Neither is shocking to see on this list. #GoBlue
Michigan basketball had a rollercoaster of an offseason: lost Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate to the draft, Brandon Johns and Zeb Jackson transferred out, and Michigan gained Joey BakerĀ from Duke and Youssef KhayatĀ from overseas.
Two other major things happened to the Wolverines involving the transfer portal this offseason and both appeared on 247Sports latest article talking about the eight most surprising decisions.
The first was the acquisition of Jaelin Llewellyn from Princeton.
There were some major game-changing point guards in the transfer portal, and Jaelin Llewellyn was certainly one of those gems. The Princeton star had a lengthy list of suitors, but Llewellyn was looking for a spot where he could start and have a featured role. Clemson seemed to check all those boxes. Llewellyn had little competition for the starting point guard job, and he could play alongside do-everything forwards PJ Hall and Hunter Tyson. It was a big win for Clemson when Llewellyn hopped on board.
But that commitment was short-lived. Michigan coach Juwan Howard has had great success with mid-major guards in each of the last two years (Mike Smith, DeVante’ Jones), so when the Wolverines got involved, Llewellyn quickly decommitted from Clemson and flipped to Michigan. That could turn out to be a major domino because Michigan looks ready to compete for a Big Ten Championship while Clemson’s backcourt has major questions.
“Itās been a historically great program,” Llewellyn said, via The Michigan Insider. “Theyāre used to winning basketball games. I wanna get to the tournament as bad as anybody. This is a team that has experience getting there, and they needed some experience at the guard position as well. It definitely helps that Ann Arborās only four and a half hours from my hometown, so my parents and friends and family can come by and watch more games than my previous years at Princeton and Virginia in high school as well.”
Llewellyn was a three-year starter at Princeton and has never made it to the NCAA Tournament, which was a big factor into his decision to go to Michigan. He averaged 15.7 points, four rebounds, and 2.5 assists-per-game last year for the Tigers. What will help the Wolverines this upcoming season is his 3-point shooting: the senior guard shoots nearly 39% from deep.
Llewellyn, when he committed, was expected to play the 2-guard with the Wolverines, since they had Frankie Collins. Collins ended the 2021 campaign strong and showed flashes as to why he was highly touted coming out of high school, but things quickly changed for Juwan Howard once the former Tiger came on board.
Frankie Collins quickly entered his name into the transfer portal in a very shocking development. 247Sports had this in its top eight.
Things in the transfer portal can flip on a dime. Michigan learned that lesson. Llewellyn hopped on board April 29, and sophomore point guard Frankie Collins entered the transfer portal the very next day. He was a “free agent” for less than a week before landing with Bobby Hurleyand Arizona State. Collins looked poised for a monster role at Michigan after a strong close to his freshman season. His teammates were raving about the player he was going to be next season. But after Juwan Howard chose to bring in another guard, Collins quickly felt it was in his best interest to look for something else. Arizona State can provide a spot for Collins to potentially start and play a ton, so that makes a lot of sense. But Collins seemed very locked into Michigan until Llewellyn’s commitment.
“When the opportunity arises ā and there were other guys along the way whose names pop up, because there are no longer secrets, right? But I do think people wonder,” Michigan assistant coach Phil Martelli said, via The Michigan Insider. “So his family would ask a question. Full transparency in this program, they got answers. And as it moved it forward with the young guy Jaelin coming in, it was, āOkay, thereās gonna be a hard conversation.ā Weāre delighted for [Collins]. There is no closing the door and throwing darts. Nope. Nope. This isnāt for everybody, nor is everybody for us. Thatās the way I would put it.ā
What was supposed to be a very solid backcourt for Michigan for 2022, will now look entirely different. Not only will Llewellyn have to shift to point guard next season, but the Wolverines will be looking at either Kobe Bufkin or incoming freshman Jett Howard to step into the shooting guard role.
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