Mike Boynton Jr. nearly completes coaching staff after retaining core of Dusty May regime
When Mike Boynton Jr. accepted the job as Michigan’s next head men’s basketball coach, his priorities were clear.
Before drawing up game plans or worrying about recruiting the next class, he first had to keep the roster intact. Right behind that came preserving as much of the program’s infrastructure as possible.
Considering the circumstances, Boynton has done an impressive job on both fronts.
Michigan retained the overwhelming majority of its roster following Dusty May’s departure to the NBA, and now Boynton is just one hire away from finalizing his coaching staff. With Brown head coach Mike Martin already joining the program and K.T. Harrell being promoted to an assistant coaching role, Michigan has one assistant coach opening remaining, along with its director of basketball operations position.
As things currently stand, Boynton’s assistant coaching staff consists of Kyle Church, Akeem Miskdeen, Martin and Harrell. That leaves just one assistant coaching position still to be filled before Michigan’s coaching staff is complete.
Speaking on Defend the Block this week, Boynton explained that building the staff hasn’t simply been about hiring talented coaches, it’s been about finding people who complemented one another.
“I lean on the things I’ve experienced both positively and negatively in my first opportunity to be a head coach,” Boynton said. “I probably didn’t know as well how to delegate, how to identify my own weaknesses and have people that can cover those for me.”
One of May’s greatest strengths during his two seasons in Ann Arbor was assembling one of college basketball’s most respected coaching staffs. While departures were inevitable — Justin Joyner accepted the Oregon State head coaching job and Drew Williamson followed May to Dallas — Michigan has managed to keep the backbone of that operation together.
“First and foremost, our strength and conditioning coach, Matt Aldred,” Boynton said. “He was as responsible as much as anybody for the growth and development of our players from a physical standpoint… Matt Aldred’s elite — I think one of the best in the country by far. He’s innovative, he’s very thoughtful, he’s thorough, he’s always thinking of ways to challenge these guys. So him being back was a major win, because he’s a highly sought-after person in the market.”
Boynton also praised Miskdeen, calling him “a high-level basketball thinker, really good talent developer, great recruiter, an all-around good person,” before emphasizing the importance of retaining Church.
“Kyle Church, who’s been an assistant and GM with us, obviously plays a critical role being that he handles responsibilities on both sides, both internally and externally,” Boynton said. “Him sticking around is going to be big for us.”
The Wolverines also retained director of analytics Jacob Kohn and special assistant Brandon Gilbert, giving Boynton continuity throughout nearly every corner of the program.
Perhaps the biggest internal move, however, is Harrell’s promotion, moving from director of basketball operations into an assistant coaching position.
“He’s been around the game, was the leading scorer in the SEC,” Boynton said. “It’ll get him a chance to get on the court with our guys, being able to teach and coach them and challenge them. He’s still younger, so he can get out there with them, and he can still hoop.”
Harrell has quietly become an important piece of Michigan’s operation, serving at Auburn before following May to Florida Atlantic and eventually Ann Arbor. Beyond handling operations, he has also been heavily involved in scouting opponents, making the transition to the court a natural next step.
The lone outside addition so far has been Martin, who arrives after spending 14 seasons leading Brown, where he became the winningest head coach in program history.
With only one assistant coach vacancy and the director of basketball operations role left to fill, Boynton has largely accomplished exactly what he set out to do. Rather than overhauling a program coming off a successful run under May, Michigan has opted for a smoother transition.
Considering how much continuity the Wolverines have maintained — both on the roster and on the staff — it’s hard to argue with that approach.
