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Dusty May just led the Michigan Wolverines to one of the most dominant national championship runs in the recent history of men’s college basketball. Now he’s ready for his next step after making a stunning decision to jump to the NBA on Monday afternoon.
The Dallas Mavericks have hired May as the franchise’s next head coach in a move that sends shockwaves around both college and pro hoops. The Mavs lured May away from Ann Arbor with the chance to coach Cooper Flagg at the start of his career. Dallas also has the No. 9 and No. 30 overall picks in the 2026 NBA Draft on Tuesday, and three Wolverines players are expected to be lottery picks in Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, and Morez Johnson.
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May is 49 years old, and felt destined to be one of college basketball’s top coaches for the next 15 years. This is a major first move from the Mavs’ new braintrust of Masai Ujiri and Mike Schmitz. Ujiri built the Toronto Raptors 2019 championship team, and was hired as Dallas’ new president earlier this offseason. Schmitz came over from the Portland Trail Blazers to be the team’s new GM after building his reputation as a razor-sharp draft analyst for ESPN.
May built an incredible Michigan team through the transfer portal by bringing together three de facto bigs and teaching them to play together. His teams are typically slightly better on the defensive end of the floor. Michigan finished with the No. 1 defense in America this year, as well as the No. 4 offense. It will be fascinating to see if he continues to lean into supersized lineups in the NBA.
The real intrigue for May is the opportunity to coach Flagg, who just won NBA Rookie of the Year. Flagg is perhaps the best young building block in the NBA after Victor Wembanyama, and he doesn’t even turn 20 years old until December. The Mavs are building around Flagg, and May will be the person leading his development.
May has a cool and calm demeanor that resonates well with players, and should continue to work in the NBA. He deserves to be seen as a great developmental coach after turning Lendeborg, Johnson, and Mara into lottery picks this past season…
Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/dallas-mavericks-instant-grade-dusty-144312922.html
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Publish date : 2026-06-22 14:43:00
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