3 takeaways from Michigan basketball hire of Mike Boynton as assistant

Dusty May has been a busy man. Whether it’s target transfers or traditional recruits, or building a staff, there hasn’t been much rest for the new Michigan basketball head coach.

Reports are that May gets to the office around 5 a.m. May said in his press conference he doesn’t have hobbies, and so far, he’s lived up to that.

Coaching scuttle: Former Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton Jr. is soon expected to join Dusty May's staff at Michigan as an assistant, sources tell @CBSSports. Boynton has other options at the high-major level, but May has put a high priority on Boynton in Year 1 in Ann Arbor.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 3, 2024

While two of his former standouts at FAU just entered the transfer portal, May has conducted in-home visits too and is also working on his coaching staff. According to Matt Nolander, Michigan basketball is set to hire former Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton, and here are three thoughts.

Can’t get a better right-hand man

May is likely going to bring some assistants from Florida Atlantic. That makes sense, but Boynton is a guy who won 119 games as a head coach for Oklahoma State and took them to the NCAA tournament. That’s valuable. It’s also notable that he worked for Brad Underwood.

This is a terrific hire by Dusty.

Dusty needs to put together an elite staff and this is a hell of a start. https://t.co/TrLfoHlr82

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) April 3, 2024

Like it or not, Underwood owned Michigan baskeball under Juwan Howard. The Wolverines didn’t beat the Fighting Illini once during Juwan’s tenure. That needs to change. I’m not saying that’s why May hired Boynton. With his coaching prowess, his recruiting, and his familiarity with one of the best programs in the Big Ten, it was a no-brainer.

May is experienced but adding another seasoned head coach from a Power-5 league is a huge get. It shows what kind of recruiter May can be because Boynton surely had plenty of options.

Michigan basketball has its DC

Sort of like John Beilein, May is known as more of an offensive guru. He’s only had one top-50 defense during his time at Florida Atlantic. Scoring is nice and it helps you win games but as Beilein learned you do need defense to win championships.

As good as Boynton is on the recruiting trail — he signed three top-25 classes including five-star Cade Cunningham, who was the No. 1 overall pick– he can coach too. We talked about John Beilein having a defensive coordinator and how May should consider bringing him back.

But Boynton coached Oklahoma State to four top-5o defenses as head coach so this addition will help shore up that side of the ball too which was a perceived weakness of May coming into the Michigan basketball job.

May’s first recruiting win

The new Michigan basketball head coach hasn’t landed any commitments yet, but this was an impressive recruiting win. Getting a guy with ties to Brad Underwood, when some surely thought he might go to Illinois is a big win. It also shows what kind of recruiter May can be for the Wolverines.

Boynton wasn’t going to go just anywhere. You know he wants to be a head coach again — so he needs to go somewhere he can have success. If Michigan wins, he’ll get plenty of credit, especially if the defense is stellar and that’s a win-win for both sides.

Frankly, adding Luke Yaklich with elite recruiting ability sounds like a huge win for the Wolverines and that’s who May landed in Boynton, as long the deal goes through officially.

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