In an unexpected move, Michigan finalized a deal with FAU HC Dusty May on Saturday night, as reported by ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski. How does this affect WVU Basketball and its coaching search?
Michigan was one of the top two jobs with Louisville before deciding on May. The Wolverines were linked to names such as May, Mick Cronin (UCLA), Darian DeVries (Drake), Niko Medved (Colorado State) and others. Social media rumors emerged that Louisville tried to lock May down but that never finalized.
May will now look to rebuild the Michigan program coming off the Juwan Howard era. The Wolverines recorded the most losses in a single season (24) this past year. May is coming off of back-to-back tournament appearances with Florida Atlantic, coaching the Owls to a Final Four in 2023.
Now with Michigan out of the coaching carousel, West Virginia keeps moving up the ranks in one of the best jobs available. Michigan could’ve made a push for DeVries if they didn’t land May. DeVries, being a Midwest guy, has been Drake’s coach since 2018 and spent 18 years as an assistant with Dana Altman and Greg McDermott at Creighton. It would’ve been a nice fit for DeVries to move into the Big Ten.
Michigan hiring May opens the door for West Virginia to slide in and hire DeVries. It seems like they’ll have their choice now whether they want DeVries or Mark Byington from James Madison. With Louisville not landing May, it’s unknown where the Cardinals go from here. National reporters have stated that UofL’s top target is Baylor’s Scott Drew. Jeff Goodman of Stadium reported earlier that Drew is staying in Waco next season but maybe Louisville takes another shot at Drew.
All this move does is move West Virginia up the totem pole and give them a shot at landing DeVries if the time comes heading into the new week. WVU has had some things go their way this month with Ohio State choosing to hire internally and May choosing Michigan over Louisville.
Things could get interesting if Byington’s team keeps winning in the NCAA Tournament. JMU will play 4-seed Duke on Sunday night as they look to make the Sweet-16 for the first time in school history.
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