'We want to pinch ourselves': Dusty May's full-circle return to the Final Four

CHICAGO -- After Florida Atlantic punched its ticket to the Final Four in 2023, then-Owls coach Dusty May gathered his team. He needed to apologize for a sign that hung in the locker room.

"We were playing for March habits," May said with a smile, "and we should have been playing for April."

"March habits" had resonated as an ideal for FAU to build its regimen toward -- until, well, April 1 came with a national semifinal showdown against San Diego State. Now just three years later, in his second season at Michigan, May has done what any high-level coach does: He adjusted. The sign in the Wolverines' locker room fits the new paradigm: "April Habits."

May has guided the program to its first Final Four since 2018, advancing on a 33-point evisceration of Tennessee in the Elite Eight -- a two-hour tour de force of what Michigan basketball has become under his leadership. Considering the quick work he has done in returning the Wolverines to the top tier of teams nationally, it wouldn't be a surprise if they make a habit of April NCAA tournament games.

May's return to the Final Four recasts his role as a plucky underdog coach, which he held when taking 9-seed FAU from Conference USA to this stage three years ago. In just two years at Michigan, he has flashed the early promise of tackling a task arguably taller than a Cinderella run: maximizing an elite program.

"I felt like I was dreaming the entire time that FAU was playing in the game in the Elite Eight in Madison Square Garden," said senior walk-on Charlie May, Dusty's son. "It just felt like a dream. And here, it just felt like something we expected to happen."

A career that began as an Indiana basketball manager with the hopes of being a high school coach has taken a nonlinear path. May has ricocheted across the country over the years, from USC to Eastern Michigan, UAB to Florida then Florida Atlantic and, ultimately, Michigan. This weekend, that journey loops May and his family back home to Indiana, where he grew up in Greene County -- a rural area of nearly 30,000 people -- working in turkey barns, cutting tobacco and being part of a community where you don't think twice about helping someone move or mowing an elderly neighbor's grass.

"It's kind of how we run our program," May said.

The 49-year-old May runs Michigan with understated flair rooted in that spirit of his upbringing -- with innovative schemes culled from an itinerant coaching journey, an April habits-style philosophy rooted in positive reinforcement, and a system of mental and physical player development on the cutting edge of the sport.

In short order, the Wolverines have become a paragon for modern college basketball: a team filled with joyful players, a staff that's empowered and an intuitive up-tempo system that's a rollicking manifestation of those ideals.

And as an April spotlight shines on May back in Indianapolis, the basketball world will get to see just how this team was built.

NEARLY EVERY DAY at the start of practice, Michigan does a drill that some players call "hibachi." It's a fast-passing exercise that stresses ball movement and cutting -- a gateway to slicing up defenses like a Ginsu knife meeting a sirloin.

It's a drill that illustrates May's influences, as it's marinated in the ethos of the program and formally known as "Fenerbahçe passing," borrowed from the Turkish hoops powerhouse. The name got shortened to "bache passing" -- a free-flowing medley of drives, kickouts and skip passes -- before players took the creative liberty to link it to the grill.

May got a video clip of Fenerbahçe passing from New York Knicks international scout Adam Tatalovich, a former Indiana manager who filmed it while scouting Europe. "We just made it our own," May shrugged, summing up how this program is a byproduct of his varied collective experience. That ball-sizzling spirit emerged time and again in Michigan's game-defining 21-0 run against Tennessee, illustrating the beauty of what May has built at Michigan.

The premium that Michigan's staff put on skill in recruiting and the portal -- especially oversized players with skill -- set the table for a read-and-react system. The coaching staff believes guard (Elliot Cadeau), forward (Yaxel Lendeborg) and center (Aday Mara) are among the best passers in the country at their respective positions.

"You got three really unselfish primary players, which I think lends more to how we play than anything else," assistant coach Mike Boynton said.

Nearly 12 minutes into the game last Sunday, amid the 21-0 run, that spirit unfolded in a dizzying 10-pass possession in which all five players touched the ball. Four passes in, Mara set a high screen for Lendeborg. That set into motion more ball movement, including a one-time skip pass off Cadeau's penetration that left Lendeborg open on the perimeter.

Lendeborg's pump fake sent projected lottery pick Nate Ament soaring past him before he barreled into the key unimpeded. With a crease to a layup attempt seemingly open and the shot clock dwindling in single digits, Lendeborg kicked the ball to Cadeau on an island in the corner.

After 26 seconds of hibachi passing, Cadeau didn't have a defender within 10 feet of him on the catch. He sank an open 3-pointer to push Michigan's lead to double digits.

The balletic sequence -- the extra pass after multiple extra passes -- sums up the tao of this Michigan offense. The Wolverines don't call set plays; they initiate offense and then react.

"It's so much fun because it allows you to play free within the system and allows you to make the reads that you see," Michigan guard Nimari Burnett said. "[May] is always like, 'Play basketball.' We have many different reads out there on the court that can lead to different possibilities."

Although there's freedom, it's not freelance. Director of player development Drew Williamson said the Wolverines spend weeks in the summer studying different defensive situations they could encounter. What are the solutions to a blitzed ball screen? A drop coverage? Or nearly any defensive situation?

"His superpower," Michigan senior forward Will Tschetter said of May, "is IQ development."

The result is a Michigan offense that's more a series of answers to what's presented rather than a stream of plays. The Wolverines are willing to push on the fast break, and they're just as comfortable when the shot clock is dwindling.

"Normally we play out of concepts," assistant coach Akeem Miskdeen said. "Rarely does Dusty call any sets."

That leaves players excited by the freedom, as Williamson points out that no player likes looking to the sideline every play. It also leaves players feeling how May wants them to feel: empowered, engaged and moving the ball around hibachi style, knowing their moment will come.

"And that's what makes the game of basketball so beautiful," Burnett said, "and also allows us to play at a high level."

SOON AFTER LENDEBORG arrived in Ann Arbor, fresh off a season in which he'd made just 25 3-pointers, Boynton challenged the UAB transfer with a workout that consisted primarily of 3-pointers. It didn't go well. "There was a drill where I had to make five in a row, and I think I was stuck there for like 30 minutes, maybe more than 30 minutes," Lendeborg told ESPN. "So it was definitely embarrassing." From embarrassing to efficient, Lendeborg's development into an All-American and tantalizing NBA draft prospect epitomizes the nuanced and intricate player development program under May. Players appreciate his one-on-one film sessions and his habit of texting a seven-second clip that reinforces a point from practice. They note the collaborative work of everyone from the assistant coaches to the managers, who have an outsized role in a program run by a former manager. They stress that May's office door is always open, and he'll watch film with them at any time.

Lendeborg refers to May as a "cool uncle," as the players laud how confidence is constantly built and reinforced amid the repetitions. By the time the season began, Lendeborg had transformed from a reluctant and inconsistent 3-point shooter to a self-assured one. The 6-foot-9, 240-pound former center has made 65 3-pointers this season -- 40 more than a season ago at UAB. He attempted 102 more 3s and still managed to increase his percentage from 35.7% to 37.2%. At the Players Era Festival during Feast Week, he shot 7-for-16 from 3 over the three games, and he went 7-for-14 the weekend of the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight.

He credits the Michigan staff for tweaking the base of his shot to help his form and their understanding of how to connect with him in workouts. Lendeborg likes slow jam R&B as the soundtrack to his shooting -- think Musiq Soulchild -- and appreciates that Boynton and the managers give him space to dance occasionally between sets of shots.

"They give me time to sing my song and stuff, dance if I need to," Lendeborg said. "So, it's definitely like an at-home type of vibe. And it definitely helps you focus, lock in, feel free and be happy."

The creation of that space reflects May's leadership style. When a player struggles or takes a questionable shot, he'll ask a simple question: "Will that work in the NCAA tournament?" If so, work on it over and over so they'll be confident when the games really matter.

Justin Joyner, an assistant who is headed to Oregon State to be the head coach, summed up the development mindset in the pithiest fashion: "This is not a dictatorship from a staff perspective, but it's a partnership with the players, and it's our job for these guys to become the best versions of themselves that they can possibly be in their career."

A year after 7-foot Vlad Goldin thrived for the Wolverines and 7-foot Danny Wolf came to Michigan from Yale and left as an eventual first-round pick, Lendeborg is the latest "proof of concept." That's what assistant coach and general manager Kyle Church believes Michigan has modeled with bigs in the May era: Transfers with size are now targeting Michigan, which should boost the program's chances of more meaningful April games.

Although transferring at one time carried a mercenary reputation, Lendeborg scoffs at that notion as his draft stock climbs closer toward the lottery. He says his experience at Michigan has made him a better player and person, leaving him "speechless" and with "goosebumps" when he reflects on it.

"I've had the best year of my life ... I'm in the spotlight, getting coached by a new coach that came from mid-major, so he knows how everything works," Lendeborg said. "He did a good job recruiting guys that care for each other and put the team above themselves. If that's what they want to call mercenary, I would love to be a mercenary. That's cool with me."

May predicts more positives for Lendeborg as he continues to develop: "He still has no idea how good he is."

DEEP IN THE bowels of the United Center last Sunday, Eli May was busy coding the video of Michigan's second-half blowout of Tennessee.

Eli is a sophomore manager and the youngest of Dusty May's three sons, all of whom are headed into the family business. When his older brother Charlie swished a pure 3-pointer with just over a minute remaining, a commotion erupted in the Michigan locker room.

"LET'S GO CHUCK!!" Eli screamed. He laughed later: "I'm sure the workers down here were wondering what is wrong with this crazy man."

Charlie May joked that he "blacked out a little bit." Michigan's bench went bonkers, as CBS' Andrew Catalon memorably called it "May Day in Chicago."

As the ball went in, an incandescent smile creased the face of Dusty May, as the moment put a focus on how much more his family is directly intertwined with this Final Four run than the last.

As the stage has gotten bigger and his salary increased to an average of $5.1 million on his current deal, May's biggest joy remains rooted in the family that supported him through his circuitous path.

"I went back and watched the Tennessee game from [the NCAA tournament] and the camera shoots to Anna and the three boys in the stands," he said. "And now, other than Jack, we're all here together participating."

Jack May works for the Miami Heat, where he's listed as a video room intern on the team's site. Anna May was diligently tracking the score of the Heat game on her phone outside the locker room on Sunday, as the team happened to be playing in Indianapolis. "I think we all FaceTimed him at some point," Anna May said.

From the time May secured a video job at USC back in 2000 thanks to a nudge from IU assistants Mike Davis and John Treloar, the Mays hopscotched a journey that included eight different stops -- from Murray, Kentucky; to Ruston, Louisiana; to Boca Raton, Florida.

Dusty and Anna May were high school sweethearts in Indiana, so the Final Four setting in Indianapolis doubles as a homecoming. To bring it all back to this moment, Dusty immediately deflected credit to Anna.

"Happy for Anna," Dusty May told ESPN postgame. "She's sacrificed probably more than any 10 women deserve [to], to allow us to do this. And it's a really cool moment for the family."

Anna acknowledges that there's a Hoosiers cinematic coda to May's rise from manager and aspiring high school coach to two-time Final Four coach. And for this season to crescendo in Indianapolis with two sons directly along for the ride is the latest storybook twist.

"It's definitely full circle, but we talk about it all the time," Anna May told ESPN. "We want to pinch ourselves. Is this for real? Is this really happening? But on the other side of that, I'm not surprised because I know how much he's put into it and how hard he's worked."

THE MICHIGAN STAFF chuckles at the idea that it simply brought together a high-end group of transfers.

Morez Johnson Jr. was primarily a backup at Illinois, and Mara barely played at UCLA. This season, Johnson is up to 13.2 points per game from 7.0, and Mara has leaped to 11.8 points per game from 6.4. Cadeau has regained the swagger he lost at North Carolina, which Boynton credits to May's constant positive reinforcement, even after a few uneven outings. "He responded to Dusty telling him, 'You're our guy,'" Boynton said.

The cocktail of tenets in May's system -- a premium on skilled big men, a focus on development and positive reinforcement through adversity -- has built one of the most formidable teams in college basketball.

Michigan will certainly be challenged by a bruising fellow No. 1 seed in Arizona on Saturday, which looms as one of the most anticipated Final Four games of this generation. But there's an indomitable quality to these Wolverines, whose 95.3 points per game are the most by an NCAA tournament team since 1993. Their 11 wins by more than 30 points are tied with Iowa State for the most in the country this season.

Much has been made of Michigan's size, as the 6-foot-9 Lendeborg, the 7-foot-3 Mara and the 6-foot-9 Johnson are a triad of large humans with refined skill sets. But May cautions that the reason for Michigan's emergence as a wagon in this tournament has little do with height.

"We've always tried to get good players and have enjoyed the process of watching our guys, learning our guys, to figure out the best way to function as a group," he said. "We're not married to being big. If everybody goes big, we might weave and go small. Who knows?

"We're not winning because we're big. We're winning because we have really good players and smart players."

The same passion and joy that ping-ponged the May family around the country chasing big dreams has clearly infiltrated the Michigan program. Arms crossed and demeanor calm, Dusty May will be back home in Indiana this weekend after a jagged journey through some basketball backwaters.

And the secret to this full-circle payoff is that he has carried that same demeanor throughout his climb here.

"His story is the ultimate example of bloom where you are planted," said Rice athletic director Tommy McClelland, who was at Louisiana Tech during most of May's six seasons there.

After blooming all over the basketball map, May's team now gets to blossom in April. Don't be surprised if these pinch-me moments become April habits.