Exit: Isaiah Barnes
We just finished recording a podcast segment about next year's basketball team and forgot to mention him, so this can't be that much of a surprise.
NEWS: Michigan guard Isaiah Barnes plans to enter the transfer portal, he tells @On3sports.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) March 19, 2023
Former four-star recruit.https://t.co/pBBkqNrgra
Barnes came in with the 2021 class as an athletic body that Michigan hoped to develop into the kind of three-and-D-plus slashing wing-guard that they've desperately needed since Isaiah Livers graduated. Two years of not playing when Michigan so desperately needed guys remotely like what Barnes projected to was the first clue it's not happening here. The next clue was Barnes being unavailable for the back end of the season once the rotation solidified without him. His production the few times earlier this year that he did get on the court was:
Hopefully a new venue will unlock the player we always hoped he would be. They did get a redshirt on him so he should have three years of eligibility left to do so.
Michigan's roster for the 2023-'24 season still has a lot of question marks. Here's the depth chart for next year as it stands:
| Pos | Commits | Freshmen (c/o 2027) |
Sophomores (c/o 2026) |
Juniors (c/o 2025) |
Seniors (c/o 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PG (2) | C.Anderson | D.McDaniel | J.Llewellyn*^ | ||
| SG (1) | G.Washington | K. Bufkin | |||
| Wing (3) | Je.Howard Y.Khayat |
J.Baker*^ | |||
| PF (4) | W. Tschetter* G. Glenn |
T.Williams^ Ja.Howard^ |
|||
| C (2) | P.Kante | T.Reed | H.Dickinson^ | ||
| Total | 1 | 2 | 6 | 4 | 2 |
Will Hunter Dickinson, Jett Howard, and/or Kobe Bufkin set out for the pros? Will Joey Baker get a 6th year? Does Williams want to come back if they get a starting PF in the portal? Does Llewellyn want to come back after a medshirt to be the backup guard? What's it like having a backup guard? Commence offseason.
There is no content after the jump.
Wish him luck. Not a huge surprise - he's been out with various injuries for the past 2 years and didn't look super comfortable when he did get some time this year. I assume UM will be bringing in some transfer guards as well.
Kinda terrifying that Jace and T Will could be our most veteran players next year. Hopefully the portal will be kind to us if we lose any/all of Jett, Hunter, Kobe, Baker and Llewellyn.
Don't worry. When given the chance, Tschetter and Khayat will be good players. Khayat should have played all game vs Vanderbilt. Tschetter flashed a few games ago and is playing scared but will be ready next season.These guys need to play and Khayat was getting better by the minute.
Khayat yes. Cheddar nope.
Cheddar was a true freshman. He's an agitator, give him time. I'm glad to have him.
Except he wasn’t a true freshman. There was one play that stood out to me. A Vandy miss deflected almost directly between Tschetter and Khayat. Khayat reacted immediately and pounced on the ball. Tschetter didn’t move. I get it that he tries hard, he’s just so limited athletically that it’s hard to see him being anything more than a screen setter who gives you 5-10 minutes off the bench.
That’s what I expect him to be. He will get 4-5 minutes a half and hopefully give you some solid minutes and a couple of points here and there. He’s not going to be a 25-30 minute a night type of player. YoYo on the other hand could be a contributor next year and get even better as he goes.
Good luck Isaiah. We hardly knew you.
Having 9 of 13 scholarships used by TWill, Glenn, Tschetter, Khayat, Jace, Baker, Llewellyn, and two freshman does not bode well. It will be critical to hit on a couple of transfers that are serviceable Big Ten starters. Llewellyn and Baker are bench players at this level and might want to get starting minutes somewhere else. Sounded like TWill almost transferred last year, and he didn't seem to have the enthusiasm this year that he had earlier in his career so you'd think that a fresh start somewhere else would be good for him. If one of Hunter or Kobe moves on this team will be bad, if they both go it is going to be UGLY.
The scholarship thing isn't really an issue anymore with NIL, doubly so when Howard is the coach and Jace is on the roster.
The roster will have turnover but that's true across much of college basketball. Off the top of my head I believe MSU, Maryland, and PSU will be losing large swaths of their rotation players and will have to go after transfers. Illinois and IU are also likely going to be losing multiple all conference players. We'll see what happens with guys coming and going but it's not unique to UM this level of uncertainty.
MSU? They can pretty much bring back their line up besides Hauser I believe. They should actually be pretty good next year since they'll be so experienced and have a good recruiting class coming in.
I think Illinois is only losing Mayer and Shannon. PSU is going to lose most of their roster.
They lose four players unless they are using covid time and are going to use NIL for some others. They are bringing in a 4 man class. They have Walker, Hauser and Hall all as seniors or grad seniors. There is another grad senior but I’m not sure if he’s on scholarship or not.
March 19th, 2023 at 10:46 PM ^
I think those guys will come back if they want. I can see depth guys like Pierre Brooks leaving.
Man, when was the last offseason that felt like the next year's team could range from Final Four contenders to out of the tournament based on a handful of decisions? Even the years when Poole/Brazdeikis/Mathews or Livers/Chaundee/Franz left, it felt like there was enough left on the roster and enough talent arriving that you still felt like it would be a reasonably competitive roster.
The worst case scenario this year seems bleak. I guess raiding the portal is an option, but it feels like you'd be attracting guys who are looking for playing time, rather than poaching top performers wanting to play for a winning program.
Good luck. Will be interesting to see who replaces him on the roster.
Wishing you well, Mr. Barnes.
I distinctly remember Sam Webb 3 years ago saying of him and his recruiting class, “He might be the best of all of them.”
😂
That’s what potential based recruiting and drafting does.
Yeah me too. I searched for his videos because of it. He does have hops.
I don't think he got a redshirt. He appeared in about 5 minutes over 2 games as a true freshman (against UNC was one of them, I remember being furious about how we wasted a potential 5th year for that) and a handful, maybe even most, of our games this season off the bench.
Is this one of those things where Michigan retroactively applied for a redshirt for his freshman year? Basketball has not yet moved over to the football redshirt model, so as of now appearing in any part of any game disqualifies you for a RS that season.
March 20th, 2023 at 10:19 AM ^
Sobering & very distressing to ponder the low ceiling for Michigan’s Bball roster.
-
Jett a lot of offense early. Not sure he has the grit to get down & dirty, i.e., “I really wish I could skip playing D. It’s too hard.” Often looks like he can be a game winner early in the game. But he seems to disappear or be easier to shut down later in the game.
-
Kobe’s ball handling is insecure. His D improved but he can be pushed around. Shooting has been improving. Has got to get stronger.
-
Tschetter - Where is any evidence of championship potential or actual athleticism? Get with the long short generation. Shorter shorts are not working for you.
-
Khayat - Have no clue what his potential is? Do you?
-
TWill2nd - Thanks for your service.
-
Dug no O M. - My early season dismissal of his shooting potential was wrong. His ability to make shots especially 3s & free throws improved far beyond what I could ever have predicted. Size wise he will be erased if we ever make it to Elite 8 -Final Four during his tenure as player.
-
Jace - love his energy & toughness. We saw his ceiling early.
-
Terence R Jr. - Made some progress- but has some serious shooting woes everywhere on the court.
-
HD - lacks speed-agility - mobility- springs to take us where we want to go - Final Four where we hoist the winners trophy with all the Maize & Blue graffiti flying around This Final Moment. He could be a supporting cast member for that reality tv episode.
-
And other names & faces who don’t have obviouslyhigh ceilings.
-
Juwan’s roster management? He gets a C for this group. Player development? B- Balanced Offense & Defense? B range
-
How do we get out of this pit?
March 20th, 2023 at 12:28 PM ^
This would be a lower tier team in the MAC.
I thought Barnes was okay in limited minutes. I thought Glenn looked a long way off and was the first sure fire Transfer Portal move. Surprised to see Barnes lack of minutes and development. Liked his frame and scrappiness. Would have liked to see him more. Bummer.
Given NBA departures, Papa Kante and GW3 better be ready for some minutes, or we best be killing it in the portal. What a huge opportunity for both of them upcoming!
A possible starting line up and other guesses:
- Tschetter
- GW3
- Dug
- Tarris R (likely replaced by Wofford transfer in if he comes to fruition)
- Hunter (replced by TR if he leaves)
First off of bench: Khayat, Papa K, Jace, Joey B,
Not likely to make it back from injury: Jaellyn
NBA: Jett, Kobe
Transfers: Glenn, Barnes, Twill
---
Not terrible?
Comments