Around The Horns: Colin Castleton Enters Transfer Portal, Jace Howard to Walk On
Jace Howard to Walk On
The first bit of major roster news to break last night was TMI's Josh Henschke reporting that Jace Howard will join the program as a walk-on. This isn't a major surprise—his dad is the head coach and once signed the then-biggest contract in NBA history—and it opens up a scholarship while Michigan pursues Josh Christopher and grad transfers.
That news got superceded in the witching hour, however.
Colin Castleton Enters Transfer Portal
Castleton had a hard time getting off the bench as the season went on [Campredon]
Michigan's offseason approach foreshadowed unexpected attrition and that describes Colin Castleton's decision to put his name in the transfer portal, news that broke after midnight. Castleton's departure leaves two traditional centers, redshirt senior Austin Davis and blue chip freshman Hunter Dickinson, on scholarship for next year's team.
Castleton's transfer didn't come entirely out of left field. After beginning last season as Jon Teske's primary backup, Castleton fell behind Davis not long after Michigan's early-season schedule got difficult; the skinny sophomore needed another year before he'd be ready to match up with the bigger and stronger competition. Relegated to garbage time and the occasional two-big lineup, he cracked double-digit minutes only once after the calendar flipped to 2020, and that came in a Rutgers game Isaiah Livers missed to injury.
While our maxim of never giving up on big men applies to Castleton, between the declining minutes, playing for a coach that didn't recruit him, Davis's return for a redshirt senior year, and the addition of Dickinson, it's understandable why he'd seek another opportunity.
While Castleton's departure leaves Michigan with two true bigs, they have plenty of flexibility with the current projected roster. Brandon Johns ended up playing more at center than Castleton by the end of the season and should only be better suited for that role with another season of experience. Isaiah Livers, should he take his name out of the draft, played a little small-ball center under Beilein. Incoming freshman Isaiah Todd, should he remain in the class, has the potential to be a switchable nightmare against certain lineups.
Castleton never seemed to mesh with what Juwan Howard wanted out of his center. I still like Castleton's talent but it makes sense that he'd look to utilize it in another system. Michigan, meanwhile, should be able to absorb the hit if they don't have too many more departures, and we'll see if Castleton's exit spurs them to look at a grad transfer big man.
[Hit THE JUMP for the current scholarship situation and the potential roster developments.]
Two! Two Scholarships! Ah Ah Ah
After yesterday, plus the earlier transfer portal entry of David DeJulius, the scholarship chart looks a lot different. Michigan now has two spots they can fill for next season.
| Scholarship | 2020-21 | 2021-22 | 2022-23 | 2023-24 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A. Davis (RS Sr.) | B. Johns (Sr.) | C. Bajema (Sr.) | H. Dickinson (Sr.) |
| 2 | E. Brooks (Sr.) | A. Nunez (Sr.) | F. Wagner (Sr.) | Z. Jackson (Sr.) |
| 3 | I. Livers (Sr.) | C. Bajema (Jr.) | H. Dickinson (Jr.) | I. Todd (Sr.) |
| 4 | B. Johns (Jr.) | F. Wagner (Jr.) | Z. Jackson (Jr.) | T. Williams (Sr.) |
| 5 | A. Nunez (Jr.) | H. Dickinson (So.) | I. Todd (Jr.) | |
| 6 | C. Bajema (So.) | Z. Jackson (So.) | T. Williams (Jr.) | |
| 7 | F. Wagner (So.) | I. Todd (So.) | ||
| 8 | H. Dickinson (Fr.) | T. Williams (So.) | ||
| 9 | Z. Jackson (Fr.) | |||
| 10 | I. Todd (Fr.) | |||
| 11 | T. Williams (Fr.) | |||
| 12 | OPEN | |||
| 13 | OPEN |
There could still be more attrition, of course. Everyone will feel much better about Todd's wild ride if/when he's on campus. Livers is gone if he gets the promise of a guaranteed NBA contract, though that's far from a certainty. If you squint, you can maybe find one more potential playing time transfer, though the recent departures have alleviated a lot of the roster crunch.
The Available Options
Five-star shooting guard Josh Christopher is the favorite to fill one of those two open spots. Here's how our own Matt D. felt about that situation in his most recent update:
This is the most optimistic I’ve been with regard to Josh Christopher, I’d peg the chances at 70/30 for the L.A. native suiting up for Juwan Howard next year as of today.
You're never going to get much more optimistic than that with a five-star because of the automatic "these recruitments are often bananas" hedging. With DeJulius out of the picture, Christopher has an even better chance to step in and be the team's high-usage lead guard from day one.
We'll learn about some additional guard depth later today when Harvard grad transfer Bryce Aiken makes his much-anticipated decision. He'll announce his choice from a final four of Iowa State, Maryland, Michigan, and Seton Hall at 1 pm. Most of the chatter around the New Jersey native has him staying close to home at Seton Hall. [UPDATE: As expected, Aiken is going to Seton Hall.]
If Aiken goes elsewhere, that leaves Columbia's Mike Smith as the top available grad transfer target who's reported contact from Michigan. The 5'11" point guard would be the most proven distributor on the roster and add someone capable of handling a high workload as a ballhandler. He's been asked to carry bad Columbia squads and done well with the situation—not having to a put a team on his back could be a boon to his scoring efficiency, which is in okay-but-not-great territory. He's definitely a bucket-getter.
Once the roster takes firmer shape, I'll take another stab at projecting the rotation. It feels silly to try that right now when there's going to be at least one addition to the rotation and attrition is still on the table.
Of note Re: Isaiah Todd, this post from last night about something he said on IG Live:
Of course this recruitment seems to have more twists than Tiger King so who knows.
Yeah, I saw that. I figured between that and the social media profile stuff from earlier in the week, it was easiest to just imply some uncertainty and leave it to people who want to get into the details to find them. In general, the social media stuff involves so much silliness and misdirection (which I don't blame the prospects for one bit, to be clear, I'd be doing the exact same thing) that I try to keep it out of discussing prospects unless it's absolutely necessary.
As you said, who knows.
Todd's recruitment, especially recently, reminds me of today's weather. It was sunny this morning, then overcast, then it hailed for 45 seconds, then it's sunny again.
I thought Castleton was going to be great, but this past season it felt like you could still see him thinking through things on the court. The "unconsciously competent" light that Beilein spoke of still hadn't turned on for him. Same was true for DJ Wilson until it popped on during his Jr year.
I still think Castleton could be really good if that happens. Might help him to go to a mid major so he can think less and just let his natural abilities take over.
I agree with the DJ comparison for Colin. The big question of course is whether he would be capable of making the huge leap that DJ did in his 3rd year. Unfortunately we will have to watch that play out elsewhere.
"This isn't a major surprise—his dad is the head coach"
Say what? Haven't the writers here said all along that guys offered scholarships at D1 schools don't walk on at other schools?
We've been saying all along here that Jace Howard joining the team as a walk-on was a distinct possibility.
I don't know why people keep assuming Jace's other offers were scholarships. According to UM Hoops, his other finalists were Princeton and Brown. Ivy League schools only offer need-based aid - no merit (read athletic) scholarships. I doubt the Howard family would qualify for need-based aid (even at an Ivy).
Precisely - there are no athletic scholarships in the Ivy and he wouldn't get any need-based aid from those schools. They would take one look at his father's net worth and charge him full tuition.
I always wondered if there weren't other suitors because other coaches/ programs didn't even bother to recruit him because they knew he was going to Michigan. And I wondered if Princeton and Brown were only in the mix for academic reasons. I think he'll be a fine player but Michigan was potentially in a scenario where they would be using a scholarship on a kid who didn't get offers from anywhere else and whose father is the coach and a millionaire - potentially at the risk of scaring off other recruits who need the scholarship.
If there are extra scholarships lying around - fine, I don't have a problem with him getting one. But, if there is a scholarship crunch going on, then yes I think it makes sense for him to walk on and pay in-state tuition (a deal compared to Brown and Princeton at full price!)
I don't think his offers reflect how good of a player he is. He isn't a superstar but he's rated higher than MAAR was. So I don't think we would have been using a scholarship on a player that was particularly worse than some guys Beilein used scholarships on.
Mike Smith looks like a poor man's DDJ. I don't think we need another ball dominant PG. I think that's just what we are programmed to believe we need from JB's coaching days. Juwan is looking to speed up the pace and Christopher fits that roll better then anyone. Give me Christopher and Greg Brown as the last 2 scholarships and Todd making it on campus. Who cares what positions they play it'll be exciting as hell. Expect lots of turnovers but also lots of lob dunks, blocks and flexing.
Greg Brown is not happening.
I'm beyond stir crazy/cabin feverish and want to believe outrageous things can happen. Reality is becoming blurry so please let me enjoy thinking he'll commit for a few more weeks. I'll deal with the disappointment later...
We have zero true PG's on the roster for next year. We 100% need a guy like Smith for depth purposes alone. Brooks could easily start and be productive next to Christopher, but then what? What if there is an injury. I would gladly take Smith.
Yeah, we really do need a quality true point. Losing DDJ really hurts. Team will still be very good, but without a quality true point the team is a top 25 team instead of a top 10 team IMO.
Looking at the potential scholarship situation over the next few years, 2 things jump out to me.
1. If Juwan is able to hold onto Todd, sign Christopher, Livers comes back, and add a grad transfer PG, next year's team is gonna be gooooood. Sky is the limit for that team. I'm not sure if all of those things will happen, but I think it's fair to say that there is a better than 50% chance for each one of them to happen individually.
2. If the above takes place, we will be replacing A TON of bodies the following season. We'd lose 4 seniors (Livers, Brooks, Davis, and grad transfer) and likely 3 early draft entrants (Christopher, Todd, and Franz). Will be interesting to see if Juwan can keep the recruiting momentum up next year and bring in another great class.
Agreed. The good news is that even in that scenario, a solid core would still be returning (presumably) in Dickinson, Johns, Bajema, Jackson and Williams (plus Nunez). Plus whatever recruits are added to that. So still solid if not deep.
Two concerns:
For Austin Davis - covid is likely delaying what was already going to be a long rehab - when will he be available? Not a huge concern if both Livers and Todd are on the roster. But if one/both are not, then depth/flexibility take a big hit.
Relying on a grad transfer to play significant minutes. I thought Simmons was going to be awesome in Beilein's system but that didn't work out. Not sure who our main distributor will be. I don't have a sense of Jackson's college-readiness, Brooks isn't a long-term answer at point, and Christopher is a 2-guard if he comes.
But in general - if what you outline happens, yeah it is going to be a fun team to watch.
What is Austin Davis rehabbing? Did I miss a major injury announcement?
He is supposed to have shoulder surgery. And I thought I saw a comments sting it is typically a long rehab.
MGoDoctors on here were speculating that he was playing through a torn labrum last season.
I'll tell you, perhaps I'm off with this but Mike Smith feels like Jaaron Simmons 2.0, hope I'm wrong.
I think the point is to keep expectations in check. Don't assume that whatever grad transfer point guard who comes in is going to be a starter and take 25 minutes a game. Bringing in Smith would allow for 10-15 minutes a game of solid and consistent play at PG. That can do wonders for a team with Final Four aspirations.
And besides, it was always going to be tough for SImmons to come into Beilein's system and take control off the jump. Howard =/= Beilein, and Smith =/= Simmons.
That's a good point, thanks for that perspective.
The year Jaaron Simmons played for us he was a rotation player and we went to the NCAA championship game. So that actually worked out pretty well in terms of depth, even if he wasn't a star.
If for whatever reason Isaiah Todd does not end up at Michigan, I'd love to go after Haarms. I don't think Dickinson will be ready for important minutes his first year and Davis is really only effective in certain matchups. Haarms would be a great rim protector on a team that doesn't really have one.
Fair point. Not saying that would not be a solid add but it seems at the very least that Dickinson can be a rim protector. Maybe not at the minutes needed but at least for spot minutes. He has the size and bulk unlike many bigs that arrive.
There's almost no chance Haarms left Purdue to have basically the same limited role for one year at another conference school.
Wow, this just made me realize we're gonna need a huge class for 2021. Probably a 7 man class
Hopefully we can really pull in some guys from a talented in state year for recruiting.
Just hopeful thinking, but maybe Jett Howard could reclassify to fill a spot
Yeah, Caslteton and DDJ leaving really hurts for 2021 when they could / should have been solid veterans.
I thought Castleton would be the starter this coming season, at least early on. Now, I am very nervous about the center position. We now have two traditional post players, one is a talented freshman with no experience and the other is a redshirt senior with talent limitations. We might be lucky to get 25-30 quality nightly minutes from them. The small ball options, as a every game necessity, does not calm my fears.
Why would you feel better about Castleton than Davis? Castleton was a no show last season. Got pushed around constantly whenever he was in the game. Davis on the other hand made the most of his minutes by being very productive and a physical presence in the paint.
Did I say I felt better about Castleton than Davis?
I love Austin Davis, always have, even when he was struggling. My concern is that we will only have 2 true centers on the team and neither gives me confidence that they can provide 20-30 minutes a night on a team that could have a high ceiling.
Because Castleton has much higher upside. We've seen lights go one for bigs many times in their third (DJ Wilson) or even fourth (Davis) years.
We know Davis can't play more than 10 min a game. I wouldn't count on Dickenson being good for more than that as a freshman either. It was certainly possible that Castleton could have been a starter.
Michigan is going to use a lot of Johns and/or Todd at the five now. That might be fine but having the chance of a Castleton breakout might have been nice.
FWIW, Aiken committed to Seton Hall
This makes getting Smith almost a necessity now. Unless another PG miraculously falls out of the trees.
I really thought Castleton would start next year. Davis has vastly improved but he still has a hard ceiling. He’s not going to be a guy that can play 25+ mpg. I know Dickenson is the new shiny object and everyone loves a talented freshman projecting him to immediately be an impact player but I just don’t see it. Freshman bigs have a rough time, especially for Michigan in the B1G where I predict him getting called for a ridiculous amount of fouls. I think a good expectation is to be similar to Azubuike. They were rated similar coming out of HS, top 5 centers just outside of early entry territory, and Azubuike played only 13 mpg as a freshman and scored 5 ppg. That’s what I’m hoping for from Hunter.
Trying to come up with a narrative that explains all this roster moves: maybe Todd heard Livers was coming back, saw a log jam at the 4 with both Livers and Johns and at the 5 with 3 centers. So he kind of over reacted a bit and deleted everything Michigan. Then the coaches talked to him and decided they want to play Johns at the 5 and open up more time for Todd. Todd is a guy you figure out a way to get him on the court, so in doing so the coaches nudged Castleton our the door. Meaning Johns will start at the 5 (again I don’t see Davis and Dickenson as eating a lot of minutes there) and Livers and Todd can play the wing. As ace points out Juwan was more likely to play Johns at 5 than Castleton by the end of the year. And so you get smaller in this situation but you also shift minutes away from a trio of solid but unremarkable centers into the wings where you have the most talent.
The whole roster shakeup has not gone as I had expected, but I trust that Howard knows what he is doing and is making the right decisions for us to be successful.
Johns will play a lot of 5 next year, maybe even start there. Todd might too.
I'm surprised about Castleton too but the only explanation is that they like Johns better at the 5 than Castleton. And I can see that.
Yeah Im good with Johns starting at the 5. He shoots 10 percentage points higher from 3 than Teske.
I thought he should have been playing more five last year as the backup to Teske against stretch fives instead of Davis. He can pick and pop, he can protect the rim. He needs to get more disciplined with his help but he showed flashes at the five against Oregon and (I think) either Wisconsin or Maryland or OSU.
It could be more simply explained. It's possible that Davis wasn't offered his 5th year until after Castleton told Howard he had decided to transfer. The timing of the two public announcements does not necessarily reflect the order the decisions were made.
True. There doesnt have to be reasons to any of these decisions. I just tried tying the Todd stuff into it. It seemed weird to me that he was all set to come to Michigan, made those tiktok videos with his classmates, then all of the sudden deleted everything Michigan related. Seemed like a knee jerk reaction from a high school kid to me. And now he's saying hes coming to Michigan again. But yes I am assigning causes to things that may have none.
Don't see much difference in Mike Smith than Zavier Simpson or DeJulius. In fact, DeJulias, I thought showed great promise at season's end, so if Aiken has chosen Seton Hall, and Smith is the next top guy at point guard, he is just Zavier reconstituted perhaps without the defensive capability that both Z and DDJ regularly demonstrated.
Just don't see why DDJ didn't want to stick around. If size at pg was the sticking point or issues for critics, Zavier satisfied most expectations of his position at a high level. Every guy has flaws, but under Beilein Michigan developed that position better than most programs ever do. And I thought DDJ was a natural upgrade from Zavier. Bring in a new guy to run the show also changes the growth timeline for any team regardless of your talent level.
I can see why DDJ transferred. He wasn't going to start next year and probably wasn't going to get more minutes than he got this year. And then he would have had to hold off a sophomore Zeb to be the starter as a senior. I can see the desire to move on now.
I am more surprised by Castleton who did seem to have a better shot at starting next year. He only had to beat out a 5th year guy that is not going to be able to play big minutes and a freshman.
Part of being a college BBall coach in this day and age is thinking about the scholarship situation year around, and planning for transfers. So Howard knew Michigan was going to be short a scholarship or two, depending upon the Livers and Wagner prospects for going pro. The coaching staff had to be thinking about this quite a bit and feeling out the players as to whether they might want to transfer if playing time prospects looked bleak. Castleton was likely known to be a goner very early in 2020. DDJ was probably a surprise until a couple of weeks ago when Michigan started looking for a grad transfer. It's quite an elaborate dance, with 5 stars, NBA prospects, 5th year seniors, and the transfer portal all coming into play. If everything falls into place it's a miracle.
Is there any chance there is a wildcard recruit or grad transfer flying under the radar that has not been publicly identified yet? Do we think DeJulius and Castleton were nudged a bit to help make room, or did this 100% on their own accord because they legitimately saw greener pastures or just didn't want to be there anymore?
With DeJulius it seems that he did this on his own. Thus, Michigan started looking in the last couple of weeks at transfers from Ivy League schools. These potential transfers are not wildcard recruits, they're obvious attempts to shore up a last minute area of need. With regard to Castleton, the writing's been on the wall since Davis was invited back, regardless of who initiated it. It's not like Greg Brown has decided he wants to join Michigan and Castleton was forced out at the last minute.
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