Michigan Basketball: Jalen Warley a focus in 2021, new possible transfer

Michigan basketball turns up the heat with Jalen Warley, which is good since five-star Kennedy Chandler didn’t include U-M in his top five.

It was only a few days ago that people were saying Michigan basketball might have a shot with Kennedy Chandler.

Yet, when Chandler released his top five Thursday, Michigan basketball was not among the teams listed as expected, effectively eliminating the Wolverines as he narrowed his list to Duke, which is the favorite, along with North Carolina, Kentucky, Tennessee and Louisville.

Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops tweeted about Chandler taking a visit to Michigan last fall and said basically to keep an eye on Jalen Warley, a highly-ranked four-star prospect who recently was offered by Juwan Howard.

On top of that, Warley who is a 6-foot-4 combo guard from Norristown, Pennsylvania, completed a virtual visit with the Wolverines this week and his experience seemed to be pretty solid according to Chris Balas of the Wolverine.com.

Warley said that he got to talk to Howard on a video chat and that he was also able to see some things about the school. Warley is ranked 27th overall in the 2021 class and he’s the No. 2 combo guard according to the 247 sports composite rankings.

And in some ways, with Zeb Jackson already on Michigan basketball’s roster, a combo guard who can play the one or the two like Warley could be an ideal fit and with Michigan about to make a stronger push, the Wolverines should be a factor. The only other powerhouse to offer as of now is Louisville.

In terms of Chandler, it was the second disappointment in as many days for the Wolverines as five-star Paolo Banchero didn’t include Michigan is his top six either. But in some ways, it’s not all bad because this at least allows Howard and the rest of the staff to focus on Warley, who is a more realistic target. His family also has ties to assistant Phil Martelli according to Balas’ article.

In other news, Michigan could be looking to add to the 2021 roster in another way, via a transfer. According to Jake Weingarten of Stockrisers, the Wolverines have reached out to Miami (Oh) transfer Nike Sibande, a wing who averaged over 13 points a game last season.

Of course, there is going to be a long list of suitors and Sibande likely wouldn’t be able to play until the 2021-22 season, but that could actually be perfect for the Wolverines, who, if Franz Wagner goes pro after the season, could have as little as six scholarship players before adding recruits from the 2021 class, so another guard with experience would be great.

And if Sibande came to Michigan, he’d have a great chance to start and maybe make a Charles Matthews type impact after sitting out a year.