Assuming that Dusty May had to approve this, it's the first move by him that doesn't make a ton of sense to me on its face. But then no one has ever wanted to hire me to coach a basketball team.
I think it's too early to tell whether he could be a major contributor in, say, 2026. But I think that it would be a big surprise if he were one this coming season.
We wouldn't, but May would presumably have a sense of that. I should add that no one was saying that this was definitely the case. People were just trying to figure out reasons why Michigan might not be on his list.
Between dealing with the media and boosters and having to raise NIL funds, being the HC of a major college program is a bit like being a governor or a senator.
I hope Crisler can give him a standing ovation in the not-too-distant future. He's a Michigan legend and a good guy overall. Various things caught up with him as a head coach, but you've lived a good life if that's the worst thing that anyone can say about you.
I love the Boynton hire. As posters at UMHoops have noted, it's great that May was willing to reach out to someone whom he'd not worked with before. Boynton seems like a guy who will bring skill to the table while also helping to rebuild the culture in Crisler.
Michigan is now down to five players for next year at most. That will change quickly, so I'm not lamenting that fact. It's just a little remarkable. I don't remember the roster ever being this...nonexistent.
May is more than his Final Four run. FAU men's basketball has existed since '88-'89. In six seasons, May accounted for more than a quarter of the wins they've ever had.
Re: doing something differently, I can as a Reds fan put this in very concrete terms: let's say Rose had rested Reds' star Eric Davis, who stole 80 bases in '86, b/c of a tweaked hamstring...Davis was hurt a lot...And let's say you're at home and up by one run and you get a guy onto first with no outs in the bottom of the eighth. Do you now pinch run Davis to try to steal second to get a second run? Or do you rest him b/c that would be better for the season as a whole?
I agree that things would be fine if Rose really and truly did nothing different b/c of gambling, but I don't see how you could ever count on that being the case. Also, the mere appearance of a conflict is terrible for the game. Fans need and deserve to know that a manager is looking out for his club and not his gambling winnings.
Eh...but what if you bet on the Reds to win by 1.5 runs and you're up by only one run heading into the ninth? Are you truly focused on the long-term success of the team, or--as suggested above--are you going to do whatever you can to make sure that you score the second run? As for the game as a whole, do you start guys that you would have rested otherwise? Are you extra-aggressive on the bases throughout the game to try to make sure you get your two-plus run differential? Do you leave a pitcher in longer than you would have? The conflicts of interest are just too much.
Once a player is in the portal, the school is under no obligation to take him back--at least not in any sense that's based in NCAA rules or contract law.
If I'm being honest, I am as giddy as a schoolboy about the extent to which May is vaguely Beilein-ish. It's great to be excited about the basketball team again.
Juwan Howard is a Michigan legend, and we're lucky to have him as a Wolverine. His tenure as HC of the team didn't work out, but that's hardly a moral failing. In fact, here's a mini-rant: we as a country have a really bad habit of associating earthly success with virtue and earthly failings with poor character. This is a terrible and corrosive way of viewing life! These are distinct issues.
Anyway, I'm grateful for this column. And thanks for posting, OP.
This is exciting! He's apparently very well regarded as a person, and he knows how to build a program. I highly recommend reading Dylan's ten points about him over on UMHoops...Next year won't be good as far as wins and losses, I have to think, but it will be fun to watch the team grow.
I'm thinking of your recent exchanges about Warde when I say this: this hire may not work out for whatever reason, but I don't think that anyone can say that Warde botched the firing/hiring process. He dealt with Howard quickly and then landed the coach that most ADs would have gone after.
I was talking with a coworker about this. I think Clark has to be the biggest star in college basketball. I can't even come up with a men's player who might eclipse her.
Re: Tang, I believe Brian already mentioned this, but I would be concerned about the difference between running a program at KSU and doing that at Michigan. KSU is not exactly picky about its athletes' qualifications.
He's a good coach. Not that Brian is saying this, but Dayton isn't a machine that's going to win no matter who the coach is. People have failed there before.
Foolish as this may sound, I'm not 100% sure that Grant would leave UD. He played there and has had significant support from the AD in dealing with a terrible personal tragedy. He might be a Dayton lifer.
Is much of the anti-Manuel sentiment coming from something to do with hockey? I ask that as an honest question. I generally don't know much more about the hockey team than the score of the most recent game.
Michigan went 3-17 in conference play and lost 18 of its last 20 games. It did not make the tournament last year. And there are no unusual mitigating circumstances beyond Howard's surgery. The end.
The only "positive" I feel, fwiw, is that we are at rock bottom as far as on-court performance. Things can't get worse in any meaningful way. Or, at the very least, I'm pretty sure that I could not be more checked out as far as the team's performance.
Recent Comments
Aw nuts...
I hope I'm wrong!
Assuming that Dusty May had to approve this, it's the first move by him that doesn't make a ton of sense to me on its face. But then no one has ever wanted to hire me to coach a basketball team.
I think it's too early to tell whether he could be a major contributor in, say, 2026. But I think that it would be a big surprise if he were one this coming season.
Donaldson is absolutely a take, but he looks much closer to 6'0" in his highlights...which is still big by our recent standards, I realize.
There's no need to get all shook up.
Didn't Craig say that Goldin can play multiple coverages? I have no idea if he can or he can't, but I thought that Craig said that on the Roundtable.
Amen re: not recruiting MBB guys whom the NBA will draft even if they don't show anything in college. I could not possibly agree more.
*I'm kidding…
Blasphemy!*
*I'm kidding...kind of.
That was "Olympic ref in the bag for someone" bad. Embarrassing.
We wouldn't, but May would presumably have a sense of that. I should add that no one was saying that this was definitely the case. People were just trying to figure out reasons why Michigan might not be on his list.
Between dealing with the media and boosters and having to raise NIL funds, being the HC of a major college program is a bit like being a governor or a senator.
Re: Nick Boyd, someone on UMHoops made the point that he may not be a grad transfer.
I hope Crisler can give him a standing ovation in the not-too-distant future. He's a Michigan legend and a good guy overall. Various things caught up with him as a head coach, but you've lived a good life if that's the worst thing that anyone can say about you.
Also, a major lesson of the Rich Rodriguez experiment was that you have to win the public relations battle one way or another.
I love the Boynton hire. As posters at UMHoops have noted, it's great that May was willing to reach out to someone whom he'd not worked with before. Boynton seems like a guy who will bring skill to the table while also helping to rebuild the culture in Crisler.
A fun fact IMO: Michigan was the first school east of the Mississippi to win a softball title.
Maybe I do, and Maybe I don't.
Michigan is now down to five players for next year at most. That will change quickly, so I'm not lamenting that fact. It's just a little remarkable. I don't remember the roster ever being this...nonexistent.
Hey, Craig's had a lot on his mind ever since the Babylonian captivity. Cut him some slack.
May is more than his Final Four run. FAU men's basketball has existed since '88-'89. In six seasons, May accounted for more than a quarter of the wins they've ever had.
Yep, great point.
Re: doing something differently, I can as a Reds fan put this in very concrete terms: let's say Rose had rested Reds' star Eric Davis, who stole 80 bases in '86, b/c of a tweaked hamstring...Davis was hurt a lot...And let's say you're at home and up by one run and you get a guy onto first with no outs in the bottom of the eighth. Do you now pinch run Davis to try to steal second to get a second run? Or do you rest him b/c that would be better for the season as a whole?
I agree that things would be fine if Rose really and truly did nothing different b/c of gambling, but I don't see how you could ever count on that being the case. Also, the mere appearance of a conflict is terrible for the game. Fans need and deserve to know that a manager is looking out for his club and not his gambling winnings.
Eh...but what if you bet on the Reds to win by 1.5 runs and you're up by only one run heading into the ninth? Are you truly focused on the long-term success of the team, or--as suggested above--are you going to do whatever you can to make sure that you score the second run? As for the game as a whole, do you start guys that you would have rested otherwise? Are you extra-aggressive on the bases throughout the game to try to make sure you get your two-plus run differential? Do you leave a pitcher in longer than you would have? The conflicts of interest are just too much.
I so hope that you're right. Seeing a once-in-a-lifetime athlete go down for gambling would be awful.
Actual LOL.
Once a player is in the portal, the school is under no obligation to take him back--at least not in any sense that's based in NCAA rules or contract law.
No problem at all! You made a good point.
I was speaking loosely and--I assure you--not trying to convert anyone to a religion. And I agree with your last sentence.
If I'm being honest, I am as giddy as a schoolboy about the extent to which May is vaguely Beilein-ish. It's great to be excited about the basketball team again.
Juwan Howard is a Michigan legend, and we're lucky to have him as a Wolverine. His tenure as HC of the team didn't work out, but that's hardly a moral failing. In fact, here's a mini-rant: we as a country have a really bad habit of associating earthly success with virtue and earthly failings with poor character. This is a terrible and corrosive way of viewing life! These are distinct issues.
Anyway, I'm grateful for this column. And thanks for posting, OP.
I remain excited about both Dusty May's coaching ability and his duets with Patsy Cline.
This is exciting! He's apparently very well regarded as a person, and he knows how to build a program. I highly recommend reading Dylan's ten points about him over on UMHoops...Next year won't be good as far as wins and losses, I have to think, but it will be fun to watch the team grow.
I'm thinking of your recent exchanges about Warde when I say this: this hire may not work out for whatever reason, but I don't think that anyone can say that Warde botched the firing/hiring process. He dealt with Howard quickly and then landed the coach that most ADs would have gone after.
I was talking with a coworker about this. I think Clark has to be the biggest star in college basketball. I can't even come up with a men's player who might eclipse her.
Dayton is still alive! They have a chance if Love cools off a little.
My coaches in order of preference:
1.) Craig
2.) John Beilein
3.) Dusty May
4.) Medved
5.) The USF coach or the Drake coach
Re: Tang, I believe Brian already mentioned this, but I would be concerned about the difference between running a program at KSU and doing that at Michigan. KSU is not exactly picky about its athletes' qualifications.
Think very carefully before you hang a pheasant outside of your house.
A couple of thoughts on Anthony Grant:
He's a good coach. Not that Brian is saying this, but Dayton isn't a machine that's going to win no matter who the coach is. People have failed there before.
Foolish as this may sound, I'm not 100% sure that Grant would leave UD. He played there and has had significant support from the AD in dealing with a terrible personal tragedy. He might be a Dayton lifer.
Tomorrow…
"When do I start?"
Tomorrow?
Minutes! We've got minutes! Anybody want minutes? Minutes here!
FWIW, Joe, I would never joke with a koala who is wearing sunglasses. That's serious business.
That is super-helpful. Thanks! I hope you're doing well.
Is much of the anti-Manuel sentiment coming from something to do with hockey? I ask that as an honest question. I generally don't know much more about the hockey team than the score of the most recent game.
Hot take: Juwan Howard is a good guy who just couldn't get it done as the head coach.
Michigan went 3-17 in conference play and lost 18 of its last 20 games. It did not make the tournament last year. And there are no unusual mitigating circumstances beyond Howard's surgery. The end.
Congrats on the anniversary! But watch out for guys in togas.
FWIW, I join those saying that we shouldn't read much of anything into comments made immediately post-game.
The only "positive" I feel, fwiw, is that we are at rock bottom as far as on-court performance. Things can't get worse in any meaningful way. Or, at the very least, I'm pretty sure that I could not be more checked out as far as the team's performance.