transfers in

Just when we thought we were out, we pulled him back in! Tennessee big Olivier Nkamhoua just announced he's committed to Michigan.

This is, uh, *REALLY* big news for the basketball program, which was one wing from making the Tournament last year and has spent the offseason taking body blows. Nkamhoua led Tennessee's offense last year in overall usage, and was one of the best defensive pieces of the best defensive team in the country. His statistical profile is that of a do-everything four.

Michigan was in dire need of help in the frontcourt after losing Hunter Dickinson, and very seriously in need of guys who could soak up attention after losing both Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard to the draft, and expected portal replacement Caleb Love to our own transfer credits intransigence. If you're wondering why you don't remember Olivier from the Tournament game a few years back, he was hurt in the middle of that season. That was a big blow to those Vols, who had to lean hard on a freshman backcourt in his absence. 

Adding the Finnish forward now gives Michigan a serious defensive presence, and a major roll man and finisher at the rim, with adequate shooting, rebounding and spacing. Given the roster makeup, Nkamhoua is probably going to have to be their #2 scoring option, or more specifically the pick & roll game between him and rising sophomore PG Dug McDaniel will be the cornerstone of their offense. The career 36% three-point shooter can also step out about as effectively as Dickinson could.

More importantly it fixes one of the major holes in the roster, and gives fans hope of at least returning to the Tournament, though returning to contending for the Big Ten would still require a lot of work and/or major developments from the guys they return.

[Hit THE JUMP for a quick scouting report and how he fits]

Don Brown no longer works at Michigan but is still giving us a hand, or more specifically, his best cornerback. UMass transfer CB Josh Wallace announced this morning that he's committing to Michigan.

The grad transfer is on his (last) COVID season of eligibility. He has decent size but up-and-down grades on PFF over four seasons of starting at Amherst, the first three of those in the milquetoast Quarters/Cov2 system of Charlie Strong acolyte Tommy Restivo before Brown installed a more aggressive Cover 1 scheme. He was also a two-time captain. Wallace's other main consideration was a guarantee to play immediately at Virginia Tech; the other serious offers were from Oklahoma and Iowa.

In my limited scouting Wallace looks like a functional player but not a star, more long than tall, and excellent at press coverage versus UMass-caliber competition. Speed looks average for the Big Ten. His experience shows in run support; he's not a great individual tackler but a very sound team defender, responsible and strong enough to press an edge closed against the receivers he's played against. Those include Pitt's Jordan Addison in 2021, but UMass's coverages were so soft pre-Brown I couldn't take much away from that film. Alex Drain will have a more complete writeup later on today.

Projection:

Since Will Johnson had knee surgery after spring ball and "might" return in time for the opener, Wallace has a shot to start the season #1 on the depth chart. Amorion Walker was #2 in spring but is transitioning from wide receiver, and got the worst of a spring game battle with walk-on Peyton O'Leary. Ja'den McBurrows looked like their best non-Johnson CB in spring but has dealt with injuries his first two years on campus and hasn't been on the field. Touted Jyaire Hill is a true freshman. His classmate Cameron Calhoun and Johnson classmate Myles Pollard have thus far been behind veteran walk-on Keshaun Harris, if not 6th year special teamer German Green as well. Mike Sainristil is much more valuable to them at nickel, and his RS freshman understudy Kody Jones is supposed to be getting reps there to prepare for life after Sainristil.

There is no content after the jump.

Michigan asked the portal for a kicker and lo the portal has provided, as Saline native son James Turner announced he's transferring back home after a solid career at Louisville.

Turner has been Louisville's kicker since the 2020 season, when he was named All-ACC honorable mention (13/15, long 50) for the first time. The second time was 2022 (20/22, long 48). The in-between 2021 season he was 14/22 with a long of 46 and a couple of missed extra points. But don't be scared; #CollegeKickers can happen to anybody!

Since we're already into the 2023 recruiting posts I'm going to make this a profile/hello Frankenarticle.

Louisville transfer (HS: Saline, MI) – 6'0"/205
[via Twitter]		Kornblue:	not rated
		Kohl's	nope
		Chris Sailer        5-star	5* (of 6), #20 Kicker 4*, #113 Punter
		YMRMFSPA	KC Lopata
		Other Suitors	none
Previously On MGoBlog	Never.
Notes	Sr/5th. Grad transfer. Works w Chris Nendick
Film:
Can kick in the snow. Sailer's camp. FGs from 19, 32, 37, and 47, 47, 48, 49

While doing the opponent previews last summer we started to notice everyone in the Big Ten had a competent kicker now because you can just go get one in the portal. High school (for reasons discussed below) is terrible at identifying who's good or not, and colleges heretofore have resorted to taking a leg off the list of the few who went to camps, filling in behind them with walk-ons, and hoping one of them hits. The portal allows bigger schools to skip that step, letting the 100 smaller programs sift out the competent guys for them.

Michigan realized after spring ball that they needed better than asking their punter to do double-duty or hoping the freshman from Huron is a natural. Fortunately for them, Louisville's coach moved up to Cincinnati in the offseason before playing his new team in a bowl game, and wouldn't you know it, their very competent kicker from Saline was about to complete his degree. Nab!