Dusty May and Michigan can’t worry too much about outside noise right now, as the two have a chance to advance to a National Championship.
However, when the UNC job opened, there was immediately going to be speculation in May, and that’s what’s happened over the past few days. Despite that reality, the Michigan head coach isn’t ready to talk about anything.
Instead of shutting down the rumors, he didn’t really deny them but added some fuel to the fire.
"After last year, I decided that I'll never, ever respond to any job speculation," May said Friday, per ESPN. "I made the comment that I was flattered about a certain job opening because of my background. That was misconstrued. And so I just decided that I'm never going to comment on any job that I don't have.
"I think it's well-documented how happy I am at Michigan. Obviously, my private life, my personal life, my family, their happiness is very important. So yeah, I love it at Michigan, but I'll never, you'll never hear me comment on any other job unless Michigan lets me go -- and then I'll comment on every job.”
This is fine and all. I understand that May has to say what he’s saying, but I also hate how it feels like UNC could be getting used for a pay raise for some of these coaches. When schools know that an opening like UNC is in the back of their coaches' minds, it has to react.
Perhaps May is fine at Michigan and won’t use UNC for a raise, but those comments sound similar to Tommy Lloyd, who just got an extension at Arizona after being the top name in the UNC search.
"I'm a simple guy. I'm kind of just one thing at a time. I'm not a multitasker," Lloyd said. "You can ask my wife. So, I'm 100% locked in on Arizona basketball right now, and I'm excited to see what this team can do. I have a real strong belief in this team, and this team deserves my full attention, so that's what I'm giving."