Michigan is wasting no time in getting a new men’s basketball head coach in place after Dusty May’s departure.
According to ESPN, Michigan is working toward promoting current assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. as interim coach. It wasn’t immediately clear how long the arrangement would last. Michigan and athletic director Warde Manuel haven’t yet commented publicly on May’s departure.
Boynton, 44, joined May’s staff when May was hired in March 2024. During his two seasons as an assistant coach, Boynton played an instrumental role and oversaw the team’s defense along with former assistant coach Justin Joyner, who left to become Oregon State’s head coach.
This past season, the Wolverines were No. 1 in the nation in KenPom’s adjusted defensive efficiency (0.885 points per possession) and effective field-goal percentage (44.6%) during their historic season that was capped with the program’s first national title since 1989.
During the Final Four in April, May spoke highly of Boynton and said he was deserving of another head-coaching opportunity.
“He’s an elite basketball coach. He did a really good job at Oklahoma State,” May said. “He’s just as good as I am. I’m the head coach at Michigan. He’s just as good as I am. He’s just as prepared. He’s been invaluable for me. The best part about him is he covers my blind spots before they’re blind. There’s not a day that goes by that he doesn’t call me and want to take something off of my plate that I haven’t thought of, and that’s what he is.
“He’s a forward-thinker. He’s got a great feel for people. I don’t know if I’ve ever met anyone that didn’t say positive things about him, especially in this climate when we love to say negative things about anyone and everyone. He’s just a professional. I hope he does (get another head-coaching job). But I hope we can keep him for a little bit longer because I know as long as he’s here, we’ll be better than we would otherwise.”
Boynton would provide some stability and continuity for a program that was thrown into a state of flux with May leaving for the NBA to become the next head coach of the Dallas Mavericks.
Before coming to Michigan, Boynton was the head coach at Oklahoma State from 2017-24 and coached current Detroit Pistons star Cade Cunningham. During his seven seasons at the helm, the Cowboys went 119-109 and made one NCAA Tournament appearance.
This past season, Joyner praised Boynton for the “professionalism, maturity and experience” he’s brought to Michigan’s staff and job he did putting his imprint on things from an X’s and O’s standpoint.
“He’s a sounding board for all of us,” Joyner said in December. “I think he does a great job of helping Coach May handle some of the things logistically that guys that haven’t been head coaches aren’t familiar with. He’s been obviously great for our assistant coaches; we can bounce anything off of him. He’s helped us a ton.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
@jamesbhawkins
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Mike Boynton Jr. taking over Michigan hoops on interim basis: report
Reporting by James Hawkins, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By James Hawkins, The Detroit News | USA TODAY Network
