By Robert Lastella
Adversity is something that every coach and player experience at some point throughout their career, sometimes it’s a shared experience between a team and other times it’s something you have to grow from on your own.
For Michigan Men’s basketball and Dusty May, before the two joined forces prior to the 2024- 2025 campaign, they experienced adversity in different ways. Together, May and Michigan have achieved a national championship in just 2 years, as the Wolverines knocked off UConn 69-63 on Sunday.
While the last two years have been smooth sailing for either side, that wasn’t always the case prior to May inking a deal in Ann Arbor.
The Wolverine program limped to an 8-24 record in Juwan Howard’s final season and while May elevated the FAU program to places it had never been, he suffered two heartbreaking losses in the NCAA tournament, first a buzzer beater loss in the final four against San Diego State and then a first round overtime loss to Northwestern.
May put those losses behind him when he took his talents to Ann Arbor, utilizing them as fuel, but not letting it overcome him as he looked to build the Wolverine program.
In his first year with the Wolverines, May took them on a bit of a run in the NCAA tournament. The Wolverines knocked off UC San Diego and Texas A&M during the first two rounds; however they ultimately fell to Auburn by a final of 78-65 in the Sweet 16.
Year two was a quick ascent to the top, as May put together a unique lineup focused around three bigs that many questioned. While some may have had their doubts, it was evident very early on that May and his staff knew exactly what they were doing when they put this roster together.
Michigan’s versatility helped them overcome numerous tough scenarios, including the loss of Yaxel Lendeborg for part of the teams final four matchup against Arizona. To some, the way this roster was shaped may have seemed odd, but according to Dusty May once the team was finalized he realized his squad had national championship potential.
“It's always possible (to win a title in year two) when you have this group. Yeah, once our team was together, yes, very possible,” May said.
While there was no shortage of confidence for May, the grind to get to this point wasn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination. It looked easy at times for Michigan over the past two seasons, plugging and playing a variety of different players, who brought different skillsets, and it paid off.
Especially this season, as when many thought Michigan had too much size and a lack of talented guards, May and his staff knew they had what they needed to get the job done. Even with UConn giving their frontcourt problems in the national championship, the Wolverines leaned on the guard they believed in, Elliot Cadeau, and once again it paid off, earning a national championship for Michigan and Most Outstanding player award for Cadeau.
There are no ego’s anywhere inside the Michigan program and that allowed them to deal with adversity in a positive way. When Lendeborg went down, they played for him, when L.J. Cason went down, they adjusted and Cason contributed off the court.
Michigan’s L.J. Cason prior to injury was a key cog for Michigan’s most effective 3-and-D performer in Big Ten play, leading the conference with a 45% clip from distance, and the 15th-best player in Steal rate.
How that came to fruition, and became a major factor in Michigan’s ability to grind their way to a national championship, is something, according to Michigan GM/Assistant Kyle Church that has to do with the way May and his staff were able to blend transfer portal additions with returning talent and create synergy amongst the entire team.
“It definitely wasn’t easy, the guys made it look easy, to their credit. In this day and age with the transfer portal and different things, you can turn a roster around, rather quickly. And the thing that people undervalue is the guys that were here, that accepted all these super talented guys, and we became a great team,” Church said.
Church has been with Dusty May since 2010, when the two joined forces on Mike White’s staff at Louisiana Tech and they have remained intertwined since that point. Relationship building is one of May’s biggest strengths, and together, Church and May have put together rosters at two different universities that have reached the final four.
As Church mentioned, although it may have looked easy, it most definitely was not. While May and Church have seen a ton of success together, they have also experienced the heartbreak of defeat numerous times, and their sense of resiliency is what allowed Michigan to climb the mountaintop this season.
Someone else who has seen May’s rise and ability to overcome ups and downs is his son Charlie, who transferred to Michigan from UCF after May took the job. According to Charlie May, the final four loss with FAU was something that weighed on him and his family, but they ultimately realized how special it was.
“I think we were all down about that. FAU felt like they should have won that game, we had a lot of chances to win that game. I think he was just so proud to be a part of that,” May said.
Dusty was able to shake off the loss, returning FAU to the NCAA tournament the following year, and Michigan the last two seasons, culminating in a national championship on Monday night. But how exactly was he able to do that, well, Charlie May believes it is just a part of his dad’s process.
“I think staying with the process, I think he’s just hungry to get better everyday, and he’s always learning, he’s a very humble guy, always looking to learn and I think that helps him,” May said.
The process has led Michigan to a national championship, and now May and his staff will look to replicate their formula this offseason, with a goal of building a national championship contending roster once again.
