Just a few short days ago, the Dallas Mavericks were without a coach and staring down holding the hinge pick of the 2026 NBA Draft. Fast forward to now, and the Mavs have imported two of the most important components from the 2026 National Champion Michigan Wolverines. After hiring Dusty May to be their head coach, Dallas promptly turned around and drafted perhaps the Wolverines most important player in Morez Johnson Jr.
With so much of that championship infrastructure now calling Dallas home, it’s only right that we went to an expert on all things Michigan to find out just what the Mavericks are getting with this coach and player tandem. There’s no one better than Maize N Brew, and I had the chance to talk to site manager Von Lozon about these winning Wolverines.
TYLER EDSEL:Dusty has had teams at FAU and Michigan that were relentless and played very hard. What elements does he bring as a culture builder to what will be a young Mavericks team?
VON LOZON:The thing that stands out most about Dusty May is he genuinely makes players believe in something bigger than themselves. At FAU, he took a program that nobody was paying attention to and built a Final Four team out of it. At Michigan, he inherited a program that went 8-24 in Juwan Howard’s final season as head coach, and turned it into a national champion in two years. The common theme here is that his players always play hard, all while playing together as a team. I assume he is going to bring that same accountability and togetherness to the Mavs. With a young roster, that kind of culture-building from the top down is exactly what you want in a head coach.
TE:Michigan ran a ton of big lineups this year with Morez, Yaxel and Mara. At FAU, they ran pretty guard heavy. How much does Dusty tailor what he does to the personnel he has?
VL: Enormously. I think that’s actually one of the most underrated things about him as a coach. At FAU, he worked with a lot of talented guards, so the offense was built around them. At Michigan, he had three NBA lottery picks at the forward spots, so he built around those guys. He’s not a coach who forces players into a system. If anything, he’s a coach who builds a system around his players’ strengths. That adaptability will especially be a huge asset at the NBA level where roster construction changes year over year.
TE: What did Dusty excel at most when it comes to game planning or adjustments?
VL: His halftime adjustments were where he really stood out during the NCAA Tournament run this past season. There were multiple tournament games where Michigan looked shaky in the first half before looking like a completely different team in the second half. That also happened numerous times throughout the Big Ten season as well where it took some late-game heroics/well drawn up plays in order to win the game. Dusty has a gift for identifying what isn’t working and fixing it quickly without disrupting anything.
TE: What is one defining characteristic of a Dusty May coached team?
VL: I would say toughness. Not just physical toughness, but mentally as well. His teams don’t flinch in big moments. Michigan played in several tight games this season, and more often than not, they consistently found ways to win. That doesn’t happen by accident; that’s a product of how he prepares his teams mentally and the culture he builds in the locker room.
TE: You guys got to cover Morez for a year at Michigan, and everyone speaks glowingly about him as a player and a person. What’s one thing Mavs fans will love about Morez Johnson Jr., on or off the floor?
VL: I’ll answer both for you. On the floor, Dallas fans are going to love his motor. Morez (or “MoJo” as his teammates called him) plays every single possession like it’s his last. He’s the kind of player who changes games with effort plays — offensive rebounds, charges taken, blocks, etc. — the stuff that doesn’t always show up in the box score, but always makes a difference in the result of the game. Off the floor, Mavs fans are going to love how genuine he is. What you see is what you get — a humble, hardworking basketball player who is genuinely grateful for every opportunity. Oh, and when he turns into a bodyguard in the background of Dusty’s postgame interviews — those were always fantastic as well.