Basketball
Why Michigan was the place new basketball assistants ‘needed to be’
Justin Joyner wasn’t going to leave his post at Saint Mary’s for just any other job. Making a move, especially a cross-country one, was something he never seriously considered until this offseason.
He first opened his eyes to the possibility when he interviewed for a couple of mid-major head-coaching openings in California. That was followed by some offers from high-major coaches to join their staff.
Things took another turn when Michigan and Dusty May came calling. From the moment they first spoke, Joyner felt a “real alignment” with May’s coaching mission and vision and the institution.
“To take another assistant job, there’s probably about five to seven programs that would really speak to me and scratch my itch. Michigan was always on that list,” Joyner said this spring. “From the way the school is built, the academic landscape, the athletic department, (there’s) the singular focus on being great.
“That first conversation (with May), I knew that I had a guy that I could really see myself going to war with and working for.”
It was a similar feeling for the rest of Michigan basketball’s new assistant coaches. They were all drawn to what May, who was taking over after a successful six-year run at Florida Atlantic, and the Wolverines had to offer.
Like Joyner, Mike Boynton Jr. was receiving interest from other programs. After being fired as Oklahoma State’s head coach after seven seasons in March, Boynton fielded job offers but none of them jumped out and grabbed his attention.
He was in a position where he could be selective and not rush into a situation he didn’t want to. The thought of taking some time off crossed Boynton’s mind, though he admits he’s “not wired to not work.”
There wasn’t an opportunity that made him sit down and give serious thought until May reached out. Once he did, Boynton noted it quickly became apparent that Michigan is where he “needed to be.”
“It still had to make sense,” said Boynton, whose wife, Jenny, hails from Holland, Michigan. “(May) talked to me about what he was looking for, what he thought he could try to build here. It became pretty easy, honestly, with who he is, what he’s about, the success that he’s looking to build at this program, the brand of Michigan. All those things were things that I was hoping I would have at my next opportunity.
“Our philosophies just in terms of building a team and how we want to coach aligned. One of the things that I learned in my time as the head coach, alignment with your staff may be the most important thing that you can have to put yourself in a position to be successful. I felt that … so it was easy once I knew he was serious. I wanted to be in a place where I can add value with the way I could use my experience as a head coach to be a better assistant…but also be in a place where you could win it all. I believe all those things are true here.”
Boynton and May never worked together before, but they did cross paths on the recruiting trail in the past. Boynton recalled when he was an assistant at Stephen F. Austin and May was an assistant at Louisiana Tech a decade ago and they’d be pursuing the same player. There were a few times they drove and met somewhere to exchange about a recruit who was visiting both schools in the same week.
Boynton said he’s always had “great respect” for May, and he kept tabs on his career as he climbed the coaching ladder, going from an assistant at Louisiana Tech to an assistant at Florida to the head coach at Florida Atlantic.
Joyner got to know May another way. Joyner likes to study coaches and the leadership aspect of the profession, whether it’s listening to podcasts or reading books. Over the past two years, he’s spent time researching May, an “offensive guru” whom he never met in person until he arrived on campus in Ann Arbor.
Michigan’s other assistants are much more familiar with May. Akeem Miskdeen, Kyle Church and Drew Williamson all worked with May at FAU, where they transformed a program with little history of success into a consistent winner.
Miskdeen was on May’s staff during his first three seasons with the Owls, where he helped lay the foundation before spending three years as an assistant coach in the SEC. A day after May got the Michigan job, he contacted Miskdeen, who was highly interested.
For Miskdeen, a Chicago native, Michigan was appealing for several reasons. He grew up in Big Ten country. He has relatives in the Detroit area who are Michigan fans. The move would bring him closer to home.
On top of that, Miskdeen knows what May is about. He’s relentless. He’s authentic. He does everything with a purpose. He’s going to uphold the principles and standards it requires to build and maintain a successful program.
“This is a huge opportunity not only for my coaching career but for my family,” Miskdeen said.
Church and Williamson, meanwhile, didn’t hesitate to follow May from FAU to Michigan, even though they initially didn’t know what their exact roles would be. In addition to being assistants, Church added the title of general manager and Williamson will serve as the director of player development.
When May was building his staff, he didn’t follow the things he was taught growing up. He didn’t focus on hiring people he knew and who were loyal to him. He didn’t want to hire friends.
He wanted to surround himself with assistants who are going to complement him and challenge him to be better every day. He wanted a staff that is enjoyable to be around and will think outside the box. He wanted the “best teachers” and communicators who were the “hungriest” and most driven.
“With everybody on our staff, no one has an ego,” Williamson said. “Our ability to collaborate with each other is so important. Coach (May) was diligent about who he wanted to put on the staff because he knew that we all had to work together and the end product is us being successful.”
What’s been put together is a group of like-minded people who share the same purpose and are intent on setting the bar high at Michigan.
“When I first got on campus … we had guys on visits. We’re hosting, we’re going to dinners, we’re taking campus tours and all this stuff,” Joyner said. “There wasn’t really much basketball. But there was a photo shoot going on with one of the recruits and as soon as we got between the lines, we’re talking defense, we’re talking offense, we’re talking ball-screen coverages.
“I was like, ‘Yeah, this is good. This is where I want to be.’ It’s a great staff. Certainly, it starts from the top, and I couldn’t be more thrilled to be a part of it.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
@jamesbhawkins
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