What To Know About UM Interim HC Boynton, Threat to MSU

Michigan basketball will have a new coach next season.

Coming off a national title, Dusty May is leaving Michigan State's arch-nemesis for the same position with the Dallas Mavericks. UM has quickly elevated assistant Mike Boynton Jr. to interim head coach.

Michigan State’s Tom Izzo smiles as he greets Michigan’s Dusty May before their rivalry matchup game at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025. | David Rodriguez Munoz / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Since May made his move in late June, it wouldn't be surprising if Boynton coached Michigan through the 2026-27 season, whether he has the interim tag on him or not. Boynton has seven years of head coaching experience from his time at Oklahoma State (2017-24).

It doesn't seem to be a sure thing yet. Michigan is a prestigious enough job with enough money to throw around that it could probably pull away a candidate from another school if it wanted to. Promoting Boynton would make it easier to keep the current roster together. A 15-day portal window will open five days after UM names May's replacement (it automatically opens in a month if no one is in place).

History of UM Coaches During Izzo Era

Michigan head coach Dusty May talks to assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. during the second half of the Sweet 16 round of NCAA tournament at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Ga. on Friday, March 28, 2025. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Boynton might end up being the seventh different Michigan head coach Tom Izzo will face in his 32 years in charge at MSU. He'd be the first internal hire for the Wolverines since Steve Fisher, the very first UM head coach Izzo went up against.

This internal promotion has some similarities, but some important differences. Fisher got promoted because the previous head coach, Bill Frieder, had taken a new job at Arizona State. Once Frieder told then-Michigan AD (and football coach) Bo Schembechler about that ahead of the NCAA Tournament, he was told to leave immediately. Fisher took over as interim, and UM wound up winning the whole thing as a 3-seed. That's a pretty good way to get the permanent gig.

Apr 6, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Michigan Wolverines head coach Dusty May waves to fans after cutting the net after their win against the UConn Huskies in the national championship of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Fisher went 4-0 (with an asterisk) against Izzo before he was fired by Michigan during the Ed Martin scandal.

Boynton is also getting his promotion right around the time of a national title, but he wasn't the head man during the Wolverines' NCAA Tournament run. His potential promotion would be much more of a settle under unusual circumstances for Michigan. Boynton's tenure at Oklahoma State isn't quite as inspiring as May's past has been, either.

Boynton's Time at OK State

Feb 10, 2024; Norman, Oklahoma, USA; Oklahoma State Cowboys head coach Mike Boynton gestures to his team during a play against the Oklahoma Sooners during the first half at Lloyd Noble Center. | Alonzo Adams-Imagn Images

May came to Michigan with a Final Four already under his belt from his time at Florida Atlantic. He was one of the hottest coaches on the market when the Wolverines hired him. It was a big-boy hire from a program that has big-boy expectations, and it, obviously, went quite well.

Boynton isn't Dusty May. Oklahoma State isn't the greatest high-major job, but Boynton's seven years there were quite "meh." Boynton went 119-109 (.522) overall and 51-75 (.402) during Big 12 conference play. The Cowboys only made only one NCAA Tournament appearance. That was with Cade Cunningham on the team and resulted in a second-round loss to 12-seed Oregon State in 2021.

Oklahoma State also played under the shadow of a postseason ban during the '21-22 season. This wasn't Boynton's fault. The Cowboys probably got the short end of the stick from the NCAA there, getting a postseason ban a while after a 2017 FBI investigation into college hoops. The case implicated Kansas, Arizona, Auburn, LSU, and others.

LSU coach Will Wade was literally caught on wiretap talking about paying recruits. Only OK State was handed a postseason ban by an outside body, though Arizona and Auburn self-imposed bans for a year.

Oklahoma State isn't an unsaveable job, though. The Cowboys had made the NCAA Tournament four times in the five seasons prior to Boynton's arrival, including the year before in now-Illinois coach Brad Underwood's only year in Stillwater. Boynton was an assistant on Underwood's staff at both Stephen F. Austin and there.

Overall Threat to MSU

Michigan might end up being a deserved second shot for Boynton. He's been an assistant now under two of the four coaches who made the Final Four this April. UM has more resources to help Boynton succeed than he had at Oklahoma State, and May's national title will only make the school and its donors more willing to hand over the cash.

The situation in Ann Arbor is certainly interesting. May being in the NBA is certainly a weight off the shoulders of the 17 other programs in the Big Ten, but it's especially so for Michigan State.

Boynton's extensive experience would certainly make him a threat to continue what May was building, but he wouldn't be the primary candidate here if May had left shortly after the college season had ended and Michigan had more options.

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