Dusty May 2025 Course Syllabus and Grades/Expectations

Submitted by HAIL 2 VICTORS on March 29th, 2024 at 3:24 PM

Although the bar is set low asking the head coach not to slap anyone or threaten a life (how that is anything but immediate dismissal I will never understand) I also do not expect Dusty May to lead the rules committee.

I do expect from what has been shared for Dusty to at least emulate John Beilein in character and temperament and fall closer to the latter as a leader of Michigan.

Less roster management and recruiting for simplicity sake here are some expectations and grades four  exceptional over achievement for 2025:

A+ Michigan Basketball makes the NCAA tournament year 1.

A  Michigan finishes above .500 Year 1.

A- Michigan beats Michigan State at least once year 1.

B+ Michigan finishes top 125 of KENPOM year 1.

B Michigan Finishes top 125 KENPOM on Defense or Offense year 1.

B- Michigan beats Ohio State twice year 1.

C+ Michigan splits with Ohio State year 1.

C: Michigan Finishes 8th or better year 1 - B1G

C- Michigan Finishes over 13 Wins year 1.

D+ Michigan Finishes between 11-13 wins Year 1.

D- Michigan finishes between 9-11 Wins year 1

F Michigan finishes 8 wins or less year 1.

 

Is this bar too low - too high?  What say you?

*slow board day*

Longballs Dong…

March 29th, 2024 at 5:42 PM ^

your grades are too conflicting and too easy.  As pointed out, we we're 127 in Kempom this year.  8th in the BIG is a C but 8 teams in the BIG also made the tournament so that would actually be an A+.  8th in the BIG was 52nd in Kempom and 4 games above .500.  An A is above .500 but only 4 teams in the BIG were under .500 and 2 were by 1 game, 1 team by 2 games and Michigan by... 16 games.  So there's a real chance we could be 2 or 3rd worst team in the BIG and still get an A.  

Anyway, that aside, we better be top 100 next year and I'd say making the tournament is 50/50.  We all expect that the FAU guys (or a couple) will transfer so we have some pieces on the team.  I think we need to be at least middle of the pack and a bubble team next year or I'll be disappointed.  I would probably understand why but still disappointed.  An A or A+ means making a run in the tourney.  It'll all depend on who is on the team next year to truly gauge his performance.  

jmblue

March 30th, 2024 at 1:52 AM ^

Anyway, that aside, we better be top 100 next year and I'd say making the tournament is 50/50.

Whoa there - we barely have anyone on the team right now.  We're going to need several impact transfers to give us a competitive roster, and then we're going to have to hope they can mesh and become a team in a matter of months.  Some patience is probably in order.

SDCran

March 29th, 2024 at 3:38 PM ^

I know we haven't seen the full roster turnover news yet, but my eye says OSU is better than MSU next year.  And I am guessing that OSU hiring from within should keep that roster relatively stable.  honestly, MSU's roster mix might have been worse that UM's. (4 guards, 6 centers and 2 wing-types)

username03

March 29th, 2024 at 3:43 PM ^

A: I see some evidence that a complete roster is being constructed with an emphasis on guards.

F: I don’t not see said evidence.

Extra credit points: Not recruiting any tweeners that can’t handle the ball or defend on the perimeter.

LBSS

March 29th, 2024 at 3:47 PM ^

The scale doesn't make sense -- e.g., if we split with OSU and MSU, is that a C+ or an A-? -- but if you swapped out the grades for point values and then set the grades against point totals, you might be onto something fun for a Friday afternoon. Here's a try:

  • 25 points: Michigan finishes above .500.
  • 15 points: Each victory over MSU. (30 points total possible)
  • 10 points: Michigan finishes top 110 of KenPom.
  • 5 points: Michigan Finishes top 110 KenPom on Defense and/or Offense (10 points total possible)
  • 5 points: Each victory over OSU. (10 points total possible)
  • 10 points: Michigan Finishes 8th or better year 1 - B1G
  • 5 points: Michigan Finishes over 13 Wins year 1.
  • (BONUS 1 MILLION POINTS): Michigan makes the NCAA tournament.

Total possible points: 100, not including bonus. Then use normal points-to-grade scale. Something like that. Seems too harsh, though, now that I'm looking at it. If we finish above .500, split with MSU and OSU, and finish in the top half of the B1G, one year after the smoking crater of this past season, that's an A in my mind.

DennisFranklinDaMan

March 30th, 2024 at 1:44 AM ^

Well, I'm not sure. We may give him five years, but ... in today's world, with the transfer portal, it's much easier to come up to speed quickly. I'm not saying it'll be in Year One (though it might be!), but I don't think it's unreasonable to at least hope for a tournament bid in Year 2.

It's a different world. 

maizenblue92

March 29th, 2024 at 3:51 PM ^

Impossible to put a scale in place when we don't know the roster yet. But it is year 1 and I presume the coaching improvement alone is worth a few games. I would say the expectation should be flirting with .500. That said if you can see improvement and a clear proof on concept it would be a success. An NCAA berth is an A++. 

snowcrash

March 29th, 2024 at 4:00 PM ^

I wouldn't base anything on MSU or OSU. Beating rivals is nice, but this isn't like football where OSU was our specific roadblock for a long time.

Given the current roster, I expect the team to get back to .400 overall next year and .500 in year 2, with the goal of .600 in year 3. For the first year I'd say 12 wins would be a C, 14 a B, and 16 an A but it would also depend on how tough the schedule is and how competitive the team is against better teams.

Hensons Mobile…

March 29th, 2024 at 4:25 PM ^

Agree on the point about rivals. With the number of games and the big tournament, beating a rival is fun but not "the season." It will be interesting (and sad) to see how this gets degraded in football as well with the expanded playoffs and potential of playing OSU 2 or 3 times in one season.

Also--and I've said this before--I do not care about OSU basketball, or OSU any sport other than football. They are a football rival. Otherwise they're a Big Ten team.

I feel like this used to be the consensus view, but changed around 2011ish when we got good at basketball at the same time OSU was good at basketball and then ESPN would televise the games and scream "BLOOD RIVALS!" I don't know, maybe it was always this way and I was just unaware.

jmblue

March 29th, 2024 at 5:31 PM ^

I think that's the view of most Michigan basketball fans.  The OSU series matters mostly if both teams are good.  And it had some extra juice when Trey Burke was here, since he was from Columbus.  But most years, it's not that big of a deal.  We beat them this year in Crisler, but it certainly didn't salvage the season.  

I'm not sure why the OP is prioritizing that game above everything else.  MSU, I could perhaps see.

njvictor

March 29th, 2024 at 4:19 PM ^

It's really hard to say at this point given the roster is absolutely barren. If we can bring in the 3 FAU dudes, Essegian, then keep Tschetter, Washington, and Williams, that's still barely a rotation. Would have to see who else gets brought in to have any sense of what our standards should be

snarling wolverine

March 29th, 2024 at 5:10 PM ^

Are you primarily a football fan?  MSU is a much bigger deal in basketball than OSU.  If any one opponent moves the needle at all, it’s them.

But really, no individual game matters that much, at least not in the regular season. 

John Beilein went 10-22 in his first season.  We may be looking at something like that, if we can’t land some of the FAU guys in the portal.  As with Beilein, it may mean absolutely nothing in the long run.

mgoja

March 29th, 2024 at 5:28 PM ^

While seeing positive results on the scoreboard would be really nice, seeing how Michigan executes will be a much better way to assess May's impact.  Whatever the talent is on the team,

  • Can May figure out what they can and can't do well and run the offense and defense in a way that plays to their strengths and covers up for their weaknesses? 
  • Is the team fundamentally sound? 
  • Do they get better over the course of the season? 
  • Can the coach make in game adjustments that work? 
  • Can he get the team not to tank in the 2nd half of every game? (I would only give him a C for this)

 

 

drjaws

March 29th, 2024 at 6:17 PM ^

May will have the ship righted by year two. Best hire since Harbaugh and I love Narauto.

also, I got my Lincoln out of hibernation and it’s a beautiful day here in Medina county, OH so about to take her for a drive though the national forest.

jdemille9

March 29th, 2024 at 6:58 PM ^

I'd like to see the final roster before we even begin to think about what might be possible. 

But I do hope to see a cohesive team that plays well together and gets better as the season progresses. Year 1 likely cannot be measured by on-court success (wins). And like most others, I don't give a fuck about OSU basketball. 

OuldSod

March 29th, 2024 at 7:37 PM ^

Like others depends on roster. Right now:

A- = team develops over the season and plays hard until the end of games; wins some of the 50/50 games. 

If the roster looks okay, I'll adjust after OOC. 

 

DennisFranklinDaMan

March 30th, 2024 at 1:49 AM ^

Everyone's telling the OP it depends on the roster, but I'm pretty sure he knows that. After all, if we somehow have 8 5-stars on the team, our expectations are going to be much higher than otherwise. I think he's asking, keeping in mind that we don't know the roster yet, what are the expectations?

For me, I'd say, win 15 games, be competitive in the Big Ten (even coming  in 10th-13th would be great), and bring some exciting play back to Crisler. That may not happen ... but man, I'd be satisfied. And if May somehow crushes the portal and gets us to 20 wins? Sainthood!