ANN ARBOR, Mich. — It's been two months, but there's still a lot to learn about Dusty May and the basketball program he wants to build at the University of Michigan.
What's clear so far is that Maye isn't treating his first season as a loss. He took the job believing that a rebuild within a year was possible, and now that Michigan's staff and roster are nearly complete, he seems even more convinced.
“There's not going to be a night this season where I walk on the court and say, 'I need to do this for later,'” May said last week. “You’re going to have the expectation that you’re going to step on the court every night to win.”
Here are five things we know so far about May and Michigan State.
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The value of fresh ideas
When building his staff, Maye hired several familiar faces from his time at Florida Atlantic. That includes general manager Kyle Church, director of player development Drew Williamson and assistant coach Hakeem Misdeen, who coached with Maye at FAU from 2018 to 2021. After that, he went to work for Atlantic. Georgia. May also emphasized looking outside your immediate circle for coaches who can bridge gaps and bring different perspectives.
“I didn't want to work with my friends,” May said. “First of all, I want players who can complement me and my weaknesses, players who challenge me and the players every day to improve, players with new ideas.”
One of Maye's assistant coaching spots went to Mike Boynton, who has run his own program at Oklahoma State for the past seven years. The other award went to Justin Joyner, who spent seven years at Saint Mary's, first as director of basketball operations and eventually as associate head coach under Randy Bennett.
Joyner caught May's attention because of his acumen as a defensive coach. According to KenPom, the Gaels ranked 96th in adjusted defensive efficiency in 2020 and have finished inside the top 15 every year since. Maye's brand of basketball is fast-paced and free-flowing, a change in style from what Joyner experienced at St. Mary's. Their goal at the University of Michigan is to create the best of both worlds.
“The hardest thing to protect is unpredictability,” Joyner said. “I get to be on the defensive side of the ball and coach guys in an offense like this in practice every day. I think that's going to help me as a defensive coach.”
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Learn more about Michigan's defense
Michigan ranked 345th out of 362 Division I teams last season after allowing 1.14 points per possession and was in dire need of a defensive overhaul. The roster Maye has assembled in recent weeks is bigger and taller with Rubin Jones, a lockdown perimeter defender transferred from North Texas, and Vlad Goldin, a 7-foot rim protector. .
“I think we have a lot of guys who can hold the ball up front on the perimeter, which means we don't have to have two guys on the ball in certain areas,” Joyner said. “I think we have guys who can pressure the ball and get through the pick-and-roll. And we have rim protection with Vlad.”
Limiting opponents' 3-point attempts has been one of the keys to Joyner's success at St. Mary's, as the Gaels have ranked in the nation's top 10 in this category three of the past four seasons. . Combined with Goldin's presence around the basket, Michigan should have someone who can force opponents to take lower percentage shots.
“Ultimately, defensively, it's a matter of, 'What are you giving up?'” Joyner said. “If we can take away 3s, take away rim drives, and use people in the midrange, we should be good defensively.”
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Closed on NIL
According to May, some of the players he scouted left NIL money on the table to sign with the University of Michigan. The school that offers the highest salary isn't always the best, but in a perfect world, May would like his NIL at the University of Michigan to be able to compete with the best schools in college basketball.
“I want our players to be taken care of just like everyone else in the country,” May said. “At this point, that's probably not possible.”
May estimates NILs accounted for 25 to 30 percent of his time at FAU, and Michigan hasn't run away from them either. He said he is in regular, sometimes daily contact with Michigan supporters who run the Champions Circle Collective to discuss bringing more funding to NIL.
“I think our success is linked to their success, and their success is probably linked to our success,” May said.
Miscudeen said the player Michigan was looking for a big NIL number from the beginning wasn't the player Michigan had on its shortlist. The University of Michigan has a mutual sense of security with players who come to visit campus, which typically begins with a Friday night dinner followed by a tour of the facility the following morning. If all goes well, a NIL conversation will take place at the end of the visit, where the coach will sit down with the player and his or her family to discuss in detail the player's role in the program.
“I hope it's the last time,” Miss Dean said. “Usually with the recruits we get, that happens after they’re on the verge of making a decision.”
What May looks for in a point guard
According to May, shoot-first point guards were popular at one time, but that has changed to “shoot first, second, third.” Maye sees basketball trending back to point guards looking to create shots for their teammates rather than trying to get their own shots. That was part of the appeal in acquiring Tre Donaldson, who transferred from Auburn. Although he was not a prolific scorer, he had the highest assist per minute rate in the SEC.
“When we look back at the players we've coached and the best teams we've ever had, it usually starts with pass-first guards,” May said. “Then the ball will come back to them and it creates trust that the ball will find them later.”
Maye is looking for a quarterback on the court, whether it's at point guard or center. When May's offense is flowing, the ball should be moving and not sticking into anyone's hands. Maye likes to have multiple ball handlers on the floor, and the point guard's role is to make sure the ball ends up in the right place.
“We don't need guys starting sets with the ball under their arm in half court every time they have possession,” May said. “So we're not very efficient and our defense is solid. Hopefully, we have some playmakers on the court and the awareness of our players and being aware of who they're playing with, so we can take care of the ball. will find the right player.”
About the University of Michigan's new coach
The University of Michigan announced the final addition to May's staff on Monday with the hiring of head strength coach Matt Aldred, who served as director of strength and conditioning for the past six years at Furman. Aldred and Maye previously worked together in Florida during the 2017-18 season.
Originally from Eastbourne, England, Aldred works as an adjunct professor of kinesiology and collaborates on sports science research at Furman University, where he co-authored a paper using force plate data to monitor jump performance in athletes throughout the season. I wrote it.
“Matt only strengthens our goal of building a staff of great teachers and honest people who can help our players stay away from the game,” May said in a release. “I met Matt six years ago and have always been impressed with him. His forward-thinking, work at Furman, and academic guidance will allow him to enhance our strength and conditioning program. He is a unique coach.”
Aldred will fill the job previously held by John Sanderson, who was a common denominator in winning two Final Fours under John Beilein and winning a Big Ten Championship under Juwan Howard. Mr Sanderson's 15-year term came to an acrimonious end in December after a verbal confrontation with Mr Howard. Sanderson will not be involved with the men's basketball program for the remainder of the season, resigning in March.
(Top photo: Junfu Han / USA Today)