Right or Wrong: Analyzing Michigan Basketball's Decision to Hire Mike Boynton Jr.

The Wolverines opted to remove the interim tag from Mike Boynton Jr. on Friday. Was that the right move?

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News broke on Friday that Michigan had opted to remove the interim tag placed on Mike Boynton Jr., following the swift departure of Dusty May to the Dallas Mavericks, and give Boynton Jr. a two-year deal.

After Boynton Jr. has nearly retained the entire roster that May had put in place, he will now enter the 2026-27 season as the Wolverines' head coach. But was that the right move made by Michigan?

Let's dig into.

Why there are concerns from the fanbase

There have certainly been mixed reactions from the Michigan fanbase since the Wolverines removed Boynton Jr.'s interim tag. In fact, there was even some initial concern when Michigan opted to put an interim tag on Boynton Jr., instead of doing a national search.

For starters, he isn't Dusty May. But let's be honest, who is? May put Michigan back on top of the basketball landscape and the Wolverines reached the pinnacle of the collegiate basketball world after winning a national title.

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Nobody is going to be May, and whoever Michigan hired, whether it's Boynton Jr., or another coach, they are going to run things their own way. But not only is May at the forefront, but Boynton Jr. coached seven seasons at Oklahoma State as a head coach — with limited success.

During his seven seasons, Boynton Jr. went 119-109, while making it to one NCAA Tournament appearance. So, when just looking at his win/loss record, there are major concerns about whether he will be able to keep Michigan at the top of the Big Ten and in the national landscape.

Mike Boynton Jr. has earned the chance

However, Boynton Jr. has put in his time, and deserves a shot at leading the team. Some fans are trying to compare Michigan's promotion of Boynton Jr. to that of Sherrone Moore.

Those two situations cannot be compared. Boynton Jr. has seven years of head coaching experience, in a premier basketball conference, whereas Moore had limited coordinating experience, and zero head coaching experience. Boynton Jr. is one of the most respected coaches around. You cannot compare those two hirings — even if Michigan lost its two national championship coaches right after winning the title.

Michigan put itself in a favorable spot with Boynton Jr.'s promotion. The players love him. While he wasn't the head coach the last two years, Boynton Jr. was as important as any coach in bringing these players to Michigan.

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"Trey told Warde in no uncertain terms, 'I need, I want Mike Boynton. I'm not trying to hear them other dudes'," Trey McKenney's father John said of the exchange between Trey and Warde Manuel. "Because what a lot of people don't realize is on the outside Boynton was a lot of these guys' main recruiter. Outside of [Elliot] Cadeau, Cadeau was Dusty's recruit..

"So I say all that to say, like people are expecting all this huge turnover. No, I don't see it. You guys have one guy that might leave, maybe two. But I don't see it being a huge — and I see that possibly being the freshmen. I don't see that being the upperclassmen or the portal guys. Because like I said, Boynton was their guy, was most of these people's main recruiter.

And one more point to Boynton Jr's non-success at Oklahoma State. He has experienced the down years of college basketball. He has learned from it. He has coached winning basketball teams as May's right-hand man. Boynton Jr. has said he has seen the path to success and he isn't changing anything.

Low-risk, high-reward: Perfectly fine decision

Michigan gave Boynton Jr. a two-year deal. Details of that deal have yet to leak out, as of this writing. But it's a win-win for Michigan. If he succeeds, you can extend his contract, just like Michigan did both years under Dusty May. And if he fails, you buy him out — from what's likely a low buy-out — and start your national search.

It's a low-risk, high-reward deal for the Wolverines. And with Boynton Jr. as the new head coach, he can get to recruiting and filling out his staff.

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Players from the 2027 and 2028 cycles can buy in with Boynton Jr. leading the program. He is one of the best recruiters out there, and can start planting his vision into the program. Also, there are three assistant spot seats to fill.

It would've been challenging to get top-tier assistants into Michigan with an interim head coach leading the charge. Now, the Wolverines can throw some money at some really good assistant coaches to help Boynton Jr. make a run with a very talented roster.