Louisville Basketball: 8 candidates to watch for potential HC opening

Dusty May

While winning basketball games and titles is clearly the goal, one big thing that’s been lacking in Louisville has been the excitement. With those embarrassing home losses early in the year, the atmosphere was pretty rough right off the bat in Payne’s first season. There are many different ways to bring back excitement to the Cardinals’ basketball program, and hiring one of the hottest names in the college basketball universe could be a great way to accomplish that.

May is an Illinois native who was a student manager for Bob Knight at Indiana in the late 90’s. His coaching career has seen him work as an assistant coach at a number of schools, including stints at Louisiana Tech and Florida under current Georgia head coach Mike White. Back in 2018, Florida Atlantic gave him his first head coaching position and he’s certainly rewarded them. After four seasons rebuilding the Owls into contention, the program exploded last year, not just winning 35 games but making a shocking run to the Final Four.

Leading a mid-major to a dream run to the Final Four; what’s followed has been each of those head coaches leaving for better jobs, with mixed levels of success. With what Florida Atlantic is bringing back for this upcoming season, May was never leaving, but perhaps his tune could change following the season. However, he did recently sign a 10-year contract extension, though that didn’t stop Brad Stevens from leaving for the Boston Celtics a decade ago. Still, would May take on the Louisville job?