then I’m all for it, because we all get paid well and everyone’s taken care of because of all that other stuff. But I like the attention to be on our guys, because it’s a group that did that today. It’s not me.

“But I do appreciate (the ovation). I don’t really hear anything ever. If there’s a heckler saying crazy things behind the bench, 99% of the time I don’t hear any of it. I heard the ovation. I appreciated it because just, like I said, coming from where I came from. I didn’t score a basket here, and to be shown gratitude like that — yes, it does feel good.”

Dusty May evaluates Michigan’s hustle plays

“In the first half, to be honest, there were five or 10 possessions when I couldn’t believe how quick we were to the ball and how we had numerous guys attacking the ball. The second half, we weren’t as aggressive. There were a couple of just bad carroms and bad bounces, too. I thought we probably got a couple fortuitous bounces in the first half. They got a few in the second half to kind of balance that out.

“But I just thought we had great aggression and purpose when the shot went up. And ultimately, when you play Indiana, I don’t say the game starts there, but the game starts when they release the ball on the first shot. Those three guys, I told our guys yesterday, you don’t have to check to see if they’re going to the offensive glass. Book it — they’re going. So our guards have to rebound down. I haven’t checked to see how many they got tonight, but it looks like all three of our starting guards got four rebounds each. I would have thought they had five or six, but that’s pretty sound, and it was a lower possession game than we typically play.”

Dusty May on his relationship with Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson

“I’m very, very good at compartmentalizing what’s important, and none of that stuff’s important. For the last several weeks, I’ve tried not to be on social media much, and even seeing stuff that you’re not looking for.

“I’ve met coach Woodson several times, a handful of times, and he’s a very, very nice man. He was a big-time player. I actually sat in on a couple of his coaching staff meetings when he was the coach of Atlanta Hawks, if memory serves correctly. Bob Donewald Sr. was an assistant coach here, and I worked with his son, and there was a family connection there. So I’d actually watched his staff meetings — a few practices when he was in Atlanta when I was at UAB, because it was a two-hour drive.

“But I have nothing but great things to say about the people that have contributed to this program, being this program.”

Dusty May on Michigan basketball’s starting lineup change

“Several things. First and foremost, Roddy Gale has played at an extremely high level at times, and I think he was having trouble picking his spots. Because if he’s ultra aggressive, then Vlad, who shoots 70%, is not getting touches and Danny’s not in the pick-and-roll and the game slows down. So it’s more just a matter of like, ‘hey, Roddy, what do you think about coming off the bench?’ And to be honest, I wish it was an original thought. I was watching a Kevin Durant interview a few weeks ago when Brad Beal came off the bench and he was talking about how it’s very difficult for Beal to play with Booker and Durant, because they’re going to get shots. They’re going to get touches. So Beal didn’t know when he was going to get his shots and he was going to get his touches.

“So it made me think of Roddy at that time, and we’ve been kind of chewing on it for a few weeks and just thought this was a good opportunity. And Rubin (Jones), I thought he embraced that role with those guys as a connector, kind of how (Anthony) Leal’s done lately for Indiana. I thought he embraced that role really well. And other than the shots not going in, I thought those wings played really good, sound basketball. They defended. They made plays that impacted the game.”

Dusty May on Indiana basketball rumors not becoming a distraction

“We’ll talk about it with the team. We control what we can control. That was my whole thing today. What’s going to happen when you get asked about this or that? You can control what you can control, and if I’m spending time thinking about that stuff, then we’re in trouble on Tuesday when the Boilermakers come into Crisler Arena.”

Dusty May on Danny Wolf’s big play

“I thought those two plays were highlight-level plays. I’m glad he’s on our team. I thought his rebounding down the stretch. I thought he was strong in press break. So other than those plays, we don’t want those highlight-reel plays to define Danny Wolf. Because he does so many other things to help us win, and the gravity that he attracts and whatnot is really important for other guys to be successful. So we’re still trying to figure out our real offensive flow and rhythm, but I do think we took a step forward tonight. I thought we had pretty sound role definition for the most part.”

Was Dusty May surprised Indiana basketball coach Mike Woodson was stepping down?

“I mean, you look at our game — I don’t think we’re going to have coaches be anywhere 30-40, years. I mean, I don’t have an opinion. I don’t know much about coach Woodson. I don’t know much about the situation. If anybody knows me, I’m pretty locked in on what I need to be doing. I think he’s a fine basketball coach. I think he’s a fine human being, and he’s done a lot for this university with the jersey on and with the suit on.”

Dusty May on Michigan basketball switching to zone

“We have contingency plans every game. If this is going south, what’s our answer? So yeah, we talked about it, and once again, we huddled up, and I think we were almost unanimous that we needed to throw the zone out. We needed to throw the full-court-tempo press out, just to kind of shorten the game.

“A lot of times, if you’re trying to get it to somewhere or someplace, then if you can just disrupt the flow, the guy that’s supposed to be screenings in the wrong corner, it messes up the timing and rhythm of the game. And that was our objective.”