Michigan Basketball just landed a game-changer in the transfer portal, and fans in Ann Arbor have every reason to be excited. Moustapha Thiam, the 7-foot-2 center from Cincinnati, is bringing his towering presence and proven skills to the Wolverines—and we've broken down the film to show you exactly what he adds to the roster.
After Michigan's National Championship run, head coach Dusty May wasted no time hitting the transfer portal. With the portal opening moments after the final buzzer, May faced a critical challenge: rebuilding a roster with major uncertainty around his star players' futures. The biggest question mark? 7-foot-3 center Aday Mara, who's projected as a potential lottery pick in the NBA Draft. That left May searching for his next big man—and he made it clear every top-tier big in the portal was on his radar.
"Obviously every big guy that went in the portal became our list," May explained. "Literally 100 percent of the high-major bigs were on our list because we didn't know what Mara and Morez Johnson Jr. were going to do. You just have to put yourself in as many positions as you can to be successful."
After a few weeks of searching, May found his guy in Thiam—a player making his third stop in three seasons. The Senegal native started his career at UCF, where he was a four-star recruit and started 34 games as a freshman, averaging 10.4 points, 6.4 rebounds, and an impressive 2.6 blocks per game. He then transferred to Cincinnati, where he earned All-Big 12 honorable mention last season after starting 31 games. Thiam ranked second on the Bearcats in both scoring (12.8 points per game) and rebounding (7.1 per game), while leading the team with 50 blocks—marking his second straight season reaching that milestone.
What does this mean for Michigan? On film, Thiam is a defensive anchor with a 7-foot-6 wingspan that disrupts shots and controls the paint. His ability to protect the rim—averaging over two blocks per game in each of the last two seasons—will be a huge asset for the Wolverines. Offensively, he's a reliable scorer in the post and has shown growth as a finisher around the basket. During a late-season surge for Cincinnati, Thiam averaged nearly 20 points and 10 rebounds over a six-game stretch, earning national attention and a spot on the CBS Sports Big Board.
For Michigan fans, Thiam represents more than just a replacement—he's a proven, high-major talent ready to compete at the highest level. Whether you're a die-hard Wolverine or just love the game, this is a player to watch closely next season.