As the defending college basketball champions, the Michigan Wolverines were expecting to head into the 2026-27 season with yet another massive core of players, with a chance to make noise again. While the roster is well intact for another run, they won’t have the brains behind the operation. That’s right, unless you have been sleeping under a rock, Dusty May made the move to the NBA’s Dallas Mavericks.
While it doesn’t come as a surprise to some, as it was clear he would make that jump eventually, many in Ann Arbor and the surrounding State of Michigan find themselves a little puzzled. It almost opens the Big Ten to many other hungry programs, in a way. So what do the Wolverines do now, post Dusty May?
Dusty May’s Departure leaves questions for the Michigan Wolverines.
Coach May seemed like he was going to stick around for the foreseeable future. Especially when the Wolverines brought in another strong batch of transfers, along with some highly rated freshmen. Instead, he heads to Dallas, where he could easily pick one of his three former players in the 2026 NBA Draft. Those players are Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, and Morez Johnson Jr. In a way, it was a smart move.
Blindsided or Was This Coming?
The debate will always be talked about in terms of how this seemed to have gone down for May. For all accounts, he had become a ‘Michigan Man’ as the Wolverines fondly refer to themselves in most cases. Dusty May’s name came up months ago when the Orlando Magic job was open, and even then, he was talking about how he’s more than ready to help get Michigan right back to the Final Four, in Detroit this coming season.
Then you fast-forward to not even a week ago, when May talked with Field of 68 host Jeff Goodman about how the challenges of college basketball are becoming too much. That was clearly a testament to the fact that May wasn’t staying in Ann Arbor, as so many fans thought.
This was Dusty May 5 days ago on his frustration with college basketball right now:
pic.twitter.com/vAgQ3RnIFK— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) June 22, 2026
Apparently, this move had been in the works for far longer than anyone knew. Obviously, more money is involved than what has been said, but in Michigan’s case, they seemed to have been blindsided by May’s decision. Especially when he never signed the contract extension that Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel said had been signed.
Keeping the Roster Intact
Michigan has another strong group returning, with guards Elliot Cadeau and rising sophomore Trey McKenney ready to take that next step. The only caveat to Dusty’s departure is that the players will have a 15-day transfer window, which, with this being the end of June, makes things even hairier, especially if someone were to leave.
The Wolverines will rock with assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. as interim coach, at least to stabilize the team and its current roster. You do have to question what the new faces in Ann Arbor will do now that the coach who recruited them is no longer there. Players such as five-star freshman Brandon McCoy Jr will have a choice to make. While others will most likely stay because of NIL, Dusty’s departure has cast some doubt in some players’ minds.
LJ Cason and May seemed to have a plan moving forward, as he still tries to recover from a massive leg injury, but who knows what will become of that now.
What Could Have Been?
Clearly, May had been eyeing a chance to coach in the NBA for some time, and now seemed like the best opportunity. You do have to question his stance on where college basketball is. I mean, he did bring in a bunch of players who were looking for a bigger paycheck. So it’s hard to agree with his reasoning for leaving now. He already fits the new era of college basketball, so why not continue building the legacy?
That’s not up for us to answer, but this is certainly a what-could-have-been moment for Dusty May and Michigan basketball.
Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images
