{"id":2005335,"date":"2026-06-22T23:45:38","date_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:45:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2005335"},"modified":"2026-06-22T23:45:38","modified_gmt":"2026-06-22T20:45:38","slug":"can-dusty-may-avoid-unwanted-footsteps-of-past-college-to-nba-coaching-flameouts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/analyse.optim.biz\/?p=2005335","title":{"rendered":"Can Dusty May avoid unwanted footsteps of past college-to-NBA coaching flameouts?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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For the first time since 2019, an NBA team is dipping into the college ranks to land its next head coach.<\/p>\n

The Dallas Mavericks are finalizing an agreement<\/a> to hire Dusty May away from Michigan, the school May led to a 64-13 record in two seasons and a national championship in April. The decision comes a little more than seven years after the Cleveland Cavaliers hired John Beilein, who was also at Michigan.<\/p>\n

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Beilein\u2019s time in Cleveland famously went poorly. The college lifer struggled to connect with younger players on a rebuilding Cleveland team. During one film session, he allegedly told Cavaliers players<\/a> they were no longer playing \u201clike a bunch of thugs.\u201d Beilein later said he meant to use the word \u201cslugs,\u201d and he resigned 54 games into his tenure with a 14-40 record.<\/p>\n

From Beilein to John Calipari to Fred Hoiberg, among others, there\u2019s been no shortage of big-name college coaches who have flopped while trying to transition to the NBA. But NCAA and NBA sources who spoke with The Athletic<\/em> consistently said they believe that May has what it takes to make the leap.<\/p>\n

Those sources were granted anonymity so they could speak freely, and \u201cmodern,\u201d \u201ccollaborative\u201d and \u201cadaptable\u201d were all words used to describe May, a Terre Haute, Ind., native. So was the word \u201ckind,\u201d which might seem strange for someone who got his start working as a student manager for the rough-edged Bob Knight at Indiana.<\/p>\n

May worked as a student manager under Knight from 1996 to 2000, the start of his three-decade college basketball journey. As an assistant, May had stops at Eastern Michigan (2005-06), Murray State (2006-07), Alabama-Birmingham (2007-09), Louisiana Tech (2009-15) and Florida (2015-18). He got his first head coaching job at Florida Atlantic in 2018, and led the Owls to their first Final Four. That set the stage for May to land at Michigan.<\/p>\n

The Wolverines were coming off an 8-24 season when they hired May, and immediately saw major improvement. They went 27-10 in May\u2019s first season and tore through college basketball last season with a 37-3 record.<\/p>\n

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Michigan wins national championship<\/div>\n
Michael Charles<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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