Among all the news to come from the 2026 college basketball offseason, arguably the most shocking — and easily the most relevant — was the news of Michigan head coach Dusty May leaving college basketball for the NBA. May, who became one of the more renowned coaches in the sport following his Final Four run with FAU and national championship at Michigan, accepted the vacant head coaching job with the Dallas Mavericks, with many citing the current state of college basketball as the primary reason behind his departure.
BREAKING: University of Michigan coach Dusty May has agreed to become the new head coach of the Dallas Mavericks, sources tell me, @AdamSchefter, @PeteThamel. Major college-to-pro jump for the 2026 NCAA championship coach and swing for the Mavericks and Masai Ujiri. pic.twitter.com/rwlwhRtNfo
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) June 22, 2026
Nonetheless, this move will, of course, affect the Wisconsin Badgers. Michigan, which was undoubtedly one of the conference's powerhouses, now has to rebuild in a sense, searching for a new coach to lead the program. Although it's very unlikely, there is a non-zero chance Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard could be in the mix for the job, something no Badger fans want to hear, and there are two very obvious reasons why Gard will be on the Michigan brain. But first, we need to recognize that it won't be right away.
Michigan has already announced assistant coach Mike Boynton Jr. will step up and serve in the interim role for the time being, a move that is likely a temporary fix to a long-term issue. Obviously, the Wolverines will want to conduct a more thorough search to find their coach of the future, and there is a chance Gard draws some intrigue.
Sources: Michigan is working toward hiring Mike Boynton Jr. as interim coach, per @PeteThamel, @jeffborzello and me. pic.twitter.com/UgJQ23KrEP
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) June 22, 2026
Greg Gard tested and beat Michigan last season, and has never had enough resources
Last season, Wisconsin gave Michigan two of its toughest tests of the year, beating the Wolverines on their home court in Ann Arbor while nearly knocking them out of the Big Ten Tournament, only for Michigan to be saved by a buzzer-beater from Yaxel Lendeborg. Michigan has undoubtedly taken notice of those two games and what made them so difficult, potentially viewing Gard as someone who understands how to combat their system. Gard figured out Dusty May and had a chance to knock off Michigan twice, which will keep him at least sort of on their radar.
The second reason is that Gard has always had an under-resourced program and has maxxed out what he can. A program like Michigan or another big name that wants to throw more money at Gard to see what he does with more money could take that chance.
If this move were to happen, it would leave the Badgers in essentially the same spot Michigan is in right now: searching for a new head coach. However, the process would be much more difficult for Wisconsin, given that it doesn't have the financial resources Michigan does, on top of lacking the roster talent that would naturally attract candidates.
To make matters worse, losing Gard would likely mean losing top recruits like Jalen Brown and possibly Baboucarr Ann, who has been heavily connected to the Badgers. Obviously, all of this resides firmly in hypothetical territory, as the odds of Michigan even pursuing Gard are slim. But crazier things have happened, and there is always a chance — however small — that Wisconsin could be in for an all-time shakeup in the very near future.
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