University of Michigan basketball fans may wake up this morning with a variety of emotions – anger, confusion, sadness, and anxiety – in response to Dusty May leaving the college ranks. The reigning NCAA Men’s Basketball National Champion’s coach has departed Ann Arbor to take his talents to the NBA and the Dallas Mavericks. Dusty May is out after just two seasons at Michigan, where he led the Maize and Blue to a Big Ten Conference Tournament championship, as well as the aforementioned Natty.
Dusty May Might Be Sorry He Made The Jump To The NBA
As a rule, college coaches don’t often see much success in the NBA. The failures are numerous, with legendary college coaches like Rick Pitino and Jerry Tarkanian unable to transfer their college coaching skills to the business-like approach of the NBA.
Former Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan did see some success with the Oklahoma City Thunder after coaching his former college team, the Florida Gators, to back-to-back National Championships. Donovan went 243-157 over five seasons in OKC, and made the playoffs each of those five seasons.
Michigan fans may also be experiencing déjà vu. After an ultra-successful career at Michigan, which included two trips to the National Title game, coach John Beilein left the college ranks to coach the Cleveland Cavaliers. Unfortunately, that experiment lasted just a few months, as Beilein resigned in February 2020, in the middle of the NBA season.
With the rise in NIL money and the transfer portal, much of college athletics has turned into the Wild West. The business models of both the NBA and college basketball are beginning to intersect, and become more comparable than they ever were. That’s why the college ranks have lost a number of great coaches to either the NBA, the broadcast booth, or retirement (think Tony Bennett from UVA and Jay Wright from Villanova).
Perhaps May has taken the most opportune time to take on the challenge of coaching in the NBA, despite it leaving Michigan fans in disbelief. After all, there is a powerful asset that makes the Dallas Mavericks coaching job so appealing. His name is Cooper Flagg.
Dusty May Seeks Success With Uber-Talented Cooper Flagg
If you’re a college coach seeking a job in the NBA, one of the first items on your priority list, to be successful, is a star player. Despite being just 19 years old, Cooper Flagg is already a star. The former #1 overall draft pick came into the Association with an abundance of hype and potential. Flagg took all the hype in stride, and averaged 21 points per game to go along with 6.7 rebounds per game and 4.5 assists per game in his rookie campaign. He became just the second youngest player to win the Rookie of the Year award, behind only LeBron James.
With those kinds of credentials in a 19-year-old, it’s easy to see why Dusty May was intrigued with the Mavs head coaching position. The Mavericks roster also includes Kyrie Irving, who missed all of the 2025-26 season with an ACL injury, as well as sharpshooter Klay Thompson.
The 2026 NBA Draft, which takes place tonight, is seen as one of the deepest in memory, with potential franchise players stacked up and down the draft lottery. The Mavericks own the ninth pick, and could use it to select another rising star to go along with Cooper Flagg. They could also select a plug-and-play player like Michigan’s Yaxel Lendeborg if the team feels they are in position to make the playoffs next season.
Dusty May has been successful at each stop during his coaching career. Can that college success translate to NBA wins, or will May end up another NBA flop? Although the jury is still out on that question, one thing is for certain – Dusty May has a history of turning teams around, and the Mavericks are banking on it.
