Insight from Dusty May and Why Michigan’s New Rookies Are Poised to Dominate the NBA

[Hail Media Group presents Go Blue Hoops, where Michigan basketball’s past, present, and future all come together in one show. Hosted by former Wolverine great, 10-year NBA veteran, and longtime ESPN and NBC college basketball analyst Tim McCormick. Each episode goes beyond the box scores from championship memories and recruiting stories to sharp breakdowns of the season ahead. Insight, legacy, Michigan basketball. This is Go Blue Hoops. Hey everybody, welcome to the Go Blue Hoops podcast, episode number 55.

Before we jump into some hoops, I just want to thank our sponsors. The Go Blue Hoops podcast is presented by the leaders and the best at Michigan Medicine. There’s a difference between an answer and a Michigan answer. To find your Michigan answer, visit MichiganAnswers.org. Special thanks to Michigan Medicine. Also, OLIPOP has been a great sponsor so far. I enjoy drinking OLIPOP because it tastes great and it’s healthier than other soda options.

Also thank you to Knight’s Steakhouse. A fantastic option to get a great steak on Michigan’s campus. Also, special thanks to Valiant. They are our apparel provider and we really appreciate them. And also to the A2 Homegirl Real Estate Group, Sheri Weintraub, the lady in charge. She knows real estate and she knows what it really means to Go Blue. All right, we’ve got a fantastic episode today. I’m very excited about it. Our guest is Dusty May, an all-time hero in Michigan folklore, a national champion, and he delivered the best team in school history.

And I can’t thank him enough. He’s getting ready to start his NBA career as a head coach of the Mavericks. And he took time out just days before the start of the NBA season to talk to us about what went on last year and what he expects of this team, the team that he pretty much recruited all of them. So, it’s going to be very exciting. I’m very appreciative to Dusty May.

I learned so many basketball lessons and strategies he taught me just by getting a chance to watch his team every week going to practices and talking to him asking him why he does certain things. Just fascinating conversations with Dusty May and I promise that you will walk away and say that this was a super insightful and very interesting podcast. Also, I will evaluate the positives and the negatives from the Oregon State game on Friday night.

Last, Michigan sent three lottery picks to the NBA draft. How are they doing? I’ll take a couple minutes just talk about my estimate on who plays, who plays a lot, and maybe even one of them is considered a rookie of the year candidate. All right, let’s get down to business. Oregon State, a very average Pac-12 team coached by last year’s assistant at Michigan, Justin Joyner, who I think the world of. That team played motivated and Joyner’s scouting report was exceptional.

You would expect that because he knows Michigan’s players so well. Also, congrats on Justin Joyner getting his national championship ring from Mike Boynton Jr. And his buddies that are still on the staff. Michigan will be a top five scoring team in the Big Ten. That’s one of the takeaways that I learned after watching them because of the fact that Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney and I’m going to put Moustapha Thiam on that list are dynamic scorers, a dynamic threesome on offense.

Those three players are going to elevate Michigan a great deal because of their skill set and they have complementary skills. Those three players are going to lead Michigan in the top five of scoring in the Big Ten. I want to talk a little bit about Elliot. He showed his immense offensive abilities scoring 27 points against Oregon State. It doesn’t really tell the whole story though because once again Elliot got in foul trouble in the first half.

He had one point and was ineffective in a lot of cases. He looked a little bit passive at times. I’m not sure what Mike Boynton Jr. Told him at halftime, but he exploded in the second half and was the primary reason that Michigan won. Foul trouble limited him last year. Had limited him in the first half and he just has to be able to make better decisions and not get the dumb fouls that put him on the bench.

His value to Michigan is as an alpha dog leader, a guy that’s constantly pushing the defense, pushing the envelope, trying to get to the rim, try to playmake. He had eight assists in this game. Remember, he didn’t even play a lot of minutes and he was still so productive. He should always strive to be the best player on the court. Also, I used to love Isaiah Thomas’s game because he changed speeds so often.

That’s one thing that is probably the most improved area of Elliot Cadeau’s game. He changes speed and changes tempo and he understands angles and how to attack a defender. I thought in the second half a really good adjustment by Mike Boynton Jr. Is that with Moustapha Thiam and his ability to be a lob threat, he used Moustapha and Elliot in the screen game a great deal and the thought of a possible lob to Moustapha made the defenses reluctant and Elliot just attacked time and time again.

So very impressive to see that Elliot can turn it on like that. But every game he plays, I want him to play like he’s the best player in the building. And also in some ways he’s got a little bit of Yaxel Lendeborg in him. When the game gets brightest, when it’s a big opponent, when it’s a tough matchup, he plays his best. But sometimes he’ll take some time off on the court.

And it served Yaxel very well because once the NCAA tournament came he was the best player on the court almost every single game. Second player is Trey McKenney. I really don’t have anything to say about Trey. I love his game. I know what I will get out of him every single game. He’s a two-way player. He’s the leader of this squad. He’s improved and he will be first or second team All-Big Ten this year.

Nothing else to say. Love, love, love Trey McKenney’s game. And then Moustapha, the third guy in this dominant scoring threesome. He’s a darn good player. He put a lot on film that they’re going to be able to help him with. He’s a dynamic rim protector. He can shoot from the perimeter. He’s a motion scorer where he’s just constantly on the move and he’s a hard target to cover. But I did put a couple things down that I think will help him and that’s what the coaches are going to use these opportunities for.

Number one, when Moustapha leaves to help out at the rim, he’s got to come a little bit later. Evans, I think his name was, kept getting layups and dunks because when Moustapha left, there was nobody helping him out. There’s a concept called help the helper. If Moustapha comes to help, somebody has to slide down and be able to take his man. If you don’t, Moustapha is going to say, “Why am I getting dunked on by my man when I’m going to help my teammates?” So, that’s something that Moustapha needs to cover up a little bit better.

And definitely the Michigan teammates need to help in that area. Moustapha’s behind the back pass was brilliant and it showed his immense talent. I thought that at times he played a little bit like Danny Wolf, handling the ball, passing the ball. Very active. I really like what he does. Also, when I say he’s a movement player, if you put him in the low block, he gets stagnant. So, I do like the idea of really utilizing him as a ball mover, use him as a screen man, but if you just put him in the low post, he gets very stagnant.

I also feel like Moustapha, who never really got a chance to shoot threes very often at Cincinnati, I think he’s shooting too many threes right now. It’s something that, he’s trying to figure it out. And I’m sure he knows that the NBA is watching his three-point percentage, too. So, I totally get that. And he actually shot it really well. He made both of his threes against Oregon State. They look really good.

And I want him shooting threes occasionally, but don’t make it the primary focus of your offense. Also, last year, Aday Mara got off to a little bit of a slow start, and I thought he was out of shape at the beginning of camp. He had a couple of nagging injuries. I also think that Moustapha Thiam can get in better shape, too. And as the season goes on and the conditioning program takes its effect, I think that he will get in much better shape.

Also, when you think about the Big Ten, Moustapha Thiam is going to have a chance to be on the first, second, or third All-Big Ten team. There’s a lot of good big guys in the conference, but I really think that he is a 14 point per game, seven or eight rebounds, two or three blocks. Those numbers are going to get him on one of the All-Big Ten teams. A couple of other overall observations that I had about Michigan against Oregon State.

The defense has a long way to go as you would expect with so many new players and being so early in the season. Michigan gave up 93 points and they were outrebounded by eight against what I think is a pretty mediocre rebounding team. They’re definitely smaller. Michigan allowed too much penetration and Oregon State shot 52% from the field. That’s not good enough. I think Michigan probably had a very limited scouting report against Oregon State, but you still have to just have a feel for the game and don’t leave shooters and scorers.

Deshawn Gary had 20 points. He rebounded well. He kept getting open. Same with legend Smiley who had 17 points. Don’t leave scorers. And whether the scouting report is emphasizing it or not, sometimes you have to make that adjustment in a game. If a guy starts really scoring bucket after bucket, you just have to know and you can’t leave him wide open when the guy gets in his zone. You find it’s really difficult to cool a guy that is hot and is playing well.

Not a big deal though and just something that I think Michigan can do a good job attacking on film and showing the guys really how the defense has to be played. Few more random thoughts. Good teams close the first half. They closed the game on a positive note. Oregon State had a 6-0 run to end the first half. It was just a little bit lazy and a little bit sloppy. And then also Michigan didn’t close the game great.

Okay, a couple other observations. I think that another area that Michigan needs to tighten up is their transition defense. It’s one of the least fun parts of the game. You’ve got to understand who’s getting back to the basket to protect from layups, who’s stepping out and covering the three-point line. It’s really one of the hardest things to do is to teach transition defense in practice. One of the best tools is to watch film of it.

And Michigan will have plenty of film to watch on when they just didn’t do a good enough job with their transition defense. Michigan can also be much more physical. I thought JP Estrella had some shining moments, but he also he had some opportunities to really post his man up and be physical. That’s going to be his great strength to be active, to be moving, to attack smaller players in the paint. I thought he could have done a little bit better job against Oregon State.

And then also, I’m always concerned about this number. Michigan was 8 for 31 from three. I’m impressed that they scored 98 points, shooting 20 what, 26% from three. Overall though, positive experience for Michigan and all of the entertainment value was great. I love watching a game before the season actually starts. And next up is Sunday in Grand Rapids against Houston. A massive manly test versus a top 10 team. All right, I mentioned how excited I am to watch Michigan’s rookies in the NBA.

Remember, Wolverines sent three lottery picks to the NBA. Here’s how they’re doing so far. Here’s how I think they’ll do this year. First, at number nine, Morez Johnson to Dallas and Dusty May. He brings physicality and toughness. The Mavs need a deep front line. They play in a tough division with San Antonio and Victor Wembanyama. Houston is good. OKC is going to be chasing NBA championships. I look at Morez’s role. He’s going to be a physical screen setter.

He’s a good defensive player. He can switch one through five. He has struggled in the preseason for the Mavs. He had lower leg soreness, limited action. He played about 13 minutes per game, averaged about four points per game. It’s going to take a little time for him to carve out his niche. The number 11 pick was Yaxel Lendeborg. The Golden State Warriors love his versatility. His perimeter shooting has been great. Solid defense.

He’s an all-around player. In the preseason, he averaged 21 minutes per game. He averaged 15 points per game. The same kind of do-it-all performance that we saw at Michigan, he’s been doing in the NBA. And he also made a comment that rebounding is so much easier in the NBA because the college paint is just packed. It’s jammed. It’s hard to find any space in there. He really loves the freedom and the pace of the NBA game.

And then number 12 is Aday Mara, 7-foot-3, OKC. He’s played very well in the exhibition season. Someday I think he’s going to be a starting center in this league. Might be tough at the beginning because Chet Holmgren and Isaiah Hartenstein are both on OKC, but with his size, passing ability, perimeter shooting, he’s going to be a factor at some point this season. He played 23 minutes per game, 13 points per game, which is exceptional.

And I think that he’s got the best long-term upside of any of those rookies. One thing to know who’s going to do best this year. I think Yaxel is poised to play a lot of quality minutes. I think he’s got a chance to maybe be rookie of the year, at least in contention with it, but all three guys are ready to go out and make us proud. Hey Michigan fans, we will be right back.

But first, a word from our sponsor. Hey fellow Michigan fans, this is your A2 Homegirl Sheri Weintraub with eXp Realty. I’m a lifelong Michigan fan. I know Ann Arbor. I know real estate and I know what it means to Go Blue. Find me at a2homegirl.net. For generations, Knight’s Steakhouse has been an Ann Arbor tradition. Family-owned and serving the community since 1952. From hand-cut steaks and fresh seafood to classic cocktails and genuine hospitality.

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INTERVIEW WITH DUSTY MAY

All right, everybody. I’m thrilled to welcome the great Dusty May to the Go Blue Hoops podcast. He’s a national champion, an all-time hero in Ann Arbor, and a phenomenal coach. Dusty, thanks so much. The start of the NBA season’s here. How’s everything going for you? First Tim, thanks for the kind words and for having me on. Things are going well. The calendar is a lot different. The day-to-day is certainly different in some aspects, but very similar in others, but it’s been fun so far.

What do you miss about the college game? I think just being around younger people. I think when guys are 18 to 22, they’re just a little bit more there’s a little bit more impact on their on their life and obviously their brains aren’t nearly as developed as they’re going to be, but and I’m just the college campus is extremely familiar. So, this is obviously out of my comfort zone, but like I said, it’s been really cool in its own regard.

Coach, I want to start out and talk about the NCAA run. You and I spoke last August after a workout at length about the defense and how talented your team was. At that point, did you have an idea of the potential to win a national championship and really what stood out to you most about your players last summer? Last summer there were days when we felt like, man, we could be a really good team.

But I don’t think until we played in Las Vegas did we realize but also that was shocking how quickly we went from being just a pretty good team to being to playing exceptional basketball literally in a week’s time. But you mentioned the defense and ultimately that’s why there was some discussions early in the season especially after the first three game regular season games where we thought this lineup starting three centers from the year the previous year just might not work.

We we may need a little more shooting. We made a little need a little bit more perimeter play with two bigs and just rotate them in and out. And then when we started crunching the numbers of every live possession that group had played in practice and in games I think it was like they had a defensive rating of like a 0.55 something that would be the greatest in the history of team sports.

And at that point we said what if they’re that good when they’re defensively we don’t we don’t have to be elite offensively. We just have to get where we’re not terrible. And so, at that point, we just started number one, encouraging Yaxel to shoot threes because of the spacing issues. And then his work ethic and his confidence certainly allowed him to improve in that area. And then Morez became a connector. And then the guys just started playing off of each other much better.

But once we went to Vegas, we felt like we certainly had a chance to win a national championship. As I’ve recently heard about the luck factor, We didn’t feel very lucky when we were playing in those final four games without Kase [name unclear] and Yaxel Lendeborg. Yeah, I think it’s worth diving into. One year ago during your exhibition games, you lost to Cincinnati and gave up 100 points. Then you had a good game against St. John’s, but gave up 96 points. You had Wake Forest and TCU wasn’t up to championship standards. Then something clicked. What do you think happened that ignited this fire on defense? Well, the Wake Forest game, I believe, was I don’t think Wake scored a field goal in the last five or six minutes. And I remember talking to the staff after the game and we just basically said, “Well, it’s nice to know that much like the year previously when we need to really turn it up a notch and defend at a high level, we’re capable of turning the water off on another team.” And so it just became more consistent.

But typically every year, our switching schemes look really poor early in the season and then it’s almost like a light switch. Typically defensively, I think when you’re not a switching team, it’s the progress is gradual. You get more connected. You’re the guys are jumping to the ball and moving with the ball better as they get more reps. With the switching, it’s just it’s so different than what most of them have done in the past that it usually just goes from really poor to pretty good almost overnight.

And I think just the reps, guys getting used to playing it off of each other, seeing different actions that you may not replicate in practice. But most importantly, it comes down to the size, athleticism, and tenacity of the players. That’s why our defense was great. It’s such a long year, and I really felt like January 10th was a real turning point. You lost at home to Wisconsin and then you ripped off 16 of 17 wins.

What do you remember about the postgame talk or maybe a message in the film session the next day? What was the motivation that you provided because the team played so much better? Well, it much like the entire year, we always just looked in the mirror, looked at the film, and tried to find, what went wrong or what was going well or what were the blind spots coming that were going to get us.

And in that game, obviously, there was an anomaly game where their big guys made probably more threes in that game than they did the rest of the season combined. But also, we were just extremely loose with some of our switching. Nick Boyd, one of our former players at FAU, got in our players head. I think we got in some personal battles that was unnecessary for a team of our caliber and so it was the perfect storm.

But once again, Wisconsin came in into our gym and played lights out and we just didn’t have our A-game. It wasn’t as if we were bad. We got some great individual performances. I remember Elliot Cadeau was as dynamic that game as he probably was all year. But it was probably a B performance by us by a really good team. But on that night, Wisconsin was an A+. And partly it was, we made some errors, but also they played great.

Championship teams, coach, have unselfish players. Who do you think sacrificed the most from their game for the team last year? I think they all did. That was kind of the beautiful part of it. It was a shared sacrifice and they had such a mutual respect for each other that they simply took what the game gave them. I mean, when you even when you look at Aday, part of our negotiation with him was cuz he wanted the ball on the perimeter so much that he was the best lob threat we felt like in the country, but he was also very effective as a perimeter passer, but if he was perimeter passing, it was taking away his rim presence.

And then obviously Yaxel was an All-American that didn’t care how many points he scored. So, he certainly gave up a lot. And Morez became a real lethal connector for us. Trey McKenney didn’t start a game despite being one of the best freshman in the country. The same with Roddy Gayle Jr., Will Tschetter. I mean, Nimari Burnett bought into his role as good as anyone probably has in recent memory for the Wolverines.

And then Elliot Cadeau, I’m not sure how much he sacrificed because we leaned on him so much, but he certainly sacrificed minutes because we played Kase [name unclear] a lot early. But it was more than anything else is just guys trying to play make the right plays and play good basketball together. I mean, none of them cared what their numbers were, what their stat lines said. They just wanted to play good ball.

Yeah. And thanks for bringing up Roddy. One of my favorite players on and off the court with his leadership. I certainly hope that he can play a full season this year. What can we expect from Roddy in terms of more upside, especially as a scorer? Well, Roddy, I mean, he started shooting the ball well and he always shot it well late in the season in the NCAA tournament. And I think the more you need him to do, the more he’s capable.

There were a lot of games last year when we needed him to do more. We needed him to be aggressive and he stepped up to the challenge. The thing with Roddy, when I heard he might have a chance, I was so excited because he’s a winning player and he’s someone that he never asked for more touches. He never asked for more shots. He just wanted to be a part of a special culture and a special group of guys that had the same purpose to play good basketball and do it together.

And no one put themselves above the rest of the team. And so when you when you think about a player’s ambition is to play with other like-minded players, I mean, that’s a pretty cool deal. And so he’s all about winning. And when you have if you can bring in a fifth year guy with his experience and I would also say his upside because like I said, the more you need him to do, he’s capable of doing so much more.

I think his probably most points per game was when he was a sophomore at Ohio State, but he but he wanted to win at a high level. And so that has to be encouraging for those guys to have him back because like I said, I mean, he could easily double his scoring output or it could it could stay the same just cuz because of how unselfish he is. Yaxel had an amazing year.

He was an All-American. He’s off to a good start with the Golden State Warriors. I was at a lot of practices last year, especially early on. And I was surprised because there were some practices where Yaxel just he didn’t score the whole practice. I mean, he always seemed to win and he made a lot of good plays, but I remember talking to you a little bit about his effort in practice and his work ethic and it came on, but did you ever find yourself questioning whether he was the right guy to lead this team?

Yeah. I mean, during the summer, right when he got there, I was there were times when I we questioned it because you hear the coaching cliches of your best player has to be your hardest worker. And you just kind of assume those things are true. And Yaxel ended up being a hard worker, but I mean, he was a gamer. He moved differently. His senses were elevated in the games, and he just looked like a different human the way he moved on game night versus each day in practice.

And so he wasn’t our hardest worker. I think he’d be the first one to tell you that he, like I said, he worked hard enough, but he wasn’t anywhere near our hard. We had a hardworking group. And he wasn’t the hardest worker. And so I guess we proved that to be incorrect. But, I will say this, his competitive spirit, his practice habits, his weight room habits, everything improved incrementally throughout the season.

And I thought it was a testament to his teammates and to the staff who just poured into him every day. They didn’t judge him. They didn’t critique him. It was just a matter of, hey, let’s just get a little bit better tomorrow and a little bit better the day after that. And then you look up after a couple months and all those incremental gains turned into a guy that was pretty disciplined in his approach.

Interesting. Early on in Elliot Cadeau’s career at North Carolina, he really struggled. A lot of people questioned him. But you saw something in him that a lot of others didn’t. What made you believe that Elliot Cadeau could be an elite championship caliber point guard? Well, we had we had inside information on him where we’re friends with his prep school coach, so we knew him before the Carolina deal. And then our staff watches a lot of hoops and to be honest, when you have all these names, you’re throwing them on the board in the portal, our staff had seen Carolina play a lot and so they were extremely adamant that he was the right guy.

And I’d always been a big fan, but I hadn’t watched them near as much as the other guys had. And it would just we felt like it fit what we needed at that moment. And I think situation is a big part of success. And our guys were successful because of each other, because of how they played, how they interacted, how they complemented each other’s games, but also how they would take a back seat when needed.

And the thing with Elliot, I mean, he’s brilliant. I mean, his processing, his thinking is he can deliver the ball anywhere at any time. Plus the speed that he plays with. So guys would run because they knew he was going to get them the ball. Guys would play faster because he was playing faster. And so I just think it was the perfect situation for him. And then we believed in him.

I mean we really believed in him as a staff and I think players feel that and sense that. But man, what a what a perfect complement to those three big guys to have him setting the table and I think all of them made each other lives a lot easier because they were so talented and capable, but they never played selfishly. And if you ran the floor, Aday, Yaks, Elliot, those guys were going to find you and make the right plays.

We had such a great passing team. Yeah. Well said. You have a lot of definite strengths as a coach, but the one that I think is most effective and impressive is that your eye for talent and player evaluation. What did you see from Aday Mara that maybe he was underutilized or because I think he’s got a chance to be a starting center in the NBA and just an elite player. What did you see from Aday?

Great question, Tim. And once we started studying him and we went back we could see that he was extremely refined when he played for Zaragoza and he went to UCLA and sometimes the constraints we look we as coaches we put constraints on players based on what our beliefs are and how the game should be played. And so yeah, I don’t think he had the ball in his hands as much and he played with good guards and so the situation was just different and also I think we were much more aware that he because we played against him and Vlad had his way with him that we weren’t getting this physically imposing presence, but what we were getting was a brilliant mind and an elite passer and someone that could be a hub while also looking at his rim protection numbers and you just couldn’t score at the rim against him.

And so it wasn’t as if it was hard to find with the way we played. We utilized our big men. He actually recruited us because of the way we utilized our bigs and that’s that’s another thing with this that group of five men. The recruiting processes were short and I know everyone says that the money and recruiting all this other stuff, but they looked at the way Vlad and Danny played and obviously gave us some credit with how, we were able to use them and orchestrate it all.

But those bigs we had the in year one really gave us a lot of credibility when it came to getting big guys involved and playing the game a certain way. And so that helped tremendously. But he was just somebody that was so unique to be that big and but even you’re seeing it now that he’s in great shape in exhibition season. He didn’t play that well for us until he got in really good shape.

And it didn’t start until when his agent came over in the fall and we were just talking about it and we were voicing our frustration with his agent about a guy not changing ends well enough and he could impact the game so much more if he changed ends. And he kind of laughed and said, “I’ve been fighting this battle for years.” And I said, “what? Now that we both feel the same way, I think our staff and you and his parents, if we just continue to hammer the same message day by day and be creative with the ways we do it, if we get him in shape, I think he could take another step and now the Thunder have taken that to another level.

He’s in even better physical condition. And the way he’s changing ends now, if he stays healthy, he’s going to be a real a real problem for our league. I like the fact that you mentioned Vlad and Danny. A staple of your coaching has been to play two big guys. I think you call it your secret sauce. You also recruited JP Estrella and Moustapha Thiam. What can you envision them becoming this year for Michigan?

Well, the toughest part for the Michigan fans are going to be they’re going to want to compare JP, Moustapha, Jalen, that front line with the big guys at the end of last year because of a recency bias. I think if they wanted to go back and compare them to last October, November, they would see much closer versions of this year’s team. It’s just going to be a matter of can those guys give themselves up like last year’s guys did.

Can they work at the level that those guys did every single day for that daily progress, the incremental gains? And if they do that, they have a chance to be just as effective and as productive. Now, obviously, Yaxel was kind of the queen there because he could play perimeter and he could slide down and play bigger. But as far as Aday and Morez being effective college players, and JP and Moustapha, I think probably JP and Moustapha were certainly more productive before Michigan than Aday and Morez were.

But just the way those guys made each other better every day. And I like I said, I think the staff had a really sound plan for those guys and much like the staff will again this year. But if you compare both groups to a year ago, October to now, there’s not much discrepancy. So, it’s just a matter of just being patient and realizing that the season is long and it’s it comes down to which team can improve the most, but also just figure out different ways to play off of each other better.

I want to talk about Morez Johnson. He’s one of my favorite players. I got to know him well at the top 100 camp and he became a physical force, an intimidator for you. How’s he doing as an NBA rookie? And have you had a chance to talk at all about last year and what you guys went through? We haven’t talked about it much other than just there will be things come up or people u come in and in and part of our conversation, but Rez had a great summer.

He’s a little bit dinged up right now. So, he’s missed most of the exhibition season. But during this summer, he was playing much better than we anticipated as a rookie. Much like Aday and Yaxel. I mean, he I can’t remember what he had in his first summer league game, maybe 20 25 points or I don’t remember now, but he played really well his first summer league game. And so when he’s healthy, he’s played well.

We think he’ll be back pretty soon playing. But he’s been good. I mean, he the same redeemable qualities he had there, he has here. His ability to guard one through five, to impact the game in so many ways. Even today in practice, he played one segment and it was like, wow. Like, I you forget how impactful he is on the game and how impactful he is on playing winning basketball. And so, he’s just got to run his own race.

And that’s another thing. Those three guys can’t get caught up comparing themselves to each other now because each situation’s so different. What each team needs. And so they’re all running their own race, but I know they’re all excited for each other’s success and fired up to support each other. Between those three and Danny and Vlad, the recent Michigan guys have a nice contingent in the league. And then last night, we bumped into Kobe Bufkin and Jordan Poole.

And it’s it’s been cool to see these Michigan guys that I was able to get to know because of being the coach there to see these guys now. And as I walked by both of them, we both kind of hit each other with a Go Blue and kind of laughed and then we visited after the game. So, it’s been cool to see all these Michigan guys around the league. Dusty, I’m really looking forward to watching Mike Boynton Jr.

Coach. He’s an excellent guy. A very good defensive coach. You hired him. What did you see when you made that decision that you really liked about him? Well, I knew him as an assistant a little bit and I’d watched him from afar and then obviously followed his teams through following college basketball and he had hired a guy off of my staff at FAU. So, we communicated through that process. First and foremost, the Michigan fan base should be excited about his leadership ability.

I mean, he is a phenomenal, sensational leader person. He’s one of those guys that typically has the right thing to say at the right time. He’s a good teacher. His ego will let him delegate and let people contribute to it without it having to be all him. And he’s put together a very well-rounded, effective staff. He’s got, I think, some good experience. He’s got some youthful exuberance and some young guys, but Michigan program is in very good hands.

And I didn’t know how good he was when I hired him. You hire people based on, what you perceive from the outside. And then I’ve always hired based a big part of it on likability. But he was even better than I anticipated. And I know he’s surrounded by some great basketball coaches as well because I worked with those guys for a number of years. All right, home stretch. I want to talk a little bit more about basketball.

Before the UConn game, what was your confidence level that you would win? We were confident throughout, Tim. I mean, to be honest, the Arizona game was a little bit scary, the UConn game was a little bit scary, but it was more just because it’s a one-game season. I feel like if we had a best of seven series with either one of those teams, we would have been extremely confident and we were anyway, but I just remember going into to those games feeling like we had already won the tournament games because of our preparation and because of the layers and the scaffolding that our guys have built throughout the season.

But you just never know. There’s certain teams and there was a there was a moment where I thought there were a couple of times where I thought this UConn team might just be a team of destiny after what they how they beat Duke with a half-courter off a steal and then sitting there watching them bank in threes against Illinois and Illinois just not be able to make anything and then they banked in a couple threes against us and I think we missed like our first six wide open shots and before Elliot hit the three I was thinking man this just this team could just be one of those teams that just finds a way to win when it matters most.

But, I think our guys were just able to step it up and just keep playing and, I know they had a great deal of confidence that we’d figure out a way to win that game. So, a lot of respect for both of those programs, but we were extremely confident based on our body of work. Dusty, what was something that you did coaching-wise, maybe an adjustment or a decision that subtly we may not have noticed it, but you think it really led Michigan to victory?

Oh, Tim, I there’s so many subtle adjustments and things that come from me, from the staff, from the players. There’s not one that stands out. You’re just making these split-second decisions based on projecting and predicting what you think’s going to happen. And based on your personnel, but we always made decisions as a group. And I there aren’t any that stand out. When I think of like why we won that game, it was because of our ability to come up with some of those 50/50 basketballs because of our guys making huge shots and just making the plays when they needed to be made.

When Trey made the three, did you think we just won the national championship or was did that not really Actually, Tim, at that point, I thought we’re still going to need to take care of the ball and make a few more free throws and it’ll be ours. But I didn’t feel like it was quite a dagger yet. Like I said, at that point, I kind of thought, man, this UConn team might just be it just might be that type of year for them.

But no, I just remember thinking if we take care of the ball and we make our free throws, we’re gonna we’re gonna cut them down. Yeah, that whole experience for me, I’ll never forget it. I can’t imagine being on the inside with that. What was your favorite memory? Was it the confetti and the cutting down the net? Was it the raising a banner? Was it the parade? Was it the locker room?

What was your favorite memory of winning a national championship? So Tim, the national championship, that part is still a blur. Like I’d forgot that it was even in Indianapolis to be until someone told me recently the parade was really cool. Going back the other day now that we feel like it’s we’re it’s been a while was for the football game and to be honored. But for some reason I remember the bus trips to Buffalo as well and just being on the bus with the guys and the family and I don’t think people realize how close our staff was and is just as people as friends.

And so I remember all of that stuff. I remember being in Chicago just our guys, playing board games, Catan and playing in cards and just seeing like and just thinking how awesome it was that these guys who had been through so much and spent so much time together like they had really developed like lifelong bonds and friendship. And so the championship was a byproduct of all that. To be honest, it was like the awards celebration and after the parade to see how happy our fans were and to see how much joy that our players brought to so many people.

I still get it. I get recognized more now from Michigan fans than I do NBA or Dallas fans. There’s not an airport that I’m in that I’m not stopped by several Michigan people just talking about how much joy and gratitude that team brought. And there’s even been a couple times when I’ve listened to podcasts or whatever and if people have acted like our guys don’t have a connection to Michigan, because they’re only there for one year or this and that, the certain fan base is discrediting, our guys and there’s no way you could follow our team and then even follow their lives on social media and not realize how much they feel a part of Michigan, the university, the program, how they’re carrying that flag.

I mean, heck Morez got a Michigan tattoo that’s visible every day. So, those guys, all of us have such a strong connection to that place and have lifelong memories and like I said, just so happy that they were able to bring so much joy to so many people. So, I’m glad you brought up the tattoo. Weren’t you going to get a tattoo along with the players? It was just delayed. Yeah. A couple of other things I wanted to ask.

I’ve heard that one of your habits is if you’re close enough after a game, you’ll walk back to the hotel. Did you walk back after the national championship game? And if so, what was that like? Yeah, I did. It was just another great walk with the staff. Those are the moments. When you think about I it’s it’s sad to say or actually it’s pretty cool to say, but even when we went to the Final Four at FAU, it was our staff walking from the Garden back to our hotel just walking through the streets of New York, stopping and grabbing slices of pizza.

And then you’d hear people as you pass say, “Wait a minute, that was the staff of FAU.” And it was the same way this year where just we had to walk through the hotel and the ballroom and all the hallways from the convention center to the hotel and just that walking and talking about the game and talking about the things maybe someone said in a timeout or just sharing those stories because as an adult you we have the community that people are searching for every day in the offices and things like that.

And so that those are the memories and then getting back and just seeing our players celebrate with their families. Really cool moments. I’m sorry that I’m going a little bit longer than I expected, but I’ve got It’s not your fault. Yeah. What about Bobby Knight? I kind of idolize Bobby Knight. I couldn’t see myself playing for him, but I know the greatness. You were on his staff as a student assistant. What part of your coaching shows a little bit of Bobby Knight?

The his curiosity and even my opinions of coach I continue to shape to be shaped in different ways as I age. But I just think back at how many people he brought in to help him coach better and to have an impact on the players and how well read he was and he was just always searching for a better way to do things. And so, as I start to age as a coach, it’s the thrill of finding different and better ways to do things is still as much fun as ever.

So, I think that’s that’s the one thing that as I’ve thought back on Coach Knight lately, other than the preparation and his attention to detail, just his ability to always be looking for something for a better way. Three more quick ones. I’m dying to hear your thoughts on Ricky Liburd. I became a big fan just from practice last year. Michigan fans are dying to see him play. What can we expect? Well, you can expect a little bit of everything.

Ricky is a is a complete player. He’s someone that and he still has a big upside, but he’s going to do whatever the team needs. He’s a good shooter. He’s a good defender. He’s a good rebounder. He’s a good cutter. He’s a sponge that’s going to do anything and everything the staff asks him to do. He’s going to be in a foxhole with his teammates. And so the fans should be excited to watch his growth because he’s a special human being.

Toughest Big Ten venue. Well, I thought Mackey before we went in this Yeah, that’s true. The acts of the guys made it look a lot easier than it is. That’s the thing about the Big Ten. I remember when the schedule was announced in year one and they said you have to go to Madison in December for your first Big Ten game. I thought, well, thanks a lot, guys. No one wins in Madison.

And so there’s so many venues in the Big Ten like that. Obviously Michigan State because of the rivalry and because of their student section. That’s an extremely tough place to play. I will say that I don’t I think I don’t think people realize how difficult it was to play at Michigan these last couple years once our fan base really jumped on board and our players developed that connection with the students. And even watching the Paramount Plus documentary, the fans and the energy in that place was incredible.

And I want to give a big shout out to the students, the city of Ann Arbor, and all the Michigan people because we turned a pretty laid-back wine and cheese environment into a pretty raucous home-court advantage. Finally, Dusty, what makes the national championship team so special to you? Just how connected they are, they are and were as people. I mean, to see how much joy they have for each other. There was never any cliques where these two guys and these two guys it was I mean you’d see everyone hanging out with different players.

They had such a respect and admiration for what each other brought to the table and they became fans of each other. I mean I know that there’s a several of the players are literally fans of each other and that’s cool in this climate when it’s not that in vogue to be a fan of your teammate. And so I think those are probably the things they were very secure in who they are as people and therefore they could openly root and be very honest about the contributions of their teammates and they didn’t have to act like it was all about them.

And so it was refreshing to see in this climate, this individualism, society that we’ve become to see a group literally just give all the credit and deservedly so to their teammates. Oh, Dusty, thank you again. You’re a legend. You’re a class act, and I root for the Dallas Mavericks now. I know you’re going to do very well, and just thanks for everything you did to the entire Michigan fan base. Thank you, Tim.

I appreciate you having me on. This was fun. Thank you. Go Blue. Go Blue. Thanks, Tim. I’ll talk to you later. If you like this kind of content, please like, share, follow, and subscribe. And as always, go blue!]