May Has Michigan On Right Track With A Whole New Roster

First-year head coach Dusty May is using the transfer portal and freshman to turn Michigan around

The college scene has changed and it has driven some coaches away from the game, but others have stayed and adapted to the new normal. In a world of transfer portal and NIL, recruiting isn’t the same. Coaches have had to become creative with how they keep players and recruit players leaving other schools. The days of keeping the same guys together through three to four years is almost non-existent. You aren’t only recruiting new players, but you are also recruiting players that are currently on your roster. You have to find a way to make them happy and at the same time win games. It is a delicate balance and one that some have perfected while others have lost jobs because of it.

It is especially hard as a coach when you move from one school to another. You must now recruit all the players at your new school, while also seeing if you can bring players from your old school.

Dusty May was in that situation when he was hired on at Michigan after a successful run at FAU where he led the Owls to their first ever Final Four. May took over for Juwan Howard who hit rock bottom with the Wolverines with an 8-24 finish last season and 3-17 record in the Big Ten.

May immediately went to work by diving into the transfer portal to grab forward Danny Wolfe from Yale. He also secured a commitment from Roddy Gayle Jr. from Ohio State and Tre Donaldson from Auburn. Sam Walters (Alabama) and Rubin Jones (North Texas) would follow suit. He finished off the portal recruiting when he got Vlad Goldin to come with him from FAU.

May got bench player Will Tschetter to stay and also kept Nimari Burnett who was an Alabama transfer from the year before. Jace Howard also stayed, but he has only played sparingly.

It was an almost brand new roster for May and Michigan as he tried to bring the Wolverines back up from the bottom of the conference. It was putting all his eggs into a basket of new players to the program, but so far it has worked out.

They opened with a resounding win over Cleveland State and despite a loss to Wake Forest on a neutral court he has the Wolverines 6-1 and they are just coming off a title at the Ft. Myers Tip-Off.

The Wolverines headed down to Florida on a three-game winning streak, but none of the wins were against major conference opponents.

They opened the tournament with a comeback win against Virginia Tech and then played their most complete game of the season in a blowout win over No. 22 Xavier to win the title. It was an impressive showing and an early signature win for May and Michigan and showed just how far the Wolverines have come already this season.

May showed he could win at FAU and is trying to show that his way will work at Michigan. Coaching in the Big Ten is a big step up from the AAC, though, and the competition is much tougher.

He will get his first dose of the Big Ten with a road game at No. 15 Wisconsin on December 3rd and a home game against Iowa four days later. That is followed by non-conference battles against ranked Arkansas and Oklahoma.

He and the Wolverines are going to get tested, but for a program looking for a bounce back season after last years debacle it is a great start.

May has proven he can win games at a high level, but can he do it with a new roster and in a tougher conference. Time will tell, but he is showing that he can adapt to the new normal of college basketball and do it quickly.

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