By Louis Addeo-Weiss
BOCA RATON – It’s a typical Thursday afternoon in December in Boca Raton, FL. The humidity is temporarily substituted for the welcomed pleasantries of cool winds, but not cool to the point of shivering anxiousness.
December is a month symbolic with relaxation, a winding down of sorts after a long year of laborious hours, some spent in the classroom, some in a cubicle or office, others on the court, field, or in the gym; as for the Florida Atlantic Owls Men’s Basketball team, with this too applying to the universities’ Conference-USA winning football team, now with a new head coach, December means continued business, and for the basketball team, it means building on a year of pleasant surprises, even if all of the faces aren’t all familiar.
I walk into FAU Arena, a small, but modest 5,000 seat arena that houses both men’s and women’s basketball and volleyball teams, to see the Men’s Owls finishing up their final fifteen-or-so minutes of practice.
Despite having been on the court for upwards of two hours, there appeared no signs of wavering from the players, as second-year head coach Dusty May puts the players through a scrimmage, isolating certain plays, until the team executes to perfection, before running relays to work on agility.
Watching the intensity at which everyone went about their work on the court speaks to the respect the players have for May and how he has and is continuing to work on bringing the Owls’ basketball team back to a place of relevance and respect.
Following the conclusion of practice, Dusty was polite enough to give me 10-or-so minutes of his time to discuss what it is that drives him to do just that – in reference to the previous paragraph – for the Owls.
You worked under Bobby Knight for four years (1996-2000) before you made your ventures and wound up over here starting in 2018. From arguably the greatest college coach ever, how has he helped you grow as a coach, and more importantly, as a person?
“When you work there it’s the daily lessons, thinking ahead, playing for any contingency, and just maximizing and trying to maximize your own ability and everyone around you. You see when you talk about Coach Knight….I don’t ever think there’s been one that maximizes the talent of every single player….There are so many lessons just being around greatness every day – he’s such a great teacher, motivator, and the attention to detail he brought.”
You were at Florida for three years;
“I was,” interjects May as he switches off from recollective grins of elation to attentive listening.
You have a relationship with Mike White (Florida head coach), who you worked for seven years, and I’ll get to him later, but Florida Atlantic, who play in Conference-USA, is a Division I program, but unfortunately, it seems like the school fails to garner the national reputation it deserves. We saw what former Coach Kiffin did with the football team, what do you think, as a school, must be done to really register in the eyes of other people (across the country)?
“When we took the job, this was a dormant program, for whatever reason, and Coach (Michael) Curry I know is a great basketball coach, so there are so many things we needed to address. The first order of business was earning respect from the program, and that when we were recruiting another player, we made sure that other teams respected us, and thought we were someone to compete with, especially on the court…Now, we want to increase our number of wins, we want to get our young guys experience, and just get to the point where we expect to win, but it doesn’t happen overnight….Obviously, with the football program, they had the NFL Draft happen with a lot of high-level draft picks (RB Devin Singletary), where we’re still trying to recruit and develop to that level, but it is a cumulative effort, and we feel like we’re getting there.
When Dusty states the process of developing a successful program doesn’t come overnight, to assert the evident truth here would border on trite. Before taking over the head coaching job prior to the 2018 season, the Owls had only two winning seasons, 2001-2002, and 2010-2011, since 1999 where the team finishing above .500.
In May’s first full-season, not only did the Owls finish above .500 – going 17-16 – for the first time since the 2010-2011 season, but the team made their first playoff appearance since then as well, losing a nail-biting 66-68 game to Charleston Southern.
Your first season here brought the Owls their first winning season since the 2010-2011 season. What do you think changed when you came over here?
“It’s more about the players. We had guys who really bought into the program and competing, and we felt that if we stayed healthy, we’d have had an even greater number of wins. More than anything else, it was just everyone coming together for a common goal – to lead Florida Atlantic to be the best that they can possibly be – and we’ve got a lot of confidence in the guys in our locker room.”
So, you would say that school pride is something is definitely you want them to embrace?
“Yeah, we want them to have a great experience, enjoy, and take pride in themselves. Florida Atlantic is such a new university (est. 1961), we haven’t been around 150-years like other schools, which means we’re starting much more recently, and traditionally, Florida hasn’t been a basketball hotbed….Us, UCF, FIU, we’re all in the early stages of trying to build successful programs, and there’s a process to that, and we’re simply honoring that.”
I briefly mentioned earlier, you worked with Mike White for seven years, he’s in his fifth season at Florida. What do you learn from somebody, as you did with Bobby (Knight), from Coach White?
“His daily approach as well. That’s the greatness in high-level coaches, and that’s the work and details of what they’re doing. He’s a great player’s coach, getting the most out of his guys, and just the character in the way he works, particularly all the little things you embrace as a coach.”
We know this for sure, considering we read the headlines. Good coaching, particularly at the college level, extends beyond what you do on the court or the gridiron. Recruiting is important. It’s a major part of what keeps college programs competitive for a long time. You recently got a commitment from Indiana’s Johnell Davis at 21st Century over in Northern Indiana. When you and your staff were looking at him, what did you see in the 6’4 guard who’s been averaging 25-ppg his senior year?
We saw him last year and he scored at a high-rate like he is now, and we saw him this year in the EYBL (Nike Elite Youth Basketball League) Circle, and he was their best defender, best rebounder, and he was a role guy. We identified a guy who was capable of scoring but was humble enough that he would play a role on a winning team, and that’s usually what it comes down to. He and Giancarlo Rosado were two seniors we’re excited about bringing to the program, along with the guys we already have here.”
You said on ESPN Radio in April of last year (2018), after you were hired, that two keys to restoring a winning tradition here were recruiting and player development. How closely do you work with your staff, whether that’s going across the country or even locality, something I know you’ve preached to guys who want to play in their backyard in front of your family, at finding possible future talent for FAU?
“We spend a lot of time on the phones, out watching games, and the more than you can see and get to know a player, the more you can understand who they are. A big part of coaching is simply understanding your players – what they do well, what they don’t do well – and how you motivate them and push them to go past where they’d go on their own. In our roundabout way, we meet a lot, and we feel the mental game is a big part of what we’re looking for, particularly guys with character and the desire to improve.”
Keenan Blackshear, your freshmen, was recently named Conference-USA Player of the Week, encouraging considering he hasn’t garnered extended playing time. Moving forward, what do you feel he needs to do to take on a larger role with this team?
“Just for him to keep improving. He’s playing a role as a freshman, where, when you’re young, you need to fit in before you stand out. He’s rebounding, he’s bought into being a great defender, he’s gotten into better shape, and his overall work ethic has improved as anyone in the program.”
We know that (FAU) President (John) Kelly understands the importance of collegiate sports in the life of college students and athletes. In your mind, what can guys (players) like this take away from the experience of playing collegiate sports, and to those who watch to take with them as they move forward in their lives?
“With students, it gives our student body something to rally around. Speaking of Dr. Kelly, we understand that the student-body experience is number one for us, but number two is growing the brand at the University and putting a product on the field that is representative of what Dr. Kelly and Brian White – Vice President and Director of Athletics – want Florida Atlantic to be known as. There’s a lot of missions through it when it comes to athletics, but individually, our guys learn to be apart of them, daily work ethic, and time management. There are so many lessons we could go on about when it comes to playing collegiate sports.”
What is your relationship like with him (President Kelly)? I’m sure he was integral in hiring you while you were in Florida.
“Through the interview process, we had an extensive interview, and since then, he’s been very supportive of the program, and I’m a big fan of his because of his ambition here to grow Florida Atlantic to be recognized nationally.”
Last question because I know being a head coach is a busy job to have; I only sat here and watched about fifteen minutes of the practice, but what I noticed was a bevy of youthful energy coalescing with a nice balance of competitive spirit. I saw the group, along with yourself, gather, with you giving each player a chance to speak. What is something you preach to your players, whether that be before a game or during practice, that you want to instill in them, whether it’s a moral belief or executing a game plan?
“A couple of things more important than a game plan is attitude and gratitude. Typically, we call in two-to-three guys that day to say something that they’re thankful for. It might be “my teammates for pushing me,” or “I’m thankful for my family back home for being supportive and helping me get to this point,” or even an old coach. So, it’s really something that they’re thankful for, as well as something that they’ve learned that day. It might something as little as a basketball technical term or something else they may pick up from a teammate.”
The 6-4 Owls will take on the University of Tampa at the FAU Arena, Thursday, December 19th at 7 p.m. Tickets are available for purchase here.
