Michigan AD Warde Manuel explains what made Dusty May the No. 1 candidate
ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Wolverines introduced Dusty May as its new men’s basketball coach on Tuesday afternoon in Ann Arbor, officially kicking off a new era of the program heading to a major revamp.
Athletic director Warde Manuel, who has replaced his two biggest-ticket coaches with football and men’s hoops over the last two months, identified May as his top choice from the jump. He and former Michigan head coach John Beilein went down to Florida on Saturday to close the deal and got their guy.
Manuel discussed the attributes and emphases he was placing on the position following the leadership change from Juwan Howard to May.
”[Dusty] mentioned speed dating,” Manuel said. “I guess that’s what it felt like, for me and for us. But, one of the things I was looking for from the start was a great leader, somebody who had been a proven leader and head coach, that I can take a look at somebody who had competed in the regular season. The one thing I know from a lot of coaches is that you can win in tournaments and have a great run. But when you’re consistent in the conference play, when you’re seeing teams more than once, when you’ve seen them over the years, that says something about the ability to coach the game, lead, motivate and do all those things.
“So that’s that’s what I was looking for. I don’t know how many people we called all together to talk about Dusty and get some information. Normally, in every search I’ve ever conducted, there’s something negative. Some issue arose and somebody didn’t think he handled it right or they didn’t think they handled this student-athlete right or their team. [I heard] nothing. Everything was positive. So as you hear that, and we started this process Friday afternoon [after Juwan Howard’s dismissal] of looking and talking about candidates, reaching out, talking to people about who’s out there, who do you suggest, who do you think should lead the program.
“I talked about 10 or 12 former basketball players trying to get their sense of who’s out there. What do you think? What do we need as a program? That’s what I was looking for. Great leader and a great person and somebody who had that consistency from being a head coach.”
May opened his press conference by stating what he hopes to build from a culture perspective, and why Michigan was ultimately the spot for him despite overtures from other programs, most notably Louisville.
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“I will represent this program with class and dignity,” May said. “That’s something that we’re never gonna waiver from. Michigan is a special place because everyone’s pulling in the same direction. Our goal across the board and thank you to the head coaches, assistant coaches and athletes for being here today.
“We have a goal to develop young people and compete for championships and that goal will never change. But this is one place that everywhere you go and I didn’t know it until I lived in this state. The street, the pride, respect and admiration for that block him for the brand of Michigan. I’ve never been at another university that had as much pride in it as every alum student and whoever I’ve come across has in this place.”
Michigan and Louisville were seen as the two top contenders for May’s services before he landed in Ann Arbor on a five-year deal worth an average of $3.75 million per season. He explained why he ultimately picked the Big Ten school over the basketball-first ACC institution.
“Louisville is an unbelievable basketball school,” May said. “But this was the right fit for me and my family. And it just felt right. I’m a big fit guy. And from day one, this was one that I just thought would match me and allow me and those around me to have the highest level of success doing it the way that we enjoy doing it.”
