Former IU basketball student manager Dusty May coaches FAU to Final Four. Get to know him.
Dusty May is a long way from Greene County, Indiana.
The Hoosier native has led Florida Atlantic University into uncharted territory. May took over as head coach of the FAU men's basketball program in 2018 after a lengthy career as a college assistant.
On Saturday, the No. 9 seeded Owls defeated No. 3 seed Kansas State 79-76 to advance to the Final Four. FAU has been an underdog the entire tournament.
Prior to May, the program reached the NCAA Tournament just once in 2002. Now they are just one of eight teams left.
Before he had a national spotlight on him, May, 46, developed a love for basketball in Indiana.
Also in the Final Four:Lawrence Central grad Nijel Pack helps Miami
Here are six things to know:
Dusty May graduated high school from Eastern Greene
May was a four-year standout at Eastern Greene, 20 miles southwest of Bloomington, for current Lafayette Jeff coach Mark Barnhizer.
Dusty May is a former Bob Knight student manager at Indiana University
After high school, May spent a year at Oakland City, 40 miles north of Evansville, then transferred to IU, where the doctor whose grass he once cut put in a word with Coach Knight.
May served as a student manager at IU from 1996 until 2000.
“What I learned from Coach Knight was the value of being a great teacher. Every year I coach I try to be a better teacher. Looking back, it was how simple Coach Knight made complex things.”
Doyel:Former Bobby Knight student-manager Dusty May is coaching's next big star
Dusty May went to USC and back to IU before becoming an assistant coach
Once he graduated from Indiana, May went to the University of Southern California to work as an administrative assistant/video coordinator until 2002.
May returned to IU for three seasons in an administrative role.
Dusty May's first assistant coaching job was at Eastern Michigan
After nine years behind the bench, May was hired as an assistant coach at Eastern Michigan (2005-2006).
From there, May had assistant coaching stints at Murray State (2006-2007), UAB (2007-2009), Louisiana Tech (2009-2015) and Florida (2015-2018).
Dusty May's high school gym is nearly the same size as FAU's arena
FAU is among the best college basketball teams this season, but its arena isn't in the same league as other heavyweights in the sport. With a capacity of 2,900, it's only slightly larger than Eastern Greene High School's gym of 2,800.
Dusty May's high school gym, Eastern Greene: 2,800 capacity.
Dusty May's FAU gym: 2,900 capacity.— Matt Glenesk (@MattGlenesk) March 26, 2023
Dusty May's head coaching record
May is 101-59 as head coach at Florida Atlantic.
2018-2019: 17-16 overall, 8-10 Conference USA
2019-2020: 17-15, 8-10
2020-2021: 13-10, 7-5
2021-2022: 19-15, 11-7
2022-2023: 35-3, 18-2
This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Dusty May: 6 things to know about FAU coach, Final Four star
