Michigan Basketball: Transfer Justin Kier is a perfect fit for Wolverines

Michigan basketball was listed among the top seven teams by graduate transfer Justin Kier and here’s why he’s a perfect fit for the Wolverines.

When the season ended for Michigan basketball, it didn’t seem like the Wolverines would be an active member of the transfer market, even when it came to graduate transfers.

But after missing out on five-star recruits Josh Christopher and Isaiah Todd, as well as losing David DeJulius and Colin Castleton to the transfer portal, Michigan basketball has added one transfer already in guard Mike Smith and the Wolverines are after another in George Mason combo guard Justin Kier.

With the addition of Jace Howard as a scholarship player last week, Michigan still has one scholarship opening for next season, but you wondered if they would use it.

Most of the top transfers have found other homes, at least the graduate transfers and it seems less likely that the Wolverines would take a two-year transfer, unless he was a really good player, such as DJ Carton who went to Marquette last week.

However, one name to watch with Michigan basketball is Kier, who released a top seven list this week that included the Wolverines. According to MLive.com, he released a top-10 list earlier in the offseason, one that didn’t include Michigan or Iowa State, two of the seven finalists on the list released Monday.

So the fact that Michigan made contact and made the final list is promising. It’s hard to say where things stand and the competition is going to be Arkansas, Georgetown, Georgia, Minnesota, NC State and of course, Iowa State.

Kier only played nine games last season and he would have one year of eligibility with Michigan basketball, which is perfect because he could provide some additional depth in the backcourt, while also not taking a scholarship away from the 2021 recruiting class.

That’s probably why Michigan didn’t get involved with Jose Perez. He’s a nice player, but taking him would have meant taking one less scholarship to work with for 2021, so that’s why Kier might be the last transfer who makes sense, at least in terms of next season.

He’s a career 34-percent shooter and he’s a guy who has played as a point guard and off the ball. Kier has averaged more than two turnovers per game during his career and as a sophomore, he shot just 17 percent from 3-point range.

Yet, last season, albeit in just nine games, he averaged 2.7 3-point attempts and shot 45 percent. He’s also a solid presence defensively. He has 120-career steals in 108 games and averages 5.1 rebounds per game, including 4.5 on the defensive end.

And thinking about the other guards, Kier would fit well next to them.

Eli Brooks and Zeb Jackson are different players. Eli is better without the ball, while Zeb is better with the ball, so Kier, with his ability to do both, could play with either. He’d also be a good fit at the two next two Mike Smith, with his ability to shoot, score on ball screens and defend bigger guards.

Kier clearly knows how to attack and create shots for others. He has averaged two assists per game and has gotten to the free throw line 3.1 times per game in his career.

From his final list, it looks like he wants to go to a program that can reach the NCAA tournament. And Michigan basketball should be as talented as any team on that list and it’s hard to imagine few can offer as much as the Wolverines, who can just about guarantee Kier a rotation spot and who knows, a starting job is also possible, assuming he can prove more valuable than Mike Smith.