Ann Arbor — Dusty May estimates that every high-major big guy who entered the transfer portal went on Michigan’s list.
With forward Yaxel Lendeborg out of eligibility and with center Aday Mara and forward Morez Johnson Jr. having NBA decisions to make, May and his coaching staff couldn’t sit on their hands. The day after winning the national title, they had to get right to work constructing next season’s roster.
“You have to put yourself in as many positions as you can to be successful,” May said last month. “It happens so fast. I don’t even really remember which ones you talk about first or identify first. It’s just there’s a tidal wave coming at you, and you’re trying to find the best fit for you.”
May explained the “sweet spot” from when the portal opens to when players start making transfer commitments is three to 10 days. Typically, there’s a couple of Zooms, the two sides negotiate and a decision is made, sometimes without a player even visiting campus.
As Michigan narrowed its list of targets and gathered as much information as quickly as possible, it came away from the mad scramble with three frontcourt pieces. The Wolverines won a recruiting battle for Cincinnati center Moustapha Thiam, swiftly added Tennessee forward J.P. Estrella and quietly scooped up LSU forward Jalen Reed.
In the span of two weeks, Michigan landed a transfer class that ranks No. 9 in the nation, per 247Sports, and is headlined by Thiam, who’s widely rated as a top-15 player and one of the best centers in the portal by numerous national outlets.
May and his staff’s track record with bigs certainly attracted Thiam. The way May utilized 7-footers Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin together two seasons ago caught Mara’s attention. That case was strengthened with the smashing success the Wolverines had with the three-big lineup of Lendeborg, Johnson and Mara this past season.
On top of the individual improvement Wolf, Goldin, Lendeborg, Johnson and Mara made at Michigan is the NBA component. May noted other schools were using his lack of draft picks against him in recruiting — “How many are you supposed to have at FAU or a place like that?” May wondered — until Wolf was selected in the first round last year. In this year’s draft, Lendeborg, Mara and Johnson are projected first-rounders. All of that has helped immensely in the way the Wolverines are received.
“I think there’s a proof of concept. It’s not as if we’re having to sell a vision,” May said. “With Moustapha, this is how we played Aday and Morez, (but) we’re not going to use you exactly like that. We’re going to accentuate your talents and put you in a position to be extremely successful.”
When it comes to how Thiam compares to the other 7-footers May has coached at Michigan like Goldin, Wolf and Mara, the Senegal native is tall and skilled but that’s where the similarities end.
“He’s a lot different. … His game isn’t like theirs,” May said. “It’s exciting to have another player with the talent he has that we can tweak our system to and play through a little bit. He’s got a lot of weapons in this toolbox. He’s going to be fun to coach.”
It’s the opposite coaching against him. May can attest to that. The Wolverines got an up-close look of Thiam and what he’s capable of when they faced the Bearcats in an October exhibition, though Johnson and Mara didn’t suit up in that preseason contest.
Toward the end of the season, Thiam took his play to another level and recorded three straight 20-point games at Kansas, at Texas Tech and against Oklahoma State in late February. He finished the campaign averaging 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks in 27.2 minutes.
“We had no answers for him down low (in the exhibition),” May said. “He’s a guy that we think we’ll be able to identify some matchup advantages for us … on the perimeter, in the low post and in transition. We’re excited because he’s proved he can do it at a high level and in the Big 12.”
Having to previously scout and compete against Thiam was useful for Michigan. So were the conversations Michigan’s staff had with the coaches at Cincinnati and UCF, where Thiam spent his freshman season, before he came to Ann Arbor for visit.
It was a similar situation with Estrella. There was already some familiarity there since the Wolverines squared off against the Volunteers in the Elite Eight. Estrella started that NCAA Tournament game — a 95-62 win by Michigan — and played 25 minutes.
But as Michigan scoured the portal for “the right guys,” it did so with the returning players and their skill sets in mind, namely starting point guard Elliot Cadeau.
“We feel like Elliott, first and foremost, is a cheat code in the pick-and-roll. He needs certain things for him to maximize his ability, so that factored into us targeting certain players,” May said.
Take Estrella’s knack as a physical screener, for example. May called Purdue forward Trey Kaufman-Renn and UConn center Tarris Reed Jr. the two best screeners Michigan faced all season and credited those two with helping their teammates be even more successful because of their screening ability.
Not only can Estrella (6-foot-10) deliver in that department, but he and Thiam (7-2) can serve as lob threats, which was a potent part of Michigan’s offense when Cadeau shared the floor with Johnson and Mara. With Estrella and Thiam also capable of making perimeter shots — Estrella was 4-for-10 on 3-pointers last season and Thiam shot 15-for-52 from deep — that can help with spacing and cutting for others.
The same goes for the 6-10 Reed, a 37.9% career 3-point shooter who’s had to deal with health hurdles the past two seasons. Two years ago, Reed’s season was cut short after eight games due to a torn ACL. Last season, he was limited to six games because of an Achilles tear. Both injuries required surgery.
While there’s a calculated risk that comes with every transfer addition, May felt comfortable taking a gamble on Reed, who made 39 starts in 79 games during his four-year carer at LSU.
“We felt like if he can get back to full strength, he’s a really good basketball player,” May said. “We thought he was a very good take. He could certainly outperform his expectations if he’s healthy.”
May noted he wasn’t as familiar with Reed as some of his staff members. Assistant coach Akeem Miskdeen recruited Reed during his previous stop at Georgia. Others had watched Reed play over the years.
When May turned on Reed’s tape, he saw what everyone else did.
“I went back and watched his games and clips pre-injury, and I was impressed with him,” May said. “He wanted to come for all the right reasons.”
That matters, especially when it comes to the transfer portal whirlwind and the decisive decisions that need to be made on players who will determine next season’s success.
“As soon as you feel like you’re close on a guy, you dive into the intel and try to see if it’s the right fit,” May said. “Luckily, I think the right kind of guys have been attracted to us for the most part.”
jhawkins@detroitnews.com
@jamesbhawkins
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Michigan basketball comes out of transfer portal frenzy with ‘the right guys’
Reporting by James Hawkins, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
