CBB Recruiting is 'Easier' Now, Dusty May and Rick Barnes Explain Positives of NIL

Michigan men's basketball head coach Dusty May explained why he concurs with Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes that recruiting is easier in the present date in the NIL era.

"Recruiting's changed so much, and I'll echo Coach Barnes from Tennessee last week. It's not that bad. We used to recruit guys for three years and spend 80, 200 man hours away from our families, begging these 15- to 18-year-olds to come play at our university, and then they decide to go in another direction and you just think of all the time and resources you've wasted. And so recruiting is definitely been streamlined and it's much more efficient than it's ever been."

Barnes had this to say.

"I will say this: It's easier today than it was back then, because today it's easy. You can recruit a guy now for a week and get him. You know what I mean? Hey, just what's the number? You know, but in some ways, it's easier. And I'm being brutally honest, it really is, because it's different there. But the stakes are higher. When I got in it, I think there were maybe 150 Division I teams, now there's 300. And people, obviously with what's at stake now, everybody wants to win."

May and Barnes have done a great job since the NIL era began in July 2021. May led Florida Atlantic to 35 wins and a Final Four appearance in 2023 as a No. 9 seed. He led the Owls to 25 wins the following year before leaving for Michigan in 2024. It only took him two seasons to lead the Wolverines to the Final Four.

Barnes has led Tennessee to 25 or more wins each of the past five seasons, and the Volunteers made the Elite Eight in 2024, 2025 and 2026. His 2024-25 team won 30 games. Barnes' words hold a lot of weight in particular considering he's been a head coach in Division I for nearly four decades.

Frankly, he (and May) have excelled and adapted about as well as possible in this era and found tremendous success. May will hope to lead his No. 1 seed Wolverines, which have gone 35-3, to a national title this year. First, they have to get past No. 1 seed Arizona on Saturday in the Final Four.