That didn’t take long. Just a few hours after the bombshell news that Dusty May is leaving Michigan for the Dallas Mavericks dropped, the Wolverines already have their new coach in sight. Michigan will promote associate head coach Mike Bonyton to interim coach, according to Pete Nakos.
Boynton has been Michigan’s defensive coordinator for the past two seasons, Dusty May’s first hire after taking the job in April 2024. Before that, he spent seven seasons as the head coach at Oklahoma State (where he coached Brandon Garrison). Boynton is expected to keep Michigan’s roster together for the upcoming season. Matt Norlander is reporting that he met with every player on the roster this morning, and the Wolverines are even considering promoting him from interim coach to full-time head coach in the coming days and weeks. The reigning national champions were set to begin summer practices today, but obviously, that may be postponed a bit, given today’s developments.
While it sounds like the Wolverines will keep everyone on board, Michigan’s players will be able to enter the transfer portal five days after the interim or head coach hire is announced. The portal will be open for 15 days. Despite losing four starters from last year’s team that won the national championship, Michigan is considered a preseason top-five team. Starting point guard Eliot Cadeau is back, along with sixth man Trey McKenney, and the Wolverines pulled in several players from the portal, including Cincinnati’s Moustapha Thiam, Tennessee’s J.P. Estrella, and LSU’s Jalen Reed, and five-star guard Brandon McCoy from the high school ranks.