Michigan Basketball: What Justin Pierce to North Carolina means for UM

Michigan basketball was pursuing graduate transfer Justin Pierce, who committed to North Carolina Thursday morning. Here’s what it means.

It’s not a big secret that Michigan basketball is looking to add players for next season and one potential addition, graduate transfer Justin Pierce, announced his decision to go to North Carolina next season.

Pierce announced his decision on Twitter Thursday and the 6-foot-7 wing, who averaged over 14 points per game the past two seasons for William and Mary announced he would play for the Tar Heels, over Michigan basketball and Notre Dame.

While the Wolverines appeared to lose ground on Pierce in recent days and also maybe a little interest with the pursuit of Franz Wagner, Pierce still would have been a good fit for head coach John Beilein’s offense, yet he will play for Roy Williams instead.

Michigan wasn’t going to have any scholarship openings if Charles Matthews was the only player to declare for the NBA draft. Yet, with Jordan Poole and Ignas Brazdeikis also going pro, the Wolverines now have two open spots on their roster and starting lineup.

Iggy hasn’t said for sure if he was going to stay in the draft, but unless he flops at the combine, he seems likely to stay in along with Poole. And while Pierce wouldn’t have been an ideal replacement for Poole, his ability to shoot the ball, as well as create offense for others would have been perfect.

Pierce was a 42 percent 3-point shooter two years ago and averaged more than four assists per game last season, which would have made him a great fit alongside Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske. But, adding Pierce and Franz Wagner would have still left a big hole at the two in the backcourt.

Beilein recently visited Wagner, who is Moritz Wagner’s younger brother. He’s a 6-foot-7 wing and while he may choose to stay and play professionally in Germany if he comes to the United States, Michigan basketball appears to be the favorite and at the of the day, the Wolverines would be better off with Wagner and a scholarship to offer another guard, than Pierce and Wagner.

With Pierce moving on, Michigan can now focus on finding another two-guard such as Nas’shon Hyland, a 6-foot-3 guard from the 2019 class or Jaevin Cumberland, another 6-foot-3 guard that played at Oakland University (Michigan) last season and has decided to pursue a graduate transfer. He averaged more than 17 points a game and shot 39.9 from deep.

So even though Pierce would have been a nice fit, there are other options out there and I have confidence that Beilein knows what he’s doing. Right now, we just have to wait and see.