Tag: michigan-basketball

Michigan basketball C Hunter Dickinson announces transfer decision

Best of luck to him.

It was a shock to the system in Ann Arbor when Michigan basketball center Hunter Dickinson, the engine of the team the past three years, was announced to be staying in the college ranks — but not with the Wolverines.

The expectation was that Dickinson would return for his senior season, fueled by NIL — but name, image, and likeness seem to be the reason why the star center opted to find a new opportunity via the NCAA transfer portal.

After entering the portal, Dickinson had several options on the table. Kansas appeared to be recruiting him the hardest, Maryland — which now has his former high school coach from DeMatha on-staff — was a strong option, Kentucky threw its hat into the ring, as did Villanova. And then there was also the possibility of a return to Michigan.

But only one school could win out. And that school ended up being Kansas.

Dickinson technically has two seasons of eligibility remaining, as his freshman season — 2020-21 — was the COVID year.

After starting 89-straight games for the Wolverines, Dickinson’s departure was abrupt and shocking. He burst onto the scene his freshman season as the AP Newcomer of the Year, Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and a member of the Big Ten All-Freshman team. He was a two-time All-Big Ten first-team member (2021, 2023), and a second-team All-American in 2021. He’s also a two-time Academic All-Big Ten member. He’s 12th all-time in points for a Wolverine, 10th in rebounds, and sixth in double-doubles. He’s seventh in blocks with 149.

With Dickinson gone, Tarris Reed Jr. will need to step up into the center role in his upcoming sophomore season.

Though the Wolverines lost a lot via the transfer portal, it also brought in three players, including former five-star point guard Caleb Love, former four-star combo guard Nimari Burnett, and former four-star forward Tray Jackson.

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Former Michigan basketball F Gregg Glenn chooses transfer destination

Best of luck.

There was a ton of hope when Michigan basketball landed Gregg Glenn III in the 2022 recruiting class. Glenn had all the big-time offers you want to see, especially from a Florida native: Alabama, Florida, Florida State, Oklahoma State and LSU. He chose the Wolverines.

The former four-star and top-100 recruit entered the transfer portal after his long season in Ann Arbor didn’t go as planned. He joined Hunter Dickinson, Kobe Bufkin, Jett Howard and Isaiah Barnes as departing players by either the portal or entering the NBA draft.

On Tuesday, Glenn made his decision on a new school. According to Jeff Goodman, Glenn is headed to Tulane where he will have four years of eligibility.

He played in four games this past season with the maize and blue where he averaged 1.5 points during that span. He had a career-high of two points in three different games.

Michigan has landed some key players in the portal to replenish the cupboard and there is still hope, as of this writing, the Wolverines may get Hunter Dickinson back in the fold.

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Michigan basketball loses another to the NCAA transfer portal

Bummer. #GoBlue

It’s been quite the offseason for attrition and addition for Michigan basketball.

The maize and blue added former five-star point guard Caleb Love, combo guard Nimari Burnett and forward Tray Jackson via the transfer portal. But, the Wolverines lost Hunter Dickinson (who has yet to decide where he’s going) via the portal, Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin to the draft, and Joey Baker lost his appeal for added eligibility. Jaelin Llewellyn is still in the ether, apparently.

Now, another forward appears to be on his way out. A freshman this past year, forward Gregg Glenn III appeared in only four games, thus retaining his redshirt. But he’ll seek greener pastures elsewhere, hitting the transfer portal himself.

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A former four-star from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Glenn could have had a bigger opportunity in 2023-24. With Glenn departing, Michigan has two open spots on the roster.

Glenn will have four full years of eligibility at his next school of choice.

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Hunter Dickinson to visit another powerhouse on transfer tour

The chances he comes back to #Michigan appear to be getting slimmer.

The hope that Michigan basketball star center Hunter Dickinson will eschew his original decision to enter the NCAA transfer portal and return to Ann Arbor appears to be getting slimmer and slimmer.

The Wolverines reportedly still retain a shot to retain the 7-footer, but after visiting Maryland and Kansas, the notion became more far-fetched. And on Thursday, another contender entered the fold.

According to On3 basketball recruiting guru and insider Joe Tipton, Dickinson will add to his list of growing suitors that he’ll visit, with Lexington now on the list. He will now reportedly visit Kentucky starting late this upcoming weekend.

Dickinson is the top player in the transfer portal on the basketball side this cycle. Kansas appears to be wooing him hardest, but Maryland has his former high school head coach now on staff as an assistant.

Kentucky isn’t quite as dominant these past few years as it was under John Calipari, but if it’s able to convince Dickinson, certainly that could change in a hurry.

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Michigan basketball recruit requests release from letter of intent

Not a shocker, but still a bummer.

There has been doubt for some time that Michigan basketball would retain four-star center Papa Kante from the 2023 recruiting class.

On Tuesday morning, that became a reality.

The 6-foot-10 center tweeted he was requesting a release of the letter of intent he signed to play for the Wolverines next season. Kante was one of two players Michigan signed for the 2023 class. The other is four-star guard George Washington. Kante was the 107th-ranked player in the nation according to 247Sports Composite.

Kante came to the United States from Senegal and played high school ball at South Kent Prep School in Connecticut.

With the release of Kante, Michigan has two available scholarships to hand out for next season. The Wolverines are after a few players from the transfer portal, and are still in the mix to bring back center Hunter Dickinson.

Michigan now has one true center on the roster for next season, Tarris Reed Jr. The Wolverines desperately need to reel in someone to help Reed next season at the 5 if the maize and blue are unable to sway Dickinson back to Ann Arbor.

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Michigan basketball star C Hunter Dickinson sets up official visit to blue blood

Not great.

The news that rocked Ann Arbor last month wasn’t anything football related. It was the revelation that star center Hunter Dickinson would neither enter the NBA draft nor return to Michigan basketball. He was entering the NCAA transfer portal instead.

The rumors were he would likely follow his high school basketball coach from DeMatha, who is now an assistant at Maryland. Georgetown, which is near his native Maryland, in Washington D.C., also appeared to be an option. But one powerhouse program apparently covets Dickinson in the worst way, as Bill Self and Kansas are working to bring him to Lawrence.

Dickinson is apparently visiting the Jayhawks next week.

Kansas basketball is set to get a visit from the No. 1 player in the 247Sports NCAA transfer portal rankings next week. Multiple sources tell Phog.net that Michigan transfer Hunter Dickinson will take an official visit to Kansas late next week. The visit is expected to begin next Thursday. News of the visit was first reported to Phog.net VIP subscribers on Thursday evening. It will likely be Dickinson’s first official visit. He is set to take unofficial visits to Georgetown and Maryland this weekend.

Michigan will have another shot to bring him back to Ann Arbor, which isn’t completely unheard of. Kofi Cockburn, Illinois’ star center, briefly entered the transfer portal before returning to Champaign. Though it seems unlikely the same will happen for the Wolverines and Dickinson, it can’t be ruled out until he enrolls at his next school of choice.

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247Sports: Could Juwan Howard leave Michigan basketball for Detroit Pistons?

Any #Michigan fan can tell you the answer real quick. #GoBlue

It’s that time of the year again, when — like what happens with football coach Jim Harbaugh in December — think pieces come out linking Michigan basketball head coach Juwan Howard to NBA jobs.

Howard and Michigan are coming off a very disappointing season. The Wolverines may have two first-round NBA draft picks, but they missed the NCAA Tournament couldn’t do anything in the lowly NIT last month.

Despite that, Howard appears to be a hot name in NBA coaching circles.

247Sports put out a piece on Tuesday morning discussing hot names for NBA coaching jobs. Along with Jerry Stackhouse, Howard was the  prominent name discussed by author Eric Bossi. Bossi thinks a move just down the road to the Detroit Pistons makes sense for the Wolverines’ head man.

Stackhouse isn’t the only current college head coach getting some recent buzz either. Michigan’s Juwan Howard, the guy he beat in the NIT this year (and a former teammate of his with the Dallas Mavericks), is getting some buzz for the Pistons post and other jobs as well.

Like Stackhouse, Howard is highly regarded and well-respected in NBA circles — he comes with the LeBron James stamp of approval — and we are just a year removed from the Lakers exploring him as a coach. While no former offer was ever made, many believe Howard would have had a legitimate chance at the job if he wouldn’t have been preparing to coach not one, but two, of his sons on the 2022-23 Michigan team. With his youngest Jett Howard off to the NBA after his freshman year along with big man Hunter Dickinson hitting the portal and sophomore Kobe Bufkin‘s surprise departure for the NBA, there is behind-the-scenes chatter that Howard is much more open to a potential change than he was this time a year ago.

This is Howard’s biggest offseason, as echoed by 247Sports’ Isaac Trotter, who writes: “Would it surprise anyone if the Pistons brass reached out to Howard to gauge his interest? Will the Michigan Man rectify this plight? Or should he jump to try his luck with a Cade Cunningham-Jaden Ivey backcourt?“

We’ve said it before, and we’ll say it again: Michigan means something to Juwan Howard. For coaches that don’t have strong ties to their alma mater in the way that Howard has to U-M, sure, it makes sense that they’re keeping their eye on the next level.

Could Howard depart? It’s possible, especially with Jett Howard, his son, moving onto the NBA. But Jace is still on the roster, for one, and it would take a lot of frustration with NIL and the college basketball landscape to pry him away from his beloved Wolverines.

Sure, there is precedent, kind of — John Beilein had those frustrations and bolted for the Cleveland Cavaliers job, unceremoniously. (Beilein is currently in the Pistons’ front office.) But it’s beyond unlikely Howard moves on, unless he received some kind of indication from the athletics department that it’s in his best interest.

So, it’s likely another year, another baseless rumor coming from a mill that loves to put Harbaugh back into the NFL and Howard back into the NBA. Because some cannot even envision that a coach would want to be at their alma mater if there are pro options available.

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Michigan basketball’s Jumpman Invitational opponent is revealed for 2023

Should be a good one! #GoBlue

The 2022 NCAA basketball season featured the first annual Jumpman Invitational.

The tournament is played in Charlotte at the Spectrum Center and it hosted both men’s and women’s college teams. The four teams that participated last season were Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Florida.

In 2022, the Michigan men’s team got beat by the Tar Heels 80-76, but the Wolverines’ lady squad took down North Carolina.

According to Jon Rothstein, all four teams are set to play in the tournament once again in 2023. The invitational features four programs that are outfitted with the “Air Jordan” brand.

In 2023, the maize and blue will take on the Florida Gators in the premier tournament. Michigan has faced Florida three times in program history. The maize and blue are 2-1 against the Gators and have defeated them the last two times — both times being in the NCAA Tournament.

Michigan nor Flordia made the Big Dance this past season, and both will be looking for early marquee wins this season to pad their resumes before conference games begin.

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Michigan basketball scholarship distribution after transfer portal additions

What should #Michigan do with the remaining spot?

Division I basketball teams are allowed to have 13 full-ride scholarship players on the roster.

Each team goes through attrition, although some go through more than others. It feels like Michigan basketball has gone through more in the past two seasons than it usually does. The maize and blue lost players to the transfer portal and two players to the NBA draft, but Juwan Howard has a few new faces coming into the fold for the 2023-2024 season.

Michigan has the 39th-ranked recruiting class for the 2023 cycle, according to 247Sports composite. While coach Howard has just two commits in the class, he has an intriguing transfer class coming in. The Wolverines have the No. 2 incoming transfer class according to the composite.

We are going to show you which players left, who’s back and what the scholarship situation looks like for the maize and blue.

Michigan basketball G Joey Baker makes decision about future

Interesting. #GoBlue

Michigan basketball has had a big few weeks of late, having brought in several players via the transfer portal: former five-star Caleb Love and former four-stars Nimari Burnett and Tray Jackson.

However, the Wolverines also lost Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin to the NBA draft, though either could return if he doesn’t hire an agent. Hunter Dickinson inexplicably entered the transfer portal.

One name (of two) the program had been wondering about is Joey Baker, the former Duke guard who transferred in last year. The team had been trying to get him a sixth year of eligibility, but it appears he’s moving on after all.

Now all eyes will turn to the other player who transferred in last offseason, point guard Jaelin Llewellyn, who was injured early in the season and didn’t reach his potential. With fellow point guards, Dug McDaniel and the aforementioned Love, on the roster, it perhaps answers that question before Llewellyn makes his own public.

This past season, Baker was a role player off the bench, averaging 16.4 minutes per game, with 5.7 points per game and 2.2 rebounds per contest.

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