Michigan's Dusty May Explains Not Taking Indiana HC Job Before Darian DeVries Hire

Michigan men's basketball coach Dusty May's name was floated as a potential replacement for Mike Woodson at Indiana, his alma mater, before he agreed to a contract extension with the Wolverines on Feb. 21.

On Wednesday, May went on The Rich Eisen Show and explained why he's staying at Michigan as opposing to leaving for the Hoosiers, who hired West Virginia head coach Darian DeVries.

"First of all, my wife and I, we have two sons at Michigan now. My middle son, Charlie, is a walk-on for us, and my youngest son, Eli, is a manager.

"And so...we've been really, really comfortable within the Ann Arbor community. Every interaction on campus with our administration has been unbelievable. Everyone here's committed to winning, and I'm surrounded by greatness and excellence every day and it's hard to leave that. And it was really, really tough to leave FAU. And when you start to plant roots and develop relationships, it's difficult and daunting to think about going and restarting that again. And so I just felt like right now, this stage, this place really, really fits me, us and and we love to be at Michigan."

May was born and raised in Indiana. He then went to Indiana from 1996-2000 and served as a student manager for the men's basketball team under legendary head coach Bob Knight.

So it wouldn't have been a surprise to see May at least strongly entertain the offer, but he'll remain with the Wolverines, which won the Big Ten title in the 48-year-old's first season leading the program.

But it doesn't appear that was the case here. Eisen asked May if he had spoken with his team about the possibility of leaving Michigan for Indiana. He said he did not, noting that the team was in the middle of the season and that it was more of the media assuming the connection between May and the open job there.

May did add that some players talked to him about the open job in passing with a couple comments, but ultimately, he's sticking around Ann Arbor.

May previously coached Florida Atlantic for six years, notably leading the Owls to the 2003 Final Four as a No. 9 seed. He left FAU for Michigan in 2024.

Now he hopes to head back to the Final Four with Michigan, a No. 5 seed that has a first round date with UC San Diego on Thursday evening in Denver.