How Dusty Became the Best Link in Michigan Basketball

"Man, he took me under his wing," Michigan basketball star Yaxel Landeborg said."Switching from coach mode to dad mode, which has been great."

How Dusty became Michigan Basketball's ultimate connector

INDIANAPOLIS - Will Schetter is an avid fisherman, but this time he needs Dusty May's help.

Four Michigan basketball players - Tscheter, Oscar Goodman, Charlie May and Harrison Hochberg - all agreed to make the polar winter in January, and the U-M coach agreed to use his land.There's a pond behind his house, completely frozen over, so Zeter used an ice pick to carve out a hole big enough for the 6-foot-8 man to jump through.

But Dusty May wouldn't let them use the water hole - she jumped in with them, before everyone ran back to the coach hot tub at the back of their house.

That's just one of those "random things" that make May special for a college basketball coach.

“I believe in his connection,” Goodman said.

Actually, Goodman's use of the word connection is apt.Maye preaches the importance of "connectors" on any basketball team -- Tschetter and Roddy Gayle Jr.guys like, because they don't necessarily shoot the stat sheet but jump off the screen when they watch the film.

May has always been a communicator.After a short stint as a student manager at Indiana, he dipped his toes into the world of college hoops coaching as a video analyst at USC under Henry Bibby, IU assistant coaches Mike Davis and John Traylor told Bibby, "We've got a guy for you," according to May.

He's just looking for a place to help - a place to act as glue, ready to show that he's happy to do the hard work.

Since that day, May has never lost his work ethic and love for the sport.He listens to loop podcasts at double speed to maximize efficiency.He follows the NBA, picks up ideas from college coaches, and is always looking for ways to get better.

With all that in mind, and his career line, from IU to USC to EMU to Florida to Michigan, it should come as no surprise that he has No. 1 seed Michigan (35-3) near the top of the game, ready to face No. 1 seed Arizona (36-2) in the Final Four at Lucas Oil Stadium on Saturday, April 4 pBS (4pm).

It's a wonder he has time for all this.

Point guard sy 'The Sons'

May's son Charlie (one of the polar-plunger players) is a player for the Wolverines, and another son, Eli, is a student manager at U-M.(May's oldest son, Jack, played for Florida from 2020-24.)

But he has four others on the team he calls "the kids": Winters Grady, Ricky Liburd, Harrison Hochberg and Malik Cordell.

It was a quartet that was buried in the depth chart early this season, with some switching outfits by choice, others by circumstance.But May, never a shining star during his rise through the ranks, has not overlooked anyone in his squad.

So after working as a scout team in drills, mimicking what the Wolverines would look for in an incoming opponent, May gave them a turn to play Michigan's offense — he'll be the point guard.But again, the coach - describes what he sees in action and flow while on the field.

"Nimari [Burnett] and I would sit there after practice ... and it was like the best part of our day," Tschetter said.

"I run them through routines, we teach the players how to play our offense. I feel like that's who he is. He loves, loves, loves basketball, and for him to go out and do that with our players, watching that was the highlight of our day."

Liburd has yet to appear in a game for the Wolverines in 2025-26.He's joked with teammates while in the middle of the room in recent weeks, but he's hardly a gregarious player.However, when he talked about May, why Liburd agreed to a redshirt last year and May's interest in the development of Liburd, his face lit up as he described the "vocal" leader in the courtroom.

“I always knew his development was great,” Liburd said.“But having him at point guard, playing five-on-five with the coaches, simulating the game and what we’re doing, really helps me a lot.”

'I was taken under his wing'

May, who was late after training with the players at the end of the bench rotation, is also the front-runner to take the national team this season.

Yaxel Lendeborg had to make a big decision: choosing between the NBA and a sophomore year of college.While other coaches tried to woo him by "basically just waving money in my face," May took a different approach.

"He told me the truth, he didn't tell me what I wanted to hear," said Lendeborg."He said the team will be good regardless if I take it in it would be great. It was a great pleasure to hear that."

But what sold Lendeborg was what happened at the NBA combine in Chicago.May was largely attended to watch and support the departing greats, Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin.But even after the workout was over, Lendeborg remembers, May stayed in the gym until it was over.

It's not for show or optics - May wants to know exactly what kind of player he could be getting and is willing to put in the time, although there is a distinct possibility that Lendeborg falls out of the 2025 NBA draft before donning the corn and blue.

"It's great to see him care so much about a player," Landeberg said."And man, we never talk about money, it just made it feel more real."

The connection between the two only grew stronger when Lundenburg arrived in Ann Arbor.

Even with his high school career, the 6-foot-9 forward is no stranger to basketball, spending three years at JUCO in Arizona (where he left as the NJCAA's all-time leading scorer) and two years at UAB (where he established himself as a formidable leader on the Blazers' 2025 NCAA Tournament team).

But his basketball education went to the next level with May, who taught him how to train, practice and prepare like a pro.

They spent hours watching film, May showing him the details of how to facilitate the offense and work in flow.He's allowed Landborg to be his authentic self — an admittedly goofy one — while gently encouraging him to grow as a player and practice with purpose.

Most importantly, he listened to Landborg when he was in over his own head, nurturing him into the player he is today: perhaps the most dominant player in this year's tournament.

"He took me under his wing, man," Lendeborg said."It just translates into my whole game in a different way to more of an NBA style and a type of basketball. Especially, with all the bad things that happened to me and mentally, he was that guy who was there for me, kind of transitioning from coach mode to father mode, which was great."

Mike Boynton Jr. was a Big 12 head coach;Coached 2021 No. 1 Cade Cunningham while at Oklahoma State.He knows the demands of coaching to the max.

But throughout the season, he has seen May transform the Wolverines into their current form, including ruthlessness, focus, and confidence.May has done that, Boynton observed, even if he didn't play favorites or court alpha.Instead, May has maintained fundamental stability to keep his team at home, returning throughout the summer.

"I think it's just everyday consistency," Boynton said."It's the same thing every day. He has a tremendous vision, but I think it's also the next step -- and that's where I struggled -- but the execution, the message to everybody in the program, from your best players ... guys who don't play as much as student managers.

"It's the communication and consistency between everyone that sets it apart."

Michigan already has more wins this season than any other in history.But the Wolverines are two games away from their ultimate goal: a national championship.When UM cut down the net at the United Center in Chicago last week as a reward for a last-four finish, May stood with his back against the post and watched his Wolverines turn and rise.

The celebration of the day, he said, revealed what he liked the most: everyone, including families and support staff, to share the joy after the trip.

The way he sets the tone and leads by example is a natural result of others flourishing in his role.

"He's very good at basketball, especially his second approach," Boynton said."But his ability to make people the best at what they do, to accept them, to push them to be the best, from the players to the coaches, that's what I think is the best."

Dusty - true friendship.

Tony Garcia is the Wolverines beat writer for the Detroit Free Press.Email him at apgarcia@freepress.com and follow him on X at @RealTonyGarcia.