Dusty May: Off-Court Chemistry Critical To Preparing Wolverines For March

Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines are rolling, but what do they need to do in order to keep that rolling when March Madness comes around?

The Wolverines head coach explained in his newest interview with Jim O'Brien on "Big Jim's House" on 94.7 WCSX that he coaches his team to be prepared to value every possession during the regular season. Because once the tournament comes around, those possessions become even more important. For May, it's a mentality thing and an intangible thing of being good teammates off the court, because mistakes will happen on the court. But he has little tolerance for mistakes in the locker room.

Keeping that chemistry clean is a combination of teaching and setting realistic expectations that should be implicitly understood.

"I mean, we're teachers, we're educators, and sometimes you haven't been through it," May said. "You see it in NBA with guys that have been playing 15 to 20 years. You don't always play well in this game. You just try to put yourself in the best position to win every single night with a good, solid plan, and then you execute that plan. And, you know, each game has a life, each possession has a life of its own. So yes, we're always teaching it. The players also -- they're aware. I mean, it's like everything else. How many people can perform their absolute best every minute of every job, or whatever the case?

"So, you're factoring in some human error and just trying to push past that threshold and continue to improve, but also leaning on our teammates. But the culture stuff is the things that are the most important now. Our effort, our energy, how we interact with each other, those are the things that this time of year typically slip. You're going to make some mistakes on the court, but the other things, we have to be mistake-free when it comes to being a great teammate."

It's going pretty well so far for the 17-1 Wolverines, who are third in the nation and have a big matchup coming Jan. 27 against the undefeated Nebraska Cornhuskers, who are looking to prove their No. 7 ranking to be too low. May is hoping his teachings will apply in that game, and through to March and April.

You can listen live to Jim O'Brien's full "Coffee With The Coach" interview every Thursday in the 8:00 hour on 94.7 WCSX.