Mavs Hiring Dusty May Weeks After Leading Michigan to 2026 NCAA Title Leaves Fans Confused – “Way Different Than College Ball”

Former Michigan head coach Dusty May has an impressive college coaching record with both a bottom-tier, and a top-tier team.

Mavs Hiring Dusty May Weeks After Leading Michigan to 2026 NCAA Title Leaves Fans Confused – “Way Different Than College Ball”

Dusty May becomes Mavs' head coach (Image via FirstSportz)

Michigan Wolverines head coach Dusty May has had quite the career progression that culminated in him hoisting the NCAA D1 National Championship this past season.

The 49-year-old rose through the ranks as an assistant on multiple programs before landing the head coaching job with the Florida Atlantic Owls. In six years with them, he managed to lead them to an NCAA Final Four appearance. After another Round of 64 appearance, Michigan realized he was no flash in the pan, and poached him.

Two years with the Wolverines was enough to turn them from a struggling program failing to make it to March Madness to one that reached the Sweet Sixteen stage in his first year there.

Then, for them to surprise everyone and win it all last season proved that the Indiana native was one of the best there is. The next stage is either to continue to build a dynasty or move to the NBA.

The Dallas Mavericks decided to lure him away from college when Shams Charania announced that Dusty May had been hired to become their next head coach.

This means he would replace Jason Kidd, who parted ways with the franchise. The latter wanted more control in the front office. But when they hired Masai Ujiri as their president, that was not going to happen.

May will get to coach a young team led by Rookie of the Year, Cooper Flagg. Moreover, he will have one of the best minds in basketball in Ujiri to build a team for him. That should equate to success.

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Fans unsure of Dusty May’s move from college to Mavs

The problem with this hiring is that basketball fans are aware of how college coaches have fared in the NBA. Not only are the lights brighter, but the heightened media scrutiny brings enormous pressure.

Moreover, Dusty May will be constantly compared to Jason Kidd. These two scenarios had fans unsure about this hiring. They took to social media to express their doubts, examples of which are below.

Dusty May might end up being a great hire. At least his resume supports the notion that he is a top-tier coach who is still on an upward trajectory.

On top of that, he will not be tasked with recruitment, nor will he have to coach a new set of players every year. Given the stability and with Masai Ujiri working behind the phones, the sky is the limit.

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Mavs wanted Cooper Flagg’s former head coach

The Dallas Mavericks may have offered a lot of money for Dusty May to leave his championship-winning system at Michigan to join the pros.

Cooper Flagg and Jon Scheyer at Duke
Cooper Flagg and Jon Scheyer at Duke (Image via NBA Base/X)

He is not the first Wolves head coach to win a championship and depart for the professional league the following year, following Jim Harbaugh, who did the same a couple of years ago.

Then, there is the possibility that the Mavs may have offered him a package close to or greater than what the Los Angeles Lakers dangled in front of UConn head coach Dan Hurley. The latter decided to stay put, and so did another coach the Mavs wanted to hire.

Duke’s Jon Scheyer also had major interest, but had opted to stay in Durham, source told The Field Of 68.

Jeff Goodman revealed on X

This was the college basketball insider’s revelation, which means the Mavs wanted to hire Cooper Flagg’s college coach first. Since Jon Scheyer declined, they moved to make Dusty May their next head coach.

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