Michigan coach Dusty May was put in the awkward position Saturday of coaching for the first time at Assembly Hall, one day after it was announced that Mike Woodson would step down at the end of the season at Indiana. May, a student manager under Bob Knight, is likely at or near the top of the wish list for IU fans and athletic director Scott Dolson.
And after a 70-67 win for his No. 24 Wolverines, May was asked about the possibility.
“First of all, it’s flattering,” May said. “When you have the path that I had and have — I’m still on that same path — it makes you feel good because what’s your competitive advantages as a student manager that transferred in as a marginal Division II player, and you just think back and all I did was show up with great energy and passion for this game and helping people every day. Because of that, I think people always saw something or believed in me and then you get to this point.
“That stuff’s crazy. I love being at Michigan. 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.”
May was asked if he had a message for Michigan fans who may be worried about him leaving.
“I mean there’s nothing I can say that’s gonna make this one way or the other,” May said. “I love being at Michigan and it hasn’t crossed my mind other than what friends and family have said, and to be honest, I’ve eliminated all that.”
Definitive? Not exactly. It wouldn’t be surprising if May would at least listen to IU and possibly sweeten his deal at Michigan. May is on a five-year deal worth $3.75 million annually, and Michigan is going to want to lock him up long-term. He’s been a huge success in his first year. The Wolverines are 18-5 overall and 10-2 in the Big Ten, a half-game back of Purdue for the conference lead. They’ve already won 10 more games than last season, the biggest increase in college hoops.
Ideally, Indiana would have made a move a year ago and had a shot at May when he was still the coach at Florida Atlantic.
Instead, the Hoosiers stuck with Woodson and were big spenders in the transfer portal. All they have to show for it is a lame-duck coach in what’s mostly a lost season. They’re far from the bubble now at 14-10 overall and 5-8 in the Big Ten. Saturday was their fifth straight loss and seventh in the last eight games.
“It’s been emotional,” Woodson said at his postgame presser. “We’re dealing with young men … that’s trying to figure it out. But we still got seven more games to play and it’s my job as their coach to try to push them to realize they can still win basketball games.
“We haven’t been the same team for a while, and for whatever reasons, we’ve dug a hole. I’ve done a terrible job in really putting them in the best position to win I think. But emotionally these kids have taken a beating a little bit and it’s my job to try to lift their spirts and keep them heading in the right direction, man. Because there’s still a lot of basketball left.
“Seven games is a lot of games, man, and we’re still trying to play to stay in the Big Ten tournament and then see where that takes us. We’ve gotta start winning some games here soon to do that.”
The Hoosiers did at least show some fight on Saturday in the second half, rallying from a 17-point deficit to tie it late, using a zone defense to slow Michigan’s offense. But it was another poor performance for the marquee players Woodson landed in the portal. Myles Rice scored two points on 1-of-6 shooting, and Oumar Ballo had six points and four rebounds in 20 minutes, spending most of the second half on the bench as the Hoosiers made their comeback.
It was clear IU’s fan base had seen enough when the Hoosiers got booed on their home floor during a 94-69 loss to Illinois, which Woodson was asked about on Saturday.
“You could look at it a lot of ways. I’m not even going to go there,” Woodson said. “I thought at that time we’d been playing pretty good basketball. I think we were 13-4 and 4-2 in the Big Ten without our leading scorer (Malik Reneau), and then all hell broke loose and we just haven’t been the same.”
Woodson was also asked about why this team hasn’t been able to win with what appears to be a talented roster.
“I wish I knew,” he said. “As the coach, your roster’s changing every year and that’s no excuse and you’re thinking you’re putting the right pieces in play. I think our guys got wonderful intentions, man, and they do want to win, but it hasn’t worked out that way the last three or four weeks for our ball club. My job, again, as the coach is to keep pushing them and keep them in a good frame of mind and hopefully something good would click. We need to get a game under their belt so they can start feeling good about themselves.”
What Woodson was not asked about was why he made this decision.
The only context for the why now was given by Dolson in a statement released on Friday.
“(Woodson) said it had been weighing on his mind for a while, and that it was an emotional and difficult decision. We have had subsequent thoughtful conversations about his decision and his desire to ensure that the program is in the best position it can be moving forward. At an appropriate time, Coach Woodson will articulate his feelings about his decision and his experiences these last four years.
“It’s clear to me from our discussions in the last several days that his No. 1 priority is for the attention to be off him, and instead focused on uniting Hoosier Nation in support of our student-athletes, coaches, and, most importantly, the program.”
Required reading
(Photo: Robert Goddin / Imagn Images)
