Things move quickly in the modern era of college basketball. The transfer portal opened shortly after Michigan’s win in the National Championship just two short weeks ago. It officially closed last night, but there is still plenty to be sorted out.
Michigan is still awaiting decisions from Aday Mara, Morez Johnson Jr. and a couple targets in the portal. However, now that we know who the available pool of players officially are, we can assess who the best fits remaining may be.
Thiam visited Michigan earlier this week and would seem to be a direct replacement for Mara should he enter the NBA Draft. The fact he visited at all certainly indicates a Mara announcement could be coming soon. Moustapha is a 7-foot-2, 250-pound center originally out of Senegal. He played one season at UCF and one season at Cincinnati, where he started in every game for each.
Thiam is an elite rim-protector with a decent offensive game. He’s still a bit raw compared to Mara, but would fit seamlessly with Johnson (if he returns) and J.P. Estrella in the Michigan front court just as Mara did.
Thiam was projected to land at Michigan earlier this week by On3’s Joe Tipton as well.
The seemingly ageless Franck Kepnang was a part of the 2020 recruiting class, the same class as Cade Cunningham, Scottie Barnes, Nimari Burnett and others. Thanks to a litany of injuries, he still somehow has a year of eligibility left.
Franck spent two years at Oregon before playing four seasons at Washington. At 6-foot-11, Kepnang isn’t nearly as big as Thiam, but still displays an excellent rim-protection ability and rebounding game. He isn’t as much of an offensive threat as the other centers mentioned, but he would provide the rim protection that Dusty May desires at a minimum.
The recruitment of Juke Harris has been detailed ad nauseum on our site, and for good reason. Harris fits the scheme very, very well. He provides scoring punch at all levels and is a versatile enough defender to guard 1 through 4. Harris isn’t as versatile as Yaxel Lendeborg, but he’s the closest comparison in the portal, which is why he’s allegedly fetching such a ransom in NIL offers.
If Harris were to take on the Lendeborg role next year, he would likely be a more aggressive scorer while not being as solid of a passer. However, his ability to attack the basket would put immense pressure on opposing defenses.
Dwayne Aristode was a five-star recruit who came off the bench for Tommy Lloyd’s Arizona Wildcats this season before entering the portal. While he didn’t have a ton of production for Arizona, the traits and characteristics of his play match up perfectly with Michigan’s needs.
He is a lanky 6-foot-8 and can guard almost every position. He also hit 46 percent from deep this season. Admittedly, the sample size was small, but he has the potential to explode in usage and scoring in his second season of college basketball.
Anton Bonke is a mammoth of a man at 7-foot-2 and 260 pounds. What makes Bonke a good fit for Michigan is May’s appetite for players who have not maxed out their potential. He has flashed potential but isn’t consistent enough yet.
Bonke has a modern skillset in that while being incredibly tall, he has flashed the ability to shoot the three. He also has great touch and is an effective passer. He would have to work on his offensive footwork, but that’s something that can be accomplished this offseason.