Michigan Basketball: 3 potential transfer targets for Wolverines

After missing out on five-star’s Isaiah Todd and Josh Christopher, Michigan basketball has two open scholarships and here are some transfer targets.

It’s amazing how much things can change in a week. Right now in college hoops, no one knows that better than Michigan basketball.

Not only did the Wolverines lose two players to the transfer portal that were formerly top-100 recruits, they also missed out on five-star recruits Josh Christopher and Isaiah Todd, two players expected to wind up with Michigan basketball.

Now, head coach Juwan Howard has a couple of problems. For one, he doesn’t have a classic two-guard to plug into his lineup or a ball-dominant guard that can take over offensively.

Christopher was the piece that would have brought the entire roster together. Now, the Wolverines will be looking at Eli Brooks starting at the two and incoming graduate transfer Mike Smith being the starting point guard.

That may end up working, but Michigan still needs depth. It’s possible that Cole Bajema, Adrien Nunez and incoming freshman Zeb Jackson could provide that in the backcourt, but a veteran guard who can play right away wouldn’t hurt either.

Another thing to consider is that with these two open scholarships, plus the departures of Austin Davis, Brooks, Smith, as well as Livers, if he returns and likely Franz Wagner, if he declares after the draft next season, Michigan basketball could have up to seven openings for the 2021 class.

Brandon Johns, Hunter Dickinson, Bajema, Nunez, Jackson, Terrance Williams and Jace Howard are the only players that will likely be back and even that’s not guaranteed. Howard may or may not be on scholarship and there could be other transfer candidates.

So, even if the player can’t play next season, which could change once the NCAA rules on one-time transfers, it might be advantageous.

With both ideas in mind, here are three transfer candidates to watch.