It didn’t take long for public speculation over Mike Woodson’s replacement at Indiana to commence.
Given that Dusty May’s Bloomington homecoming was Saturday, it was inevitable. The Michigan head coach was a student manager at Indiana under Bob Knight from 1996 to 2000 and is expected to be one of the Hoosiers’ top targets for the job, which officially opened Friday when the school announced that Woodson was stepping down at the end of the season.
May left an impression on the Indiana faithful at Assembly Hall on Saturday, guiding No. 24 Michigan to a 70-67 win over the Hoosiers.
Afterward, he was asked about the vacancy.
“I love being at Michigan. I love our team. We’re fighting like crazy. That’s it,” May said. “This place is my foundation, but I’m very, very happy at the University of Michigan. Came here to win a game, and mission accomplished.”
May was then asked if he had anything to say to minimize the concerns of Michigan fans.
“There’s nothing I can say that’s going to make this one way or the other. I love being at Michigan,” he said. “That hasn’t crossed my mind other than just what friends and family have said, and to be honest, I’ve eliminated all that.”
May became a national name in 2023, when he led Florida Atlantic to the Final Four as a 9-seed, winning 35 games. The Owls followed that up with another NCAA tournament appearance, before May left last spring to replace Juwan Howard at Michigan.
His buyout is $5 million, but he would also have to repay his signing bonus of around $1.5 million if he were to leave Michigan before April 1, 2025.
After a couple of days of speculation, Indiana announced Friday afternoon that Woodson was stepping down after the season. The Indiana alum had been in charge of the Hoosiers for four seasons, replacing Archie Miller in 2021. He led them to the NCAA tournament in his first two seasons, but they missed the postseason a year ago and Saturday’s loss dropped them to 14-10 overall and 5-8 in the Big Ten. They’ve lost five games in a row and seven of their past eight.
