Just like that, we have a major college basketball job opening in June.
The entire college basketball world was thrown into flux on Monday as reigning national champion Michigan basketball coach Dusty May accepted the Dallas Mavericks head coaching job. Now, the Wolverines have to make a replacement hire fairly late in the offseason.
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As Michigan looks for May’s replacement, it does have some factors working in its favor. Namely, because May is leaving of his own accord, the Wolverines do not owe a buyout and can instead use that money to hire a coach with a potentially sizeable buyout to their current employer.
With a coaching search now underway at a premier college basketball program, here are five candidates to replace May.
Mike Boynton, Michigan assistant
Boynton is currently serving as Michigan’s interim head coach, and it seems very possible that the Wolverines could ultimately opt to remove that tag, given the timing of May’s departure. Boynton already has power conference experience, turning in a solid-if-underwhelming seven-year tenure at Oklahoma State, where he finished 119-109 with one NCAA tournament appearance.
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In a perfect world, Michigan would probably go with an outside hire. But given the fact that it’s June and the Wolverines have a roster to maintain, this move could make a lot of sense.
Billy Donovan, Former NBA and college head coach
Now that Donovan is officially out of a job in Chicago, his name is sure to come up for this opening. It would be a bit surprising given that Donovan could likely have been the hire at North Carolina if he wanted to, but timing was an issue with that opening as Donovan wanted to wrap up the NBA season. Now, the former two-time national championship head coach has no such obligations.
This would make a lot of sense if Donovan wants to get back into college, but he could also probably find another NBA head coaching job, which may be his preference.
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Josh Schertz, Saint Louis head coach
It’s a bit surprising that Schertz is still at Saint Louis, but after not getting much play for the only blue-blood job that opened earlier this offseason and receiving a sizable investment from the Billikens, he stuck around. Schertz led SLU to a 29-6 record and a Round of 32 appearance in his second season after an impressive stint at Indiana State.
Openings at schools like Providence and Syracuse may not have been enough to sway Schertz, but it’s hard to imagine he wouldn’t heavily consider the Michigan job.
Ben McCollum, Iowa head coach
Iowa managed to hang on to McCollum after an impressive first season in which he led the Hawkeyes to the Elite Eight, but an opening at a premier conference rival could change things. McCollum has won everywhere he’s been (and at every level), and he would likely win at a program with Michigan’s resources, as well.
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The Wolverines are a better job, but prying McCollum, who spent more than a decade coaching Division II, out of his home state could be easier said than done.
John Beilein, Former Michigan coach
Let’s get weird. Our own Matt Zemek wrote about the reasons the Wolverines should at least consider a reunion with their former head coach. There are age concerns here, to be clear. Beilein is 73 and likely does not present more than a short-term solution. However, given the circumstances and timing, there are worse courses of action.
Beilein led Michigan to the national title game in 2018 before leaving to take the Cleveland Cavaliers job after the following season. However, his NBA tenure only lasted 54 games as he resigned amid a 14-40 start. He later spent two seasons as an assistant with the Detroit Pistons but hasn’t coached since 2023.
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This article originally appeared on College Sports Wire: Michigan Basketball: 5 candidates to replace coach Dusty May
