Michigan basketball had hoped that it could land former Kansas center Flory Bidunga to go along with Tennessee transfer JP Estrella this upcoming season. Bidunga was expected to visit Ann Arbor after entertaining Louisville. But Louisville didn’t let him leave campus, and thus, the Wolverines are still looking for a big man with Aday Mara expected to enter the NBA draft (though it’s not 100% certain).
Now it appears that the Wolverines have another target in mind, after a series of silence.
Dusty May and the maize and blue are expected to host Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam on Monday, according to Jon Rothstein, potentially allowing the Wolverines to have yet another large presence in the center of the floor. Thiam comes in with a height of 7-foot-2, and at 250 pounds, the Senegal native could reprise a role set by Mara on the national championship team.
Given the style of play May prefers, with a seven-footer at center, the Wolverines desperately need the Thiam visit to go well. The expected heir apparent to Mara, 7-foot-2 Malick Kordel, transferred to Minnesota this past week, leaving Michigan with no one on the roster at that height.
And given that Thiam already has solid numbers, showing he can be a force both offensively and defensively, he could fit in rather well to reprise what the maize and blue did this past year to win the title.
The Wolverines are still waiting for word from Mara, as well as forward Morez Johnson Jr., who appears to be leaning toward returning to Ann Arbor for another year. But neither has explicitly stated their intentions as of yet.
This article originally appeared on Wolverines Wire: Michigan basketball hosts 7-foot-2 center Moustapha Thiam
Reporting by Isaiah Hole, Wolverines Wire / Wolverines Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
