When Juwan Howard got fired two years ago, Warde Manuel had his choice of hiring anybody in the country. He could have went with old reliable, John Beilein or Ed Cooley, who was a presumed finalist for the job. Instead, he asked for Beilein's advice and offered the job to Dusty May. To say that they hit a grand slam is an understatement.
May immediately transformed the program from last place to Big Ten tournament champions in one calendar year. Then he turned his attention to the transfer portal where he beat out the likes of Kentucky and others for the number one prospect on the board. Add in a five-star recruit, and the expectations are raised to championship aspirations on a national level.
With a few more pieces that nobody wanted or could develop into the vision that May saw in them, things blossomed by the fifth game of the year. Months later, they would roll through the Big Ten and win the conference by the largest margin of games since the 1980s.
We knew Dusty May was a wagon after he took FAU to their first ever Final 4 in 2023, but I don’t think anybody expected a turnaround as good and as FAST as this.
— College Basketball Report (@CBKReport) March 30, 2026
- 2023: 18-16 (11-9 Conference)
- 2024: 8-24 (3-17 Conference)
• Dusty May hired:
- 2025: 27-10 (14-6 Conference)… pic.twitter.com/0C009RJs2O
Dusty May, Michigan basketball aren't going anywhere
In arguably the most difficult conference in the sport, with a host of final four coaches chasing them, May beat all of them. He's mastered his craft before the age of 50. Doubting him that he can win at least two more championships at Michigan would be foolish. He's passed Tom Izzo in terms of NIL and can out-recruit anyone in the country with the resources that he and Michigan possess.
During this process of this, all the winning the commits came pouring in too. A pair of five-star wings and transfers like J.P. Estrella, amongst others, are basically lining up for visits to join the roster. It is all a part of the greatest turnaround in college basketball history and has all the makings of a sustained dynasty in a cutthroat landscape of today's game.
Now Manuel will have to fend off the NBA for his services, assuming someone comes calling in the future. In the meantime a contract extension similar to what Curt Cignetti received should be in the works. I mean May already has everyone at Michigan believing of a back-to-back repeat in Detroit next April.
I know it's only been a few days since the National Championship triumph, but May has Michigan in unchartered territories that it has never seen before. This is truly the golden age of Michigan Basketball and a Dusty May led dynasty is becoming more and more realistic by the day.