Soon after reports came out that Dusty May had come to an agreement with Michigan to become the new head men's basketball coach, the question started to fly.

Who else may come with Coach May from Florida Atlantic?

Now, that question in and of itself validated the coach that Ward Manual and company brought in.

Of course, you want immediate success.

Dusty May has said as much

as an introductory press conference, but the fact that Dusty May propelled previously

traditionalist FAU to a final four, then another NCAA tournament appearance, and still had

several players with eligibility who, if they entered the portal, would be key high major targets.

That is incredibly impressive and reflects very well on the hire that you made.

Now, roaming the offices at the PDC, there is plenty of FAU flavor here in Ann Arbor now, but much of it exists on that coaching staff within those offices. There is only one former

owl here, and that's Vladislav Golden. He will only have one year of eligibility coming up in

2024, 2025. As I've mentioned on the podcast before, the fact that Dusty May and his staff

have rebuilt this Michigan roster with just one FAU transfer

in a way that there is real optimism that roster can help Michigan get back to the NCAA tournament.

And honestly, I'd go further and say that there is an expectation for everyone inside the program

and many outside the program that an NCAA tournament appearance is where this team should be

looking for at the very least. So that is outstanding work to get to that point without a whole

lot of FAU carryover. Now the summer, it's of course jam-packed with optimism, especially in a

portal era where many rosters can and oftentimes do get a huge overhaul. But that optimism,

despite a bunch of FAU players coming with Dusty May, is warranted. Michigan will almost

certainly be better this coming season than they were last season. The question is how much better?

Well, Vlad Golden could be the player who most determines the answer to that

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