Transfer Guard options
Not a complete list but here is a partial list of guards that are in the transfer portal. I believe that if we are going to get a transfer it will be a player who is capable of competing for a starting position. Here are some of the best guards in the portal.
PG Marcus Carr-Minnesota (19.4 pts 4.9 asts)
PG Al Durham Indiana (11.3 pts 2.6 asts)
PG Fatts Russell Rhode Island (14.7 pts 4.5 asts)
PG Xavier Johnson Pitt (14.5 pts 5.7 asts)
PG Jacob Young Rutgers (14.1 pts 3.4 asts)
PG Marreon Jackson Toledo (18.1 pts 5.9 asts)
SG Myreon Jones Penn St 15.3 pts 2 asts)
SG Armaan Franklin (11.4 pts 2.1 asts)
SG AuDiesse Toney Pitt (14.4pts 2.3 asts)
SG Noah Locke Florida (10.6 pts 0.7 asts)
Feel free to add to the list of people that I have missed, or of people that might be of interest to us.
The biggest thing we need is better *offensive* guard play.
I read a stat about 3-4 years ago which said that every National Championship team of the past 20 years except one* had a lead guard who averaged at least 10+ ppg for the season (and usually a bit more like 12-13 ppg).
Neither Mike Smith nor Eli Brooks averaged that this season (even though both are capable of giving us 13+ in any game). This was gnawing at me all season...
...And my fear came to fruition last night.
*Sorry, I don't recall the exception. Besides, you don't want to rely on being another exception to the rule.
Edit: Oh. I meant to post this in another thread but did it here by accident. I must have gotten the tabs confused.
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There has been quite a lot of buzz about Marcus Carr being the top transfer-PG target for the staff. On the podcast with Dylan Burkhardt today, Brendan Quinn hinted that Carr may have already reached out to Michigan. Ant Wright mentioned last night that, in his opinion, the best transfer-PG addition for Michigan would be Carr.
Also, as an aside, Al Durham has already committed to Providence.
I totally missed this! I assume we haven't heard much because the staff still doesn't know how the current players are going to shake out. I would NOT hate adding him.
Saudi Washington had an interview with Sam Webb and Tim McCormick***
Saudi said the program is "hot" right now and portal players are reaching out to them.
They will have options! Depends how they want to build this team. What an advantage to be able to create the team you want!
*** Michigan Basketball Insider - seriously the BEST UM podcast, hands down. Sam is great, and great on mic. Tim has a wealth of insider experience and knowledge of both the UM program but the NBA circuit as well. He is fantastic. Then add guests national guests and UM insiders... if you haven't been listening, slap yourself and then go find this podcast.
March 31st, 2021 at 10:00 PM ^
Saddi Washington
Saddi Arabia
8.7.3March 31st, 2021 at 10:01 PM ^
IS IT HAPPENING?!?!
Carr isn't happening, but word on the street is that a certain professor is. Wink, wink.
I recall after the Toledo game that Marreon Jackson was a player that I hoped might be available this year. Impressive that he won MAC player of the year and lit it up in assists and not just points this year.
Just looked up his stats on basketball reference. He's 6'1", 200 pounds. He put up about 14 shots per game and made about 40 percent of them. More than half of his shots came from behind the 3 point line at 8.2 per game. He made just a hair under 35 percent of them. He's been consistent the last 2 seasons offensively. Not much change in his stats between them (the only major difference is he shot 2 fewer free throws per game but made almost 10 percent more of them this season, finishing above 90 percent from the line).
His stats are pretty solid. I'd like to see how he looks on tape.
Hard to analyze transfer targets until we know who’s back and who isn’t. I guess everyone is assuming that Smith, Wagner, Brown and Brooks are gone but is that 100%?
It is not, at least for Brooks.
"I think (coming back next year is) a conversation to be had in our exit meeting. I mean, I talked about it with my family and weighed the different options, but I didn’t come to a conclusion. I can only speak for myself."
https://www.maizenbrew.com/basketball/2021/3/31/22360392/eli-brooks-weighs-in-on-potential-fifth-year-more-after-loss-to-ucla
I think absolute best case is that Brooks comes back and we get someone who will still buy into the team culture (i.e., will be just fine with scoring 15 points a game) that is more dynamic, such as Carr, to replace Smith (I like Smith, but too many bad games down the stretch exposed his limitations for a team with elite aspirations, and we should be greedy if the opportunity presents itself, just like when Gonzaga got Nembhard from UFla).
Not a big deal and not being an ass, but Nembhard xferred from Florida - unless UKY is some slang for Florida I don't know.
Edit: Juzang was UK and went to UCLA - just realized that after I posted as well.
Whoops -- brain fart! Wrong SEC team. Will update.
Brooks returning would be a godsend. He's basically the quarterback.
I would prefer Brooks over any transfer and if he comes back I think we're set with him, Zeb, Collins and Bufkin.
How's his golf game?
Out of these guys who can shoot the 3?
I believe Carr was in the high 30s until this year in terms of 3 pt %. He also was great in assists last season.
I totally forgot he transferred to MN from Pitt, so he will be the rare double transfer.
A 22 year old PG leading an attack with Dickinson, (Hopefully) Wagner, and a bunch of awesome recruits would make for a pretty scary team.
It is up to Franz, but he's a Top 15 pick, so I really don't expect him to come back. Teams will look at his length and defense and not get dissuaded by one bad game, particularly when after the Top 5, everyone has notable flaws.
Wagner really wilted under top comp this year at tumes.
He could use a year in the weightroom.
I don't think physical strength is his issue. He has problems making shots. 2 seasons of evidence prove that. He goes through stretches where he's making almost 40 percent from 3 but then he has some real cold streaks, especially against top competition. He was 2 for 16 from 3 in the tournament.
Could be a confidence issue, could also be he's just not that good of a shooter, could be both. Whatever it is, if he can figure that out he'd be unstoppable at the college level and a lock for the top 8 or 10 in next years draft. He's got the defense, length, and athleticism.
His problem is his shot as I noted in another thread. His beginning point and release point are both low and he doesn't elevate off the floor when taking a 3. Great length, pretty good handles, nice vision, superb defense, but the shooting will hold him back unless he makes fundamental changes.
It seems like he holds the ball at shoulder level for along time before launching threes. He might get that shot off in college against lesser teams but, against long, athletic, quick defenders in the NBA, I think he will struggle.
He shot 36.1 percent from 3 last year and 31.7 percent from 3 this year while shooting 2 more 3s per game. Not great but it might have something to do with him being the focal point of the offense (putting it mildly). One piece of evidence for Minnesota's lack of help around him was his assist numbers dropped greatly from 6.5 per game last year to 4.9 per game this year. His turnovers per game didn't change much but I suspect his turnover rate likely went down since he was the guy who ran the offense.
He's got good size a 6'2" and we're all familiar with how well he can play against good teams. Not a bad option at all.
Carr is a kid who can hit any shot, so he is comfortable taking any shot. On a bad team, he will take any shot.
No way Juwan wants a player shooting 32% from three taking many shots. I guess that number goes up when he only takes good shots. At Michigan, he would only (usually) take good shots.
But a couple years ago he had 6.5 assists per game. Yes way Juwan wants a PG who can lead the B1G in assists and is capable of finding a shot when needed.
If Juwan and Co. believe Carr wants to fit into our system and just be a super talented PG that doesn't have huge usage, then YES, MARCUS CARR. I'm not sure that's him though. I bet our coaching will get a very accurate picture of whether he could be that guy.
I believe Carr's 3-pt% would rise at Michigan. He would get better quality looks and would not be the focal point. At MN he was often jacking up late 3s as the shot clock wound down.
Plus he is a great penetrator and we need one of those for kick-outs to our shooters.
IMO Carr would be a home-run transfer for this team. I think he could make the "Mike Smith" transformation to his game. But I am not sure whether he is looking to be featured or not. If so, great option for him and for Michigan.
Wagner is a top 12 pick. I would be floored to see him return.
The guy I'm most interested in, Toledo's guy, Jackson, shot 35% (65% assisted) and I think had some high usage, fwiw.
Caleb Houstan, which isn't one of the options. But really, he is the best 3pt shooter that has ever entered the program. Better than Stauskas or Duncan or Glenn Rice out of high school. We don't know if Houstan can do it in college, but it'll be fun to find out.
March 31st, 2021 at 11:46 PM ^
Stauskas and Duncan aren’t in that discussion. Louis Bullock is.
Stauskas and Duncan are absolutely in that conversation. I'm fine including Bullock but Stauskas and Duncan were amazing.
Better than Glen Rice?
Nimari Burnett and Khristian Lander are two high potential prospects, previously pursued by Michigan, who are in the portal.
Wouldn't we rather have a one or two and done guy?
March 31st, 2021 at 10:34 PM ^
They are/were both 5***** recruits. They both had difficult/mediocre first years. It would be most interesting to see what Coach Howard, Coach Eisley and company could accomplish here. I loved Nimari's recruiting tape-he may be a two and done guy. He's 6-4, y'all should think he's the cats meow. Burnet, Collins and Bufkin would make quite the guard stable.
Otherwise, it is most interesting how favorably this forum views some returnees on our roster. Folks would do well to consider the stats those non-starters put up before discounting others.
Nimari is announcing in a week. He hasn't listed Michigan as one of the schools showing interest.
I think the fact that he bailed on his team midway through the season makes him an unnecessarily risky choice for a program that's hot right now. It's also not a given that his credits would transfer from Texas Tech.
More of a given that they wouldn't transfer
My guess is that Michigan will be making will be making its decision relatively soon as well. And my guess is, also, that if, given the personal connections, Michigan wants Nimari they will get him.
Michigan, Baylor and Gonzaga are in position to get the pick of the transfer portal litter. I am very curious as to how this all, finally, shakes down. It would be most interesting to be a "fly on the wall" taking in the Michigan coaching staff's conversation in this regard-lots of good choices here.
Burnett is choosing soon and Michigan is not one of his finalists. People have mentioned him a lot but it’s already been discussed a lot that he is not choosing Michigan.
I think Carr is going pro and the transfer portal is a fall back plan.
Howard et al need to really assess whether Carr is a guy that would fit into Michigan's system... While Smith was able to become more of a facilitator as a result of up transferring, is that going to be the case with Carr?
Not sure...this would be his third team, as he originally played at Pitt before transferring to Minnesota.
He's a good player, but is he a good fit?
Why wouldn’t Carr just go pro if that’s what he wants to do? Why enter the portal?
i believe its a matter of keeping his options open...
entering the portal is simply a part of the process.
If he doesn't get drafted, he would have an option to go back to college, or if he doesn't get interest from schools he likes, he can stay in the draft.
edit: and Minnesota has a brand new coach as well, so he might not want to go back to Minnesota for a rebuild if he doesn't get drafted...
Carr tested out the NBA draft last year, but decided to come back after not being invited to the NBA draft combine. I am unsure whether his production/film from this year will garner any more or any less intrigue from NBA scouts.
Agreed. But he averaged 6.5 assists per game a couple years ago when he didn't have to shoulder the entire offense. At Michigan? He'd avg at least 7/game if he bought into that role. I trust Juwan and Co. will be able to gauge whether he could be that type of selfless play at Michigan - Mike Smith has been a great example to show potential transfers. We want that. But with the added skillset that Carr could bring on offense.
March 31st, 2021 at 10:14 PM ^
yup.
In Juwan (and staff) We Trust for sure...confident in whomever he brings in or if he decides not to bring anyone in if Brooks or Smith stay on.
Of course I’d welcome any of our players back who want to come back (not sure how scholarships work next year - can you go over the 13 limit because of the free COVID year).
As far as transfers, Michigan is notoriously difficult to transfer In. Part of the reason is U-M doesn’t accept a lot of transfer credits. So that probably limits us to grad transfers and maybe first year guys that can get into school and don’t care if not all of their credits transfer because they hope to be in the league in a year or two. I assume Carr from Minnesota has graduated, so if that’s the case, he could be a nice option. I was thinking Lander from IU might fall into that 2nd category. But I really don’t know and will happily wait to see what Juwan and the staff figure out. After all, at this time last year, I hadn’t heard of Mike Smith or Chaundee Brown and they worked out pretty darn well.
March 31st, 2021 at 10:41 PM ^
I was thinking the exact same on transfers - probably either 1st year or grad transfers are going to be the easiest to deal with M's credit transfer requirements.
All things being equal I think M would lean toward a grad transfer which would fulfill both the need for experience with a young roster and flexibility for recruiting space in the class of '22. (I know we will have some early entries in the '21 class but having 6/13 as 1st years - and technically 9 + Jace will the Covid rules - makes it hard to even out your class sizes going forward.
Memphis G Boogie Ellis just entered the transfer portal as well
Carr would definitely be my first choice IF he's willing to buy in to Juwan's offense and for me, that's a big 'if'
If the rumors are true and Juwan's phone is blowing up with transfers wanting to play for him, then we should be able to pick and choose who the best fit is for this team
But Penny just won the NIT and said that was only the beginning...why would anyone be jumping off of that ship?