Thoughts on Michigan AD Warde Manuel Leaving

It was announced earlier today that University of Michigan Athletic Director Warde Manuel will be stepping down at the end of the calendar year.

This feels like it has been a long time coming. I was happy when they hired Manuel because it seemed like he really cared. He wanted Michigan to be back on top. He was sick of them being simply mediocre. He was going to make changes, and the changes sounded pretty damn good to me as a fan. I had high hopes.

And boy did he deliver.

Michigan won a football and men's basketball championship under his watch. The sports program grew and got much, much better. The university became so much more than just a football school. They had the two titles, but the other programs were thriving as well. Men's gymnastics has an Olympian on the team. The women's basketball team is a constant in the tournament, and they even made a push to the Sweet Sixteen last year. The hockey team made the Frozen Four, and they have a great roster coming back for next season. The baseball team and softball team are always competitive. The men's and women's soccer teams are solid. The sports at Michigan are thriving, and a lot of that has to do with Manuel.

But he screwed up a lot as well.

Both coaches from the title teams left immediately after they won. Jim Harbaugh couldn't wait to get out of there. He claimed it was due to other extenuating circumstances, but it was also reported that he and Manuel did not have a good relationship. You could see as much at the parade. They wouldn't even look at one another during the speeches. Manuel said he was going to do whatever he could to keep Harbaugh, but we the fans saw the writing on the wall. Harbaugh was fed up with Manuel, Manuel was fed up with him, and they seperated loudly and angry with one another.

Manuel and Harbaugh were both on board with the Sherrone Moore hire, as was I, and we all saw how they unfolded. I have to believe that Manuel knows so much more about that situation than he is letting on, and now that he is on the way out, maybe he will do some kind of tell all. But all of that happened under Manuel. Maybe he tried to cover some stuff up, maybe he tried to keep some people silent, whatever it was, Manuel did a shady thing and let a very shady thing happen while he was the AD.

I was hopeful that the men's basketball team would have Dusty May for a long, long time. He turned that team around so fast. They went from 8-24 to the Sweet Sixteen to the national title. It ruled. May knew how to work the portal while still recruiting highly rated freshmen. He understood the ins and outs of NIL. He had it all. But he got up and left. He signed to be the next head coach of the Dallas Mavericks. He didn't leave the cupboard bare, but he just bounced as soon as he got a better offer. May would rather coach pros making way more money than him than stick around and become a college basketball coaching legend. He said that it was due to the current climate of college sports, which may be true. But I have to believe that there was something going on behind the scenes with him and Manuel.

Manuel claimed he had given May a humongous brand new contract, and that it was all but a done deal that he was going to be the coach at Michigan for a long, long time. But when that contract stayed unsigned by May, I got nervous. Then he left. I have to think Manuel played a hand in this. Both national title coaches were gone not even a month after winning the championship.

This is all a bummer, but don't forget some of the other stuff that has happened as of late on Manuel's time. The baseball coach that brought them to the CWS left after that season to coach at Clemson. The longtime softball coach decided to retire out of the blue. There is an ongoing investigation dealing with the whole blowout from the Moore situation. And I'm sure there's plenty of other stuff behind the scenes that I'm not privy to. Warde Manuel delivered on some of the biggest promises he made when he was announced as the AD, and for that I will be forever grateful. But he also leaves with a mess for the new AD to clean up. I do feel like this is the final semblance of the Harbaugh regime. Manuel stepping down feels like the last thing Michigan needed to fully get off all of the stuff that came with Harbaugh, May and Manuel.

I hope the new AD is as ambitious as Manuel, but goes about it the correct and honorable way. Time will tell, but at least Manuel and Michigan are finally moving on from one another. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing and the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast.

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What's Next for Michigan Basketball?

After winning the national title in men's college basketball Michigan is looking for a new head coach. Let’s discuss.

In very shocking news to me, Dusty May has accepted the head coaching position with the Dallas Mavericks. I was kind of stunned by this news when it scrolled across my phone this morning. I was out doing my Monday grocery shopping, and as I finished loading my car with said groceries, the news was all bold coming across my phone, "MAVS HIRING DUSTY MAY". I couldn't believe it. I thought he was going to stick around the college game a little longer. He looked to be building something nice and powerful at Michigan. In two years there he brought them back from a very low point and turned them into a national title winner. May knew how to work the portal, he got players to play for one another as opposed to playing for themselves, he coached three guys that could be picked in the top 14 in tomorrow's draft and he brought in a nice haul in the portal and with incoming freshmen for this year's team. But now he is gone, off to the pros.

I fully understand that this is the end goal for almost anyone who gets into the coaching world. May started at the bottom, worked his way up to the head coach at FAU, took them to the final four, went to Michigan and won the whole damn thing. The NBA is the next and final stop for him. He had a meteoric rise and now he gets to coach what looks to be an up and coming team in the West. They have Cooper Flagg, Kyrie Irving, a high pick in this draft and a coach who looks like an offensive genius. May almost feels like a perfect fit for this team and it wouldn't shock me if he has them as a perennial playoff team within two years. And while it bums me out that he is leaving for the NBA, he doesn't owe Michigan or us fans anything. He took them to the pinnacle and gave them their first men's basketball title since 1989. I said it with Jim Harbaugh when he left for the Chargers after winning the title with the football team in 2023. He did what he set out to do. He doesn't have to prove anything else to anyone in Ann Arbor. Harbaugh and May will be celebrated forever in Ann Arbor, and will get the warmest of welcomes whenever they return. May's time was shorter than Harbaugh's, but the results are still the same. They did it. They brought glory back to a storied program. I wish nothing but the best for Dusty May, and with Doncic being out of Dallas, I may start rooting for the Mavs. Hell, if they take one of the Michigan guys, the Mavs may become my second team to root for in the NBA, behind Memphis, and until Seattle gets a team again.

Moving on, with May officially off to the pros, I am curious to see what Michigan does now. I wonder who they are going to target for this job. The current roster has 15 days to decide if they want to stick around or transfer out. I'm sure a few guys will leave. It always happens, and with the way modern college athletics are going, it is bound to happen. I would be bummed if guys like Trey McKenney and Elliot Cadeau leave, but it could happen. I do think, if Michigan wants to try and retain as much of the current roster as possible, they should just give the job to Mike Boynton. He is the reported choice for interim head coach while they do their search. I read that he went and met with every player on the roster after the news of May's departure. That gave me a sense of relief as a fan. He was May's first hire when he got the Michigan job, he was right next to him on the bench during their tournament run this year, he is a very good recruiter and he has been waiting his turn to coach. I'm a big fan of staying in house when it comes to moves like this. I know it blew up in my face with Sherrone Moore, but the football program rebounded with the hiring of Kyle Whittingham, and Boynton seems to have a good head on his shoulders. May wasn't the biggest name when Michigan hired him, but it clearly worked out. Boynton's name may not jump off the screen, but he would allow for continuity.

Some other names I've already seen floated around are Billy Donovan, Nate Oats, TJ Otzelberger, Josh Schertz and Ben McCollum. I fully believe the only name on this list that would make me happy is Billy Donovan. I'll explain why in a moment. Nate Oats is a good recruiter and a solid coach, but he is an asshole who would rub people the wrong way, including fans. Otzelberger knows the midwest and has made Iowa State a power. But he has been reluctant to take bigger jobs. Also I think he is quite content in his current position. Schertz would intrigue me, I have seen what he has done at SLU up close and personal. But I do think the lights may be way too bright for him in Ann Arbor. And McCollum's run with Iowa last season felt very fluky. Iowa didn't have the best season, and then went on a wild run. I don't know that he can duplicate that at Michigan. Other than Boynton, Billy Donovan would be an absolute homerun. The guy can flat out coach. He won multiple titles at Florida. He knows the college game. He did a solid job in the NBA without ever having a roster that was actually meant to win a bunch of games. He has more than proven his worth. My worry with him, I don't know that he will want to come back to the college game. He could hold out for almost any NBA job that will come open next season. He could also do tv for a year, and he may fall in love with that just like Jay Wright has. I think Billy Donovan would be the best possible guy they could get for the job, but it also seems very far-fetched at this point. And that is why I say they should just give the job to Mike Boynton. He has the best chance to keep this team rolling. He has been there since they hired Dusty May. The players are familiar with him. He knows how to put these kids in the best position to win. He can continue the dominance of this team.

Time will tell, and this is still wild to me, but I think, if they make the right choice, Michigan will be just fine in the long run. We will see. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

The Current State of Michigan Basketball is Pretty Good

For the second time in three years I have gotten to celebrate a Michigan team winning the national title. In 2023 it was the football team. Last night, it was the men's basketball team. Let’s discuss.

I really enjoy this feeling. There's truly nothing better than when your team is on top. It is the best in the world. I do want to say, as wonderful as this feels, the football title felt a little better. I just have to say that. College football is a little more important to me than basketball. I just wanted to put that out there. But that is to take nothing out of what the men;s basketball team achieved last night.

When the season started I didn't know what to think, especially in the NIL and transfer portal era. I had heard a bunch of good things about the guys they brought in. Aday Mara was tall. Morez Johnson Jr was tall and strong. Elliot Cadeau was going to be able to run the offense properly. And Yaxel Lendeborg was this jack of all trades type player. Throw in some of the guys that stuck around, Nimari Burnett, Will Tschetter, Roddy Gayle Jr and LJ Cason, this team was supposed to be good. But I thought I was going to miss Tre Donaldson and Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin and Devante Jones. Those guys were part of Dusty May's first season, in which he took an 8-24 team to the Sweet Sixteen. They seemed to be in a good place. But this was going to be all new. But, like I said, the media seemed pretty hyped about this new roster. And while I was skeptical, they started the season 12-0, and looked really good doing it. They may have started slow, but they went on a run where they were obliterating teams. And I'm not talking about the run of the mill lower level division 1 teams, they were beating up on highly ranked teams. I started to buy in. Then Wisconsin hit a million threes and cooled any of the good vibes I had about them earlier on. But then they went on another long win streak and I was back in. They got all the way to being ranked number 1 overall. It ruled. Then Duke punked them on national tv and I was back in a funk. Sure, Mara was an incredible defender and Johnson Jr was bullying dudes on both ends and Cadeau was killing it as the lead guard and Lendeborg was all I wanted him to be. But Duke took all of that away from me. I fully stopped believing. Then you can add on the struggle they had in the Big 10 tournament, they did make it to the title game, and won the regular season title, and I just kind of gave up. When the tournament seeds and games were announced, I knew Michigan was going to be a 1 seed, and I even had them in the Final Four. But they went on to cruise and crush the competition in the tournament. They went on an unprecedented run. After Howard was throwing flames in the first half from 3, Michigan went on to score 101 and win by 21. Then they crusted over the early tournament sweetheart Robbie Avila and SLU. They scored over 90 and won by 20 plus points again. And this was the game where Lendeborg became everything I ever wanted him to be. He went for 20 plus and made it look easy from everywhere on the court. He was a menace on defense. He was dunking on dudes left and right. It was dope. They went into the Sweet Sixteen facing one of the top offenses in all of college basketball in Alabama. They held them to 77 points, while they scored 90 yet again. They lucked out in facing Tennessee, a six seed, in the Elite Eight. They went on to beat them by 33 points, In an Elite Eight game. On national tv. In front of everyone. This was the moment where I fully bought in and truly believed they may be able to do it. They looked so much more dominant than any of the eight teams left. They looked even better in the Final Four. I was all in on Arizona winning it all all season. I fully thought they were the best team in men's college basketball. They had just beat Purdue, who beat Michigan in the Big Ten tournament. Well, Michigan proceeded to crush Arizona. They beat them so badly that their coach said that "no team has been able to do what Michigan did to them all year". Also, when accepting his coach of the year award, Tommy Lloyd mentioned that maybe they meant to send it to Dusty May. That was how badly Michigan beat them. They won a Final Four game by 18 points, and it wasn't even that close.

With the national title game last night, I didn't just want a win, I expected it. But, when the game tipped off, it went much different than I hoped. UConn muddied the game up and made it sloppy and slow. This worked to their advantage for a bit. They even held an 18-15 lead with about 11 minutes left. They were holding this elite Michigan offense to 15 points nine minutes into the game. I was terrified. I wasn't nervous, I was scared. I thought they were going to get beat, and beaten badly by a team and coach that knows how to win title games. But Michigan persisted, switched up the game plan a bit and went into halftime with a 4 point lead, 33-29. But the way the media was talking you would have thought UConn was ahead. And that was when a revelation hit me. Michigan played really poorly. They couldn't make a jumper. Lendeborg's injury was clearly becoming an issue. They hadn't made a three pointer. And yet they were ahead by 4 points. Going into the second half, while still scared, I felt calmer than I thought. I did yell once, but my son told me to calm down, and I did. Michigan never let UConn get any closer than that 4 points. They stretched the lead to 11 at one point. They made 20 straight free throws. When UConn played pressure defense, it was freshman Trey McKenney who came up big. Lendeborg started to attack the rim and either make a shot or shoot free throws. Mara's presence was felt on the defensive end. And Elliot Cadeau saved his best game for last. Without him, they may not have won last night. But this was this team's MO all year. They didn't need one guy. They had a team of players ready to make plays and step up when asked. Roddy Gayle had a huge putback jam early in the game. Morez Johnson Jr played excellent defense both in the paint and on the perimeter. I mentioned Mara, Lendeborg, Cadeau and McKenney. This was a full team effort and it showed last night. And while this team became known for offense as the season went on, they played an exceptional defensive game last night, especially in the second half.

Dusty May was clearly the right choice as the new head coach two years ago. I liked the hire when it happened, and I loved it even more after last night. He knows how to work the portal, and if he keeps up this level of recruiting high school players, as long as he doesn't leave for the pros anytime soon, Michigan men's basketball will be in good shape.

I'm on cloud 9 today. I have been talking to everyone and anyone that asks me how I feel about it all and let them know. This team went 37-3. I grew to love every player. I'm as big a Dusty May fan as there is right now. And they capped it all off by winning the title last night. This is so awesome and I am so happy right now. Go Blue.

 Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Thoughts on Michigan's New Basketball Coach

I'm back and I'll give my thoughts on the men's basketball tournament tomorrow. Today I want to talk about the new Michigan men's basketball head coach.

Michigan relieved Juwan Howard almost two weeks back, I think they should have given him one more season, and they hired Dusty May over the weekend. I guess they waited to see how Florida Atlantic, his previous team, performed in the first round of the tourney, and then they were going to get him. FAU got beat in a solid round one game, and May was suddenly very available. He was so available, that earlier on Saturday I read that he was finalizing a deal to become Louisville's next men's basketball head coach. I moved on to other names I liked for the job and sat and waited. But Saturday night something must have changed because it was reported that May had turned down the Louisville job and was going to take the Michigan job. I didn't believe it because of the Louisville stuff, but it was confirmed by multiple sources and sites and the university made it official on all of their social media. It was official. May took the job and signed the contract.

I didn't really know what to think. I still don't really know what to think. I was rooting for Shaka Smart to get the job, but who knows if he was even open to moving jobs and Marquette is still in the tournament. He still has some coaching to do. Brian Dutcher was my second choice, but his team is still playing and who knows if he wanted to return to Ann Arbor. May probably was next on my list, but that was strictly due to what I was reading online about him. I still don't know too much about him. What I do know, FAU has been to the tournament two years in a row, where before they had only been three total times in the history of being a division 1 basketball team. They were also in the Final Four last season. I know that was last year , but still, a mid major in the Final Four is pretty impressive. He also won a ton of games and developed players within the program. That is one thing I think will have to change after taking the Michigan job. The transfer portal in big business now in all of college sports. I love the idea of recruiting and developing, which he has proven he can do with way less resources. But college sports is the wild west right now, and you can get tons of hired guns through the portal. I hope he brings some kids from FAU to Michigan to help with the transition in season one under May. He has proven he can recruit. He takes two and three star guys and gives them a tried and true system and they deliver for him. He wins enough games to get to the tournament. He wins in the conference tournaments. The Big 10 is different and tough and a bloodbath, but May has proven he can hang with the bluebloods in men's college basketball.

May is also young, and I'm stoked on that. College sports is changing and you are seeing a ton of younger dudes take over big time programs. Michigan went young with Sherrone Moore to lead the football team. Alabama went young after Nick Saban retired. Duke went young after Coach K. Dan Hurley may seem old, but he is not as old as he looks. Just look at a bunch of current coaches, they are skewing much, much younger.

I have also read some things about his possible staff, and it looks young too, or if they are older dudes, they are Michigan dudes. Apparently John Beilein was instrumental in getting May to take this job, and now he is being mentioned as someone who will work closely with the basketball team, whatever that may mean.

All in all, if you read what the pundits say, this seems like a good hire. May is on the come up and he kind of had his pick of where he wanted to coach next. He has been highly successful at his previous stop and seems prepared to take this next step. It will take time. This program is a total mess and they only have four current players on scholarship. I will be watching what he does in the offseason and I hope he makes his moves sooner rather than later. I am excited, but it could just be the fact that I'm excited about something new with my favorite men's college basketball team. I'll give May two years, but results need to start coming in year 3. That is my mood going forward with this hiring. Go Blue. 

Ty

Ty is the Pop Culture editor for SeedSing, the other host of the X Millennial Man Podcast, and the greatest basketball writer on the internet.

Come and support Ty and the podcast on Patreon.

Follow Ty on instagram.