How Dusty May's untold John Calipari connection shaped Michigan's national championship push

Key Points:

• Dusty May's official coaching career is said to have started as a video coordinator at USC after graduating from Indiana in 2000, but a lesser-known chapter reveals an earlier, brief stint involving John Calipari.
• In 2000, during the Final Four in Indianapolis, May, then an Indiana student manager, took a desperate chance by driving overnight to Memphis to seek a job with newly hired Memphis coach John Calipari.
• Despite no official mention in his bios or media profiles, May did secure a position with Calipari, a connection previously unknown even to May’s own children and largely erased from his public coaching timeline.
• This story, shared by Joe Pasternack, a former Indiana manager and current UC Santa Barbara head coach, highlights May's determination and the unconventional start to a career that has now led him to the 2024 national championship game with Michigan.
• May reflects on the journey as a full-circle moment, from chasing coaching opportunities as a student to leading a team competing for the Big Ten's first men's basketball national title in 26 years.