From Beilein to the Block M, Michigan the ‘place that I wanted to be’ for Dusty May

Dusty May hasn’t had a lot of free time the past week. An NCAA Tournament with Florida Atlantic, then a jaunt to Fort Lauderdale to negotiate with Michigan. By the time he landed in Ann Arbor, a freshly inked $3.75 million contract in hand, his busy work week wasn’t done. In fact, it’s just beginning, and he’s not someone who wastes time.

From the moment he stepped foot in Ann Arbor, he’s made the most of every moment.

“We were gonna go the hotel,” May said at his introductory press conference. “And I said ‘You know what, we don’t have a lot of time. Let’s go ahead and go check out the facilities and tour campus. It’s been a while since I was here.’ And we walked in and we took about eight detours so I could see the practice facilities, the weight room, football stadium. So the first thing we did was come here and really get a tour of the place and meet all the people that were here.”

Every coach tours the new digs when they get hired, but May comes with an intent behind his words. He inherits a once-dominant powerhouse derailed by a couple of bad seasons to end Juwan Howard’s tenure. Now, May has about a hundred and one tasks he needs to get done. With the transfer portal wide open, high school recruits pondering commitment flips, not to mention an NIL sphere that’s never enough, May now has to rebuild Michigan basketball.

But that’s exactly what he wants, because that work is exactly why he came to Michigan.