ATLAS, Mich. — It was a shock heard around, not just the college basketball world, but the sports world, when it was revealed that Dusty May was leaving Michigan basketball for the NBA on Monday. And yet, on Monday night, two Wolverines found themselves in front of a capacity crowd of fans and alums all wearing maize and blue.
The annual golf outing and dinner for the U-M Club of Greater Flint took place at the Atlas Valley Golf Club on Monday evening, with both Michigan assistant Kyle Church and guard Trey McKenney scheduled to appear. Both made the trip, and despite having a bit of a difficult day in many regards, spoke up about May’s sudden departure.
While it’s unclear whether or not Church will follow May to the Dallas Mavericks (he had, after all, followed May from FAU to Ann Arbor), he addressed the situation at hand on Monday night, and his immediate reaction to the news.
“So obviously, big day in Michigan basketball. I think I can speak for Trey and the rest of the team, we’re all super excited for Dusty,” Church said. “Incredible opportunity, I know that’s something you can only dream of as a kid. The advantage is either to play in the NBA or to have a chance to coach in the NBA, if you’re not a very good player like Dusty and myself. So having that opportunity, we couldn’t be more proud and couldn’t be more happy for him.
“And obviously, it was a quick two years here in Michigan, but it was an incredible couple years. We brought in some unbelievable young men, unbelievable basketball players, but even, I think, they represented the university in an absolute first-class manner, and nobody more than this guy to my right. So, incredible, incredible two years, and we appreciate all the support and love that we got coming from FAU.”
The news was a shock for almost everyone, the players included, as they found out about May leaving online, just as all of the fans had. But Church says that wasn’t May’s intention.
He noted that the team was able to meet with their now-former head coach shortly after everything hit the airwaves, and shared how everything went down — from the team meeting to how May came to a decision as it was.
“Dusty mulled it over last night, late last night,” Church said. “I guess he obviously met with Warde first thing in the morning and informed him of his decision. And then we met at 11:30, I believe the whole team got together. Unfortunately, the news got leaked before we had a chance to talk to the players, or before Dusty had a chance to talk to the players. But we did get everybody in the locker room at 11:30. We met, Warde was there, and he introduced Coach Boynton, and that will be taken over at least as an interim basis.”
Mike Boynton is expected to be named the interim coach, though no official announcement has gone out as of yet. At this juncture, it’s also unclear which assistants will remain in Ann Arbor or will follow May to Dallas.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan basketball staffer Kyle Church speaks on Dusty May exit
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire | USA TODAY Network
