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In 2018, Dusty May was hired to replace Micheal Curry as the head coach of the men’s basketball team at Florida Atlantic University, although it didn’t take long for the new skipper to have second thoughts about his decision to accept the job.
While he initially feared he may have committed “career suicide” by committing to FAU, it seems to have all worked out in the end.
This year’s NCAA Tournament has been one of the more chaotic iterations of The Big Dance in recent memory, and the ninth-seeded Owls have done what they can to ensure “March Madness” lives up to its name by upsetting Tennessee and Kansas State en route to punching their ticket to the Final Four.
May and FAU have found themselves in fairly uncharted waters, and based on what the head coach has had to say about his experience at the tournament, the amount of attention his squad has received has been a bit of a gift and curse.
Prior to his team’s showdown with the Wildcats in the Elite Eight, May said some of his players were dealing with distractions thanks to the “outside parties” he claims have actively been recruiting them to make the leap to another program next season over the course of the tourney.
May elaborated on those accusations while speaking with The Palm Beach Post earlier this week.
While he declined to name any names, he accused unofficial representatives for other schools of improperly interacting with his guys in the hopes of luring them to another program, saying:
“I’m not accusing any coaches, it’s usually a third party.
There are middle men, third parties that have incentive to get kids in the portal and help them find another spot and then with the new rules who know what happens after that.”
It’s worth noting May’s fears aren’t exactly unfounded, as St. Peter’s became a shell of its former self after the core players who helped the Peacocks stage their improbable Cinderella run in 2022 opted to take their talents elsewhere after the season wrapped up.