Why transfer Juke Harris was a want, not a need for Michigan Basketball

From the moments after winning the national championship, the Michigan Wolverines put their name in the Juke Harris sweepstakes. A top performer at Wake Forest last season, Harris was one of the hottest names in the transfer portal this offseason. Even though he took a visit to Ann Arbor for the championship celebration, Harris chose to commit to Tennessee on Monday instead.

At the time of his visit, Harris was seen as a need for next season given all the players that departed the program this offseason. Dusty May was staring down a potential scenario of losing a ton of production all in one offseason.

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Adding a player of Harris’ caliber seemed as important as ever. Aday Mara, Yaxel Lendeborg, Morez Johnson Jr. and Nimari Burnett above averaged 48.5 of Michigan’s 86.8 points per game. Even with Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKinney returning, we’re still talking about replacing a ton of production. One of the nation’s best high school recruiting classes was definitely going to help, but the aggression and success May and his staff have had in the portal has turned that need of a player into a want.

At the end of April, Michigan added maybe its most important piece of the offseason in 7-foot-2 Cincinnati transfer Moustapha Thiam. When he was at UCF as a true freshman, Thiam led the Big 12 by averaging 2.6 blocks per game. In both seasons, he has averaged double-digit points per game while hovering around seven rebounds. He also can shoot from three, potentially something May can help unlock more of. Even if he stays flat at 12.9 points per game next year, Thiam is a significant addition to the program.

The first portal commitment was an immediate potential replacement for Johnson in 6-foot-10 forward JP Estrella. At 6-foot-11, 240 pounds, he’s right around the same stature as Johnson while averaging 10 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. He’s also really efficient, knocking down almost 60 percent of his shots from a season ago. He was the perfect piece to add…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/why-transfer-juke-harris-want-120000837.html

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Publish date : 2026-05-05 12:00:00

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