Dusty May - FAU HC - Former IU student manager

[Hoosierfan2017 19,887]

If he didn’t have an IU connection folks would view him with the same skepticism they view other coaches with Cinderella tournament runs. 

[Stuhoo 75,564]

1 minute ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

If he didn’t have an IU connection folks would view him with the same skepticism they view other coaches with Cinderella tournament runs. 

True. 

But admittedly, an IU alum from Greene Cty with IU as his dream job is intriguing.

[go iu bb 4,788]

Can we at least wait until the season is over before putting him in the Hall of Fame?

He has his team on a great NCAA tournament run. There's no arguing that. However, that doesn't mean anything. He might be a future HOF coach or he might be a coach who has ~55% at a low/mid major school then fails when moving up. Can't really say either way at this time.

It's kind of surprising at how many IU fans are appointing him as the next IU coach based purely on this single tournament run considering the past 23 years. Davis made the championship game at IU but it turned out he wasn't a very good coach. Tom Crean made the FF at Marquette and we know how up and down he was at IU. Miller took Dayton to the E8 and we would all like to forget his time at IU.

Taking at school like FAU to the FF could be a sign of greatness. It could also be a fluke. There is simply no way to say for sure which it is based just on this one tournament run. Time, and hopefully moving up to a better school, will tell.

Besides, Woodson is only in year 2 and just had the best season since before Miller arrived at IU. Maybe give him some time before shoving him out the door for this shiny new coach?

[Hoosierfan2017 19,887]

11 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

True. 

But admittedly, an IU alum from Greene Cty with IU as his dream job is intriguing.

Certainly it’s intriguing, but it’s still very risky. Before this season he was 66-56 over four years at FAU. Fortunately we’re in a position where we won’t be taking such a risk for at least a few years, giving some other school time to risk it. Like someone upthread said, Porter Moser was the sparkly Cinderella but he’s flaming out at the P5 level. If IU’s his dream job, he’d still be in play when it comes time to replace Woody even if he moves to a P5. 

[Hoosierfan2017 19,887]

1 minute ago, go iu bb said:

Can we at least wait until the season is over before putting him in the Hall of Fame?

He has his team on a great NCAA tournament run. There's no arguing that. However, that doesn't mean anything. He might be a future HOF coach or he might be a coach who has ~55% at a low/mid major school who fails when moving up. Can't really say either way at this time. It's kind of surprising at how many IU fans are appointing him as the next IU coach based purely on this single tournament run considering the past 23 years.

Davis made the championship game at IU but it turned out he wasn't a very good coach. Tom Crean made the FF at Marquette and we know how up and down he was at IU. Miller took Dayton to the E8 and we would all like to forget his time at IU.

Taking at school like FAU to the FF could be a sign of greatness. It could also be a fluke. There is simply no way to say for sure which it is based just on this one tournament run. Time, and hopefully moving up to a better school, will tell.

Besides, Woodson is only in year 2 and just had the best season since before Miller arrived at IU. Maybe give him some time before shoving him out the door for this shiny new coach?

With regard to the bolded, I think that’s largely driven by Woody being 65 years old and the rumors that he may not want to stick around as long as originally expected. 

[RaceToTheTop 23,581]

59 minutes ago, AKHoosier said:

Dayton has a legit program though, with a history of good fan/administrative support.  They always seem to have just enough to be competitive, but lack what it takes to get to that next level.

What Dusty has accomplished is impressive.  FAU has virtually none of that same support, no history of success, no NBA alum, etc.  He has steadily built them up and is within arm's reach of a national title

Yes, Dayton has more support than FAU, but Miller also had more sustained success when he was hired at IU than May has had at FAU.  The first big year IMO of a college low major run should put them on the radar.  Staying there is what should get them hired.

[go iu bb 4,788]

3 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

With regard to the bolded, I think that’s largely driven by Woody being 65 years old and the rumors that he may not want to stick around as long as originally expected. 

I've seen those rumors and treat as just that. They very well could be true but I see Woodson still going on the road and recruiting.

[RaceToTheTop 23,581]

2 hours ago, LamarCheeks said:

If Dusty were looking to step up after the season, there are three "Big 6" openings: Texas Tech, Cal, Penn State. 

Texas is technically open, too, I guess. 

The AAC also has a couple vacancies: South Florida, Temple. 

After that, anything would pretty much be a lateral move -- you probably could argue that USF and Temple are pretty close to that category. 

At this point in time, I'm not sure Cal is a step up from any program.

[AKHoosier 6,577]

7 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

Yes, Dayton has more support than FAU, but Miller also had more sustained success when he was hired at IU than May has had at FAU.  The first big year IMO of a college low major run should put them on the radar.  Staying there is what should get them hired.

I definitely agree, I'd like to see more success for at least another year before we would ever hire him. Especially if he gets most of his starters back next season as expected. 

[Chris007 42,088]

12 hours ago, HoosierAloha said:

I thought Fife sabotaged recruits, continued to bring up politics to players after being told to cut it out, and was generally insubordinate. I guess I could be thinking about a different recent assistant coach.

Yeah all that is true. But it’s also true that him & Dusty May are good friends. Not that hard to understand.

[Uspshoosier 44,207]

3 hours ago, LamarCheeks said:

If Dusty were looking to step up after the season, there are three "Big 6" openings: Texas Tech, Cal, Penn State. 

Texas is technically open, too, I guess. 

The AAC also has a couple vacancies: South Florida, Temple. 

After that, anything would pretty much be a lateral move -- you probably could argue that USF and Temple are pretty close to that category. 

If he stays at FAU he will be in the American next year.    North Texas, UAB, FAU and Charlotte are all moving to the AAC next year 

[IUHoosierJoe 937]

40 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

If he didn’t have an IU connection folks would view him with the same skepticism they view other coaches with Cinderella tournament runs. 

I'd be willing to bet the folks who believe that will find out they're wrong in a couple weeks when you see P5 schools come after him.

[Uspshoosier 44,207]

Just now, Uspshoosier said:

If he stays at FAU he will be in the American next year.    North Texas, UAB, FAU and Charlotte are all moving to the AAC next year 

Rice and UTSA are moving as well.    How crazy is it that conference USA is like 15-1 in post season play this year.  (Charlotte won cbi, north Texas and UAB are in the final 4 NIT and FAU is in final 4 and all of them are leaving the conference next year 

[Chris007 42,088]

49 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

He is in position to win a championship.  But it's also the first time he's won 20 games.  I wouldn't go so far as to say he's built 'a freaking program'.  George Mason went to a final four in 2006 and only made one tournament in the next four seasons and had no tournament wins.  Porter Moser went to a final four at Loyola and hasn't won another NCAA tournament game since and appears to be flaming out at Oklahoma.  The biggest mistakes in hiring coaches are made when you base it off of a single season of success.

What former FAU coach would you consider to be the face of the program? The builder of it?

[RaceToTheTop 23,581]

9 minutes ago, Uspshoosier said:

Rice and UTSA are moving as well.    How crazy is it that conference USA is like 15-1 in post season play this year.  (Charlotte won cbi, north Texas and UAB are in the final 4 NIT and FAU is in final 4 and all of them are leaving the conference next year 

Is Conference going to be a conference next season?

[Hovadipo 52,938]

4 minutes ago, RaceToTheTop said:

Is Conference going to be a conference next season?

Barely. 
 

https://conferenceusa.com/sports/2022/10/7/future_membership.aspx

[NashvilleHoosier 3,634]

48 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Certainly it’s intriguing, but it’s still very risky. Before this season he was 66-56 over four years at FAU. Fortunately we’re in a position where we won’t be taking such a risk for at least a few years, giving some other school time to risk it. Like someone upthread said, Porter Moser was the sparkly Cinderella but he’s flaming out at the P5 level. If IU’s his dream job, he’d still be in play when it comes time to replace Woody even if he moves to a P5. 

This is exactly it for me. Lots of positives to look to at this point but if we were trying to hire a coach this off-season I’d be iffy. We either get to see if he sustains success at a mid major (making a jump up to a tougher conference), or if he succeeds at the power 5 level. When Woody decides to retire, we should have a pretty clear picture. Now, what’s sure to happen is Cal retires in 3 years, UK throws more money at him than we could ever imagine and then Woody retires the next year. 

[RaceToTheTop 23,581]

8 minutes ago, Chris007 said:

What former FAU coach would you consider to be the face of the program? The builder of it?

I'm not sure what you are asking.   If it's about the line 'built a freaking program' line, I think you and I are interpreting that differently.  I am interpreting 'freaking program' to mean one with a longer history of sustained results than one that has made one tournament.

[Hoosierfan2017 19,887]

50 minutes ago, IUHoosierJoe said:

I'd be willing to bet the folks who believe that will find out they're wrong in a couple weeks when you see P5 schools come after him.

Not sure how that makes us “wrong.” Cinderella coaches get hired by P5 programs all the time. The ‘skepticism’ is skepticism that said coaches can actually replicate their success at the P5 level. Take Porter Moser, for example. Does great at a mid major. Goes to Oklahoma and he’s 34-32 overall and 12-24 in the Big 12 during his first two seasons. 

[HoosierHoopster 6,037]

5 minutes ago, Hoosierfan2017 said:

Not sure how that makes us “wrong.” Cinderella coaches get hired by P5 programs all the time. The ‘skepticism’ is skepticism that said coaches can actually replicate their success at the P5 level. Take Porter Moser, for example. Does great at a mid major. Goes to Oklahoma and he’s 34-32 overall and 12-24 in the Big 12 during his first two seasons. 

Agree on Porter (and others) at this point, and don’t disagree with your take on Dusty, time will tell, but in fairness to Porter it’s his first couple years there, as is the usual discussion, it usually takes a few years at a new program for a coach to bring in his own recruits, lay his foundation and establish his system and style