Charlie May has his Michigan moment in season-opening win

ANN ARBOR – The Michigan Wolverines blew out the Oakland Golden Grizzlies 121-78 on Monday night at Crisler Center. It was a celebration of the past with a Big Ten Tournament banner being hung, and a glimpse at what could be an incredibly bright future for the nation’s No. 7 overall team.

But more than anything else, it was a celebration of family.

Michigan head coach Dusty May subbed in his son, senior walk-on guard Charlie May, to play the final 7 minutes of game action. With 3:06 left in the contest, May hit a three-pointer to give the Wolverines a 116-74 lead and notch his first-career bucket in the process.

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In a somewhat fleeting moment, May reflected on the moment as a father and not within the confines of what it meant in a basketball game.

 ”I told [MGoBlue’s Ed Kengerski] when we did the post-game that as a coach’s son, these guys go through a lot,” Dusty May said. “Good, bad… my boys have grown up when my career’s gone much better than it did earlier in my career. But you pull them out of schools, you move towns. They have to find new friends. They have to find a new community everywhere. And our guys in our locker room have embraced them. I don’t think they’ve ever felt like they’re talking to the coach’s son, I think they’ve always felt like they’re talking to one of their teammates and we keep that line where I want, especially during the season.

“I want him to be that player on that team, versus being my son. And so it’s cool to see him have that much fun playing with these guys. [Our managers and walk-ons] show up every day and practice and just to serve in any way possible. And so to be rewarded with a Division I bucket, it’s pretty cool.

“Just happy for him. But more than anything else, just excited to see the family group chat tonight buzzing.”

Charlie May, who is described as a “tireless worker and valuable teammate” on his official team profile, started his career at Central Florida in 2022-23 and played 6 games in 2023-24 off the bench before moving to Michigan with his father before last season. Sophomore Eli May is also part of the program as a manager.

May has another season of eligibility remaining, but told The Wolverine’s Clayton Sayfie over the summer that his status is “up in the air” after this season.

“Honestly, I’m just personally trying to enjoy every day, whether it’s just hanging out with the guys, whether it’s doing conditioning, going all out on weights,” the Michigan guard said. “I’m really trying to be present every day, and I’m thinking about it like, ‘Oh, this could be my last year.’ I’m really just trying to enjoy every second of it, because I don’t want to look back at it with any regrets at what could be my last year of college basketball.”

The Mays and Michigan are back on the floor next Tuesday night in Detroit against Wake Forest, set for a 6:30 p.m. ET tip-off from Little Caesars Arena.