Catching up with Charlie May, son of Michigan head coach Dusty May, on navigating first season in Ann Arbor, deep postseason run

ATLANTA, Ga. — Michigan Wolverines basketball junior guard Charlie May — a transfer from Central Florida — is the son of head coach Dusty May. He’s watched first hand as his father has navigated his first season at the helm in Ann Arbor and led the Maize and Blue not just back to the NCAA Tournament but to a Big Ten Tournament title and a deep run in the Big Dance.

Read our Q&A with Charlie May below.

The Wolverine: What’s it been like going on this run to the Sweet 16?

May: It’s a great feeling. Obviously, we didn’t end the regular season like we wanted to. We just flipped the switch and get going, it feels great. This is the best time of the year, best tournament in sports, so it feels good to be here. Hopefully, we can keep it going.

The Wolverine: You watched your dad go on a run to the Final Four at Florida Atlantic in 2023. How is it being part of it as a player this time?

May: Man, those were some of the best memories of my life two years ago when FAU was going through that. Obviously, it’s a different level wearing a jersey now, but it was a great feeling for both of them. Hopefully, we go as far as they did, to the Final Four and beyond.

The Wolverine: How have you seen your dad navigate his first season at Michigan?

May: Honestly, there have been some ups and downs, but altogether we’ve had a pretty successful season. We won a Big Ten Conference Tournament championship, so there have been more ups than downs, so it’s been a lot of fun being on this journey.

The Wolverine: What changed after the loss to Michigan State in the final regular-season game heading into the Big Ten Tournament?

May: We just had a little bit more time off, so we had a lot more time to practice and we got a little bit more physical in practice. Something just flipped. That’s not how we wanted to end the regular season. Obviously, we lost three of our last four. That’s not where we wanted to be. We knew we had the talent and the people in the locker room to chase something bigger, and I think we just flipped a switch. I don’t know.

The Wolverine: Your head coach said that at every point in the season, each team gets consumed with winning. Sometimes, it happens at the end of the year and you can ‘catch fire like a wildfire.’ Is that happening with this group?

May: I think so. We’ve been pretty together the whole year, but I think we realized how special of a group we have and how great the guys in the locker room are. We’re like, ‘Man, let’s enjoy every day we have left together,’ because obviously you never know who’s gonna be here next season. Everybody just came together, and it started to work out for us.

The Wolverine: Who’s the best manager on the team?

May: That’s a good question. We got a lot of managers. I can’t single anybody out. We got a lot of managers that do a good job every single day, and we’re very grateful for them.

The Wolverine: What about your brother, Eli?

May: He’s doing a good job. He’s a freshman, so you know he’s gotta work his way up the ladder to get more duties and stuff. But he’s doing a good job, for sure.

The Wolverine: Is it a cool dynamic that you’re all working together?

May: It’s definitely a cool dynamic, but it’s even cooler just having them closer to me outside of the facility. Obviously, in the facility, he’s just one of our managers and that’s not my dad, he’s my coach. But outside the facility, it’s been a lot of fun, a lot cooler having my family close. Close to my mom, too.

The Wolverine: Do you feel like you guys have a chip on your shoulder and embrace being the underdog? Even last week, you were the 5-seed and a trendy upset pick.

May: We might’ve been the favorite that game [against UC San Diego], but everybody was picking that upset. No one has really had faith in us most of the year. In the conference tournament, we were supposed to lose, whatever, whatever. So we got a chip on our shoulder, for sure.