Michigan basketball fans are somewhat divided about what should happen with the Wolverines head coaching job after the departure of Dusty May.
Mike Boynton isn't, though. The Michigan interim head basketball coach told The Athletic in an interview that he was "operating" as if he was going to be the head coach.
“I’m operating as if I’m going to be the coach,” Boynton told The Athletic on Saturday night. “I’m certainly going to try to make sure they understand that (keeping the interim tag) will create a different set of challenges.”
Boynton is right about some of the challenges it will create. It won't be easy to recruit players to the roster; however, Michigan will be fine if it sacrifices one high school recruiting class. College basketball is much more about the portal, so the impact seems minimal there.
Another challenge will be building a staff. It will be hard to do for one season. The assistant coaches should get multi-year deals, and the idea will be that if Boynton succeeds next season, he and his assistants will have jobs long term.
Is that the right approach? It feels better than giving the job to Boynton before he's coached a game in Ann Arbor from the head coach's chair. He's got seven years of experience and learned from Dusty May. He also talked about how he handled the defense, without much input from May.
A hint about the Michigan basketball roster that will let fans relax just a little
Boynton was a defensive whiz at Oklahoma State. His defenses were solid. I'd expect the defense to stay solid if he is the Michigan basketball head coach. CJ Moore, who did the interview for The Athletic also wrote this about Boynton's efforts to retain the roster.
"Boynton went right to work, meeting with staff, players, agents and families in an effort to keep what’s expected to be a top-10 roster intact for the defending national champions. So far, Boynton has commitments from returners Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney, and he believes that by next weekend, the roster will closely resemble what it was going to look like under May."
In a way, if the roster is back, Boynton will likely become the permanent head coach anyway. He's a good enough coach, based on his previous experience, to coach Michigan basketball to a top-five finish in the Big Ten and back to the NCAA Tournament. Hell, this team could make the Sweet 16.
Just getting back to the NCAA Tournament, as long as the Wolverines don't spend most of the season on the bubble, should be enough to get the interim tag removed. His point is, why wait?
Maybe you don't need to wait till March, but Warde Manuel should wait for Boynton to coach a Big Ten game before he hands him a multi-year deal. That's where this is headed. It's the most likely outcome.
Boynton will have the next few seasons to show what he can do, and he had better take advantage of the opportunity, because if he fails, he won't get another, not at a place like Michigan.
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