Coming off a visit to Ann Arbor on Monday, Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam has reportedly committed to Dusty May and the Michigan Wolverines.
Cincinnati's 7-foot-2 center Moustapha Thiam has committed to play for the reigning NCAA champion Michigan Wolverines, he tells ESPN. Thiam averaged 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks last season and serves as a major transfer portal pickup for coach Dusty May.
Thiam is a native of Dakar, Senegal and played his prep basketball at DME Academy in Florida. He was a top-50 high school recruit who was at UCF his first year in college before transferring to Cincinnati for his sophomore year. Now he’s headed to his third school in three years after Bearcats’ head coach Wes Miller was fired.
The 7-foot-2, 250-pound sophomore averaged 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks this past season for the Bearcats. He shot 52.5 percent from the field and made 38 three-pointers in two college seasons (29 percent). Thiam is still pretty raw as a player, especially offensively, but with steady improvement the past two seasons, May saw an opportunity to land another 7-footer via the portal and to try and elevate his game.
Michigan sets up visit for #3 transfer portal center from Cincinnati, Moustapha ThiamThiam had 28 in Cincinnati’s win at Kansas last season. pic.twitter.com/uXDsAK7GLP
Just like how May was able to scout Aday Mara from the other team’s bench last season when Michigan went to UCLA, the Wolverines were able to do the same with Thiam. In an exhibition game at Michigan on Oct. 17, Thiam scored 15 points in a 100-98 win for Cincinnati.
Fast forward to Monday, when On3’s Joe Tipton “called his shot” on several players in the transfer portal and predicted the Wolverines would eventually land Thiam’s commitment. Not long after, that prediction turned into a reality.
Thiam is ranked as the No. 13 overall player in the portal and the No. 3 center, according to 247Sports.
Stay with Maize n Brew as transfer portal season continues. And be sure to bookmark our portal tracker!