One of the biggest storylines at the Final Four doesn’t necessarily involve one of the four teams that secured a spot in the national semifinals in Indianapolis.
It instead involves a program roughly 600 miles southeast of the Final Four, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, where UNC basketball is on Day 11 of a head coaching search following the firing of Hubert Davis.
Following Arizona’s announcement of Tommy Lloyd’s long-term commitment to the Wildcats on Friday, April 3, one coach was asked about their name being linked to the Tar Heels’ job opening: Michigan coach Dusty May.
May, in his second season in Ann Arbor, Michigan, has quickly become one of the top coaches in the country, a trajectory that started during his time at Florida Atlantic. This season, May has led the Wolverines to the program’s first Final Four since 2018 after building one of the top rosters in the country through the transfer portal with the additions of Yaxel Lendeborg, Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr. and Elliot Cadeau, the last of whom came over from the Tar Heels.
What Dusty May said of UNC basketball job opening
May has fielded questions about the North Carolina job, but has not named the Tar Heels directly in his responses. May, speaking with Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68 on Thursday, April 2, said he is “incredibly happy” and “honored” to be at the Final Four in Indianapolis as the head coach of the Wolverines, and that he won’t “comment on any job” that’s not his.
“I decided when my alma mater opened (Indiana), no matter what you said, it could be misinterpreted, and so I’m forever going to not comment on any job that’s not mine,” May said. “I’m incredibly happy, honored, and blessed to be the coach of Michigan in the Final Four, representing this incredible university and athletic department.”
ICYMI: Dusty May on the North Carolina coaching rumors
“I’m not going to comment on any job that’s not mine. I’m incredibly happy, honored, and blessed to be the coach of Michigan in the Final Four.” He doubled down on that answer during media availability on April 3 in Indianapolis.
“After last year, I decided I’ll never respond to any job speculation. I had already agreed to terms with Michigan, was 100% done, and I made the comment that I was flattered about a certain job opening because of my background, and that was misconstrued, so I just decided I’m never going to comment on any job that I don’t have.
“I think it’s well documented how happy I am at Michigan. Obviously, my private life, my personal life, my family, their happiness is very important. I love it at Michigan, but you’ll never hear me comment on any other job unless Michigan lets me go, and then I’ll comment on every job.”
Dusty May on the UNC opening
“I think it’s well-documented how happy I am at Michigan. Obviously, my private life, my personal life, my family, their happiness is very important. So, yeah, I love it at Michigan, but you’ll never hear me comment on any other job, unless Michigan…
What Michigan AD Warde Manuel said of Dusty May
As noted by The Detroit News, part of the USA TODAY Network, Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel wants May “to finish his career here at Michigan,” and is working to make sure that happens. “Any AD in America would want to have a coach that other people want,” Manuel said on Sunday, March 30 after Michigan won the Midwest Region to advance to the Final Four. “I’ve had the opposite problem. I love this problem more than I love the opposite problem.
“We’ll deal with it. We’ll work through it. I want Dusty to finish his career here at Michigan. I’ll work to make sure that he’s happy, we have what we need, and he has what he needs to succeed. That’s it, period.”
Dusty May buyout at Michigan
May has a $4 million buyout in his current contract with Michigan, which was obtained by the USA TODAY Network. It drops to $2 million on May 1.
