A favorite is emerging in Michigan basketball head coaching search

Head-coaching searches are always interesting and they cause great debate among fanbases. Michigan basketball fans are no different.

If you are part of the social media discourse surrounding Michigan basketball at all, you’ve probably heard the name Dusty May related to the Michigan head coaching job.

Dusty May gaining traction with Michigan basketball

May is most well-known for leading Florida Atlantic to the Final Four last season. The Owls were a No. 9 seed a season ago and returned to the NCAA tournament as a No. 8 seed. Some fans have acted like this season was a disappointment and a reason to pass, which I don’t get. The Owls won 25 games and have a better seed than last season with basically the same roster.

Most impressively, May was able to keep his team together. It’s not like FAU is a basketball power with an NIL war chest. The dude built a culture, invested in a long-term approach, and believes in analytics — all qualities the next Michigan basketball head coach will need.

May isn’t the perfect candidate. But he’s won 125 games in six seasons at Florida Atlantic. He won a conference championship and a conference tournament, plus taken a team to the Final Four. Michigan basketball might not even be able to get him.

Louisville is also in the mix and that job might be more attractive. It’s not a secret that Michigan is behind the times with NIL. The admissions process for transfers also limits roster construction as Juwan Howard learned the hard way.

But that’s why May makes sense. This program needs to invest and build through high school recruiting. It needs to go back to the Beilein method of signing players ranked in the 75-150 range and then developing them into quality, multi-year Big Ten players. May can do that. That’s the formula he used at Florida Atlantic and it’s one that has at least worked at Michigan before.

According to Chris Balas of The Wolverine, May is a name to watch. He might even be the favorite at this point. It sounds like a Michigan-Louisville battle but it feels like the Wolverines have their top candidate. It’s just a matter of whether they can get him.