Dusty May beware: History of coaches who jumped from college to NBA is a cautionary tale

“[He] is one of the most accomplished and innovative basketball minds and leaders in the entire game. He has a unique ability to create an outstanding culture that will promote the development of young players and provide a solid structure to the entire program; not to mention the fact that [he] wins everywhere he goes.”

That’s the broad strokes of the framework of the argument for reaching down into the college ranks to pluck Dusty May out of Ann Arbor, hiring the University of Michigan head basketball coach to take the reins of the Dallas Mavericks. It’s a pursuit that was first reported earlier this month by Marc Stein and Jake Fischer, and one that was reportedly consummated Monday morning, with new Mavericks president Masai Ujiri and general manager Mike Schmitz filling the head-coaching vacancy created by the departure of Jason Kidd last month.

Advertisement

And if it sounds familiar to you, it might be because it was the framework of another argument — one made more than seven years ago, when Dan Gilbert and Koby Altman handed over the moon, the stars and a five-year contract with “an average annual value of more than $4 million” to pluck John Beilein out of Ann Arbor to take the reins of the Cleveland Cavaliers.

“He’s considered one of the elite offensive tacticians and teachers in basketball,” Adrian Wojnarowski, then of ESPN, wrote of the Cavs’ 2019 pursuit of “culture driver” Beilein.

“He takes players right out of high school and turns them into lottery picks,” a “source close” to the Beilein hire told Chris Fedor of cleveland.com.

“It is no surprise that Koby and his team landed on John Beilein, as great cultures attract others who hold the same values as the foundation for everything they do,” Cavs owner Gilbert wrote in a team statement. “I can’t wait for next season to begin.”

Advertisement

As it turned out, he probably would’ve been fine waiting.

Beilein opened his pro account with 15 losses in his first 20 games and totaled more defeats by mid-January than he’d had in his final three years in Ann Arbor. The tactical excellence that produced so many wins across 27 years on campus failed to translate…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/nba/article/dusty-may-beware-history-of-coaches-who-jumped-from-college-to-nba-is-a-cautionary-tale-164728103.html

Author : Dan Devine

Publish date : 2026-06-22 16:47:00

Copyright for syndicated content belongs to the linked Source.