Watch Dusty May Show Off Basketball Skills Against Michigan Big Man Aday Mara

On Tuesday, Michigan basketball center Aday Mara was named the Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year for his efforts on the side of the ball that helped the Wolverines to a 29-2 record and a conference championship.

Mara was one of a handful of Michigan players honored by the media and coaches in the conference for standout seasons, highlighted by Mara's award, along with Yaxel Lendeborg winning player of the year and being selected to the conference's first-team of standout players. On the coaching side of things, Dusty May was named Big Ten Coach of the Year by the media for what he's done for the Michigan basketball program in year two, as the Wolverines were the first team in 50 years to go undefeated on the road in conference play.

After the awards were announced, the Michigan basketball account on X (formerly Twitter) had some fun at Mara's expense by posting highlights of May and the Wolverines' star big man playing 1-on-1, with May winning the offensive and defensive battles in those clips.

Congrats, Aday, on winning B1G Defensive Player of the Year! 😏 pic.twitter.com/m9hiL6dPHC
— Michigan Men's Basketball (@umichbball) March 10, 2026

In fairness to Mara, it's probably a safe bet that the social media team left a few clips out of him scoring on his head coach and maybe blocking a couple of his shots too during their one-on-one session.

The step back three-point shot isn't exactly Mara's game, but against the 5-foot-10 May, he might have felt like going down in the post wouldn't be much of a challenge.

May's playing experience and energy in practice

All jokes aside, May has some game as he was a standout at Eastern Greene High School before joining Oakland City's Division II basketball program.

He then transferred to Indiana to serve as a student manager under legendary coach Bob Knight, so even though May didn't play on a team for multiple years in college, he was always around high level basketball in his college days.

Dusty May wins — Michigan head coach Dusty May talks to Nate Forbes after 90-80 win over Michigan State at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Sunday, March 8, 2026. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Back in November, an article from hourdetroit.com highlighted how active May is in practice and around the facility and how much Michigan's player admire him for that. His activity and engagement in practice was observed by writer Steve Friess during a practice session last July.

"I’ve never seen nothing like it,” Lendeborg told hourdetroit.com. “It’s real interesting just being able to play with my coach. He lives every day with us.”

Freshman Trey McKenney was also in awe of how active May was with the team.

"It’s crazy because he works out in the weight room with us, does everything with us. It’s definitely good to have an active coach who can get on the floor with you and compete with you," McKenney said to hourdetroit.com.