Michigan Coach Dusty May Treating Indiana Like Any Other Game

Dusty May, a former Indiana student manager, returns to Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall for the first time as a head coach Saturday in his first year at Michigan.

Michigan coach Dusty May against Purdue at Mackey Arena. / Marc Lebryk-Imagn Images

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – It’s not uncommon to see former Indiana players or staffers coach on the opposite sidelines at Assembly Hall.

It happened three games in a row this season with Pat Knight (Marian), Brian Barone (Southern Illinois-Edwardsville) and Marty Simmons (Eastern Illinois). But perhaps the most highly anticipated return will take place Saturday.

Dusty May – a rising star in the head coaching world who got his start as an Indiana student manager under Bob Knight from 1996-200 and was on Mike Davis’ staff from 2002-05 – is in his first season as Michigan’s head coach and brings the 24th ranked Wolverines (17-5, 9-2) to Bloomington for a 1 p.m. ET tipoff. 

After guiding No. 9 seed Florida Atlantic to the 2023 Final Four, May’s name often comes up when Indiana fans dream of a coach who could bring the Hoosiers back to glory. When May is announced Saturday, expect to hear cheers from both fanbases. 

The Assembly Hall crowd has chanted and booed in disapproval during Indiana’s fourth season under coach Mike Woodson, which has gone downhill quickly with losses in six of the last seven games. That’s diminished the Hoosiers’ tournament hopes and dropped their record to 14-9 overall and 5-7 in the Big Ten.

May said Monday his ticket allotment for the game has been filled, and he’ll have a lot of family in attendance. But he has a job to do. Michigan is just a half game behind Purdue for first place in the Big Ten, and May is trying to avoid distractions.

"To be honest, I've probably even heard my name announced in the starting lineup – like I've noticed it like twice in my career,” he said. “So I don't know. I don't think about that stuff. I don't care." 

“It's just another game. I'm sure when we go [to Assembly Hall] to practice, you're walking into a place where you spent 50 hours a week as an undergraduate rebounding for guys, whatever the case. And then I worked there as a staffer, and so yeah, it'll be very similar to if we played at University of Florida, where I had great years as an assistant and have established relationships."

While May downplayed his return, everything revolved around Indiana for much of his early life.

He was born in Terre Haute and graduated from Eastern Greene High School in Bloomfield, Ind., a town with just over 2,000 people in southwestern Indiana. After one year at Oakland City University, near Evansville, he attended Indiana University in Bloomington. 

He planned on staying in the state and becoming a high school basketball coach. And what better way to chase that goal than as a student manager for the Hoosiers under a Hall of Fame coach.

“That's why I went there. I thought if I learned from coach Knight, if I have coach Knight on my resume, I could maybe get one of these high school jobs in my mid-20s in Indiana,” May said Monday, laughing. “That was my dream.”

Those aspirations expanded after a year or two in Bloomington. May recalls realizing the possibility of becoming a Division I head coach after conversations with an Indiana assistant and fellow managers Joe Pasternack – now the UC Santa Barbara head coach – and Mike Schrage, a special assistant at Duke and the former Elon head coach.

“At that point I didn't know that college was an option,” May said, reflecting on his time as a student manager from 1996-2000. “And so I said, ‘That sounds cool, I think I'm gonna do college.’ So I went to my advisor and changed my major from education to history and chased it every single minute of every single day.” 

After graduating from Indiana in 2000, May became a video coordinator at Southern California, then returned to Bloomington, where he worked on former head coach Mike Davis’ staff from 2002-05. As a video coordinator and administrative assistant, May coordinated Indiana’s on-campus recruiting and was the compliance liaison and director of camps.

May left Indiana to take his first assistant coaching job at Eastern Michigan before the 2005-06 season. Coincidentally, Eastern Michigan played Indiana at Assembly Hall that year, a 79-63 loss. But since then, May’s career has primarily led him out of the state.

"I don't go back home very often,” May said. “Usually when I was in Florida, I would go back, I think Christmas would be the only [time], typically once a year, unless I was recruiting in the state.” 

“I know one year, God rest his soul, Amir Abdur-Rahim was a close friend who was our [graduate assistant] at Murray State back in the day, and they played [at Assembly Hall] the 23rd of December I believe. The last couple years he had a really good team, so I would go watch a game on the 22nd or 23rd each year just as a fan. You're back home, and what else are you gonna do for two or three days off Christmas if you can't go watch the Hoosiers or Pacers?"

After assistant coaching stops at Murray State, UAB, Louisiana Tech and Florida, May got his first head coaching gig at Florida Atlantic in 2018. The Owls hadn’t reached the NCAA Tournament since 2002, which was followed by 13 losing seasons in the next 16 before May took over. 

Florida Atlantic coach Dusty May celebrates with his team after defeating Kansas State at Madison Square Garden to advance to the Final Four. / Brad Penner-Imagn Images

It was a challenging rebuild, going 66-56 in his first four seasons. But with a good amount of the roster returning, Florida Atlantic had a breakout year in 2022-23, going 35-4, winning the Conference USA regular season and tournament titles, and reaching the Final Four. A follow-up year going 25-9 with a first round NCAA Tournament exit was enough to land May’s first high-major job at Michigan.

That led May back to Indiana, where he’ll return to Assembly Hall for the first time as a head coach Saturday – this time on the opposing bench. The Hoosiers are coming off a 76-64 loss Tuesday at No. 21 Wisconsin, a game in which they came out uninspired and trailed 26-4 early.

The Wolverines hosted Oregon Wednesday and came away with a back-and-forth 80-76 win, with five players in double figures. 

Looking ahead to the Indiana game, May thought the Hoosiers played at a high level last week in an 81-76 loss at No. 7 Purdue. Despite his ties to the university, he’s preparing to face Indiana like he would for any other opponent.

“It's not hard for me to detach the emotion because we have a job to do,” May said Monday. “I'm not thinking about Indiana, other than if they play tonight and Oregon didn't, then I would watch that game at 9 p.m., but other than that, no.”

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