On Monday, former Michigan head coach officially appeared in front of the media as the new head coach for the Dallas Mavericks. The news of May leaving college basketball for the NBA after winning a National Championship just months ago broke last week, and now the former Michigan man is heading up another new team.
While fans can be happy for May heading to the NBA, at least knowing he could have gone somewhere else in the college basketball world, his reasons for his departure are now a little clearer. While there were rumors and speculation that May left because of the state of college basketball, it wasn't confirmed until May sat in front of the mic today and explained his reasons.
The state of college sports, not just college basketball, has seen a lot of change in the last few years, and May has been in the college coaching game for over 25 years. So, while May admitted it wasn't a big reason for why he left, he was clearly unhappy with the way things were going.
"It’s much more complicated than it used to be. I love teaching, I love coaching, I love being a part of a team, and in college basketball, you don’t get to do near as much of that as you used to," May said. "So, there are some things that I’m not going to miss about college basketball."
May isn't necessarily wrong in his description of college basketball. After winning the National Championship, May spoke about how he barely had any time to celebrate because the transfer portal was opening the next day, and if he wanted to keep Michigan competitive, he knew he needed to get back to work filling the roster.
With the way May spoke, it seems like he has no interest in returning to college basketball either. He feels the people he will be working with in the Maverick organization are the reason for his change in leaving the Wolverines. It seems like May is ready to get back to the simplicity of coaching a team, which he didn't always have at Michigan.
Dusty May believes college basketball and NBA are closer than ever at this stage
Even though May said there are aspects of college basketball he won't miss, he might find himself dealing with them at the NBA level as well. May even said that the college game adn the NBA game are as close as they have ever been, all going back to the NIL era.
Paying players at the college level doesn't make them professionals by any means, but it makes college athletics a lot closer to the level of professional sports. May could still deal with the drama and problems college athletics is seeing with paying athletes, but at the professional level, he has a GM who helps with all of that.
May also went into how the whole job offer went down. The Michigan man already planned to return to Ann Arbor no matter what, but at a run-in with the Mavs President, Masai Ujiri, and general manager Mike Schmitz in Chicago, one thing led to another, and an offer was made.
May is leaving the world of college basketball, and while it has some faults, the professional sports world isn't perfect either, so he could be in for a bit of a rude awakening early in his career.
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