Michigan Basketball: Should Wolverines be interested in Adam Miller?

Former top-50 recruit Adam Miller entered the transfer portal and he was formerly a top target for Michigan basketball. Should U-M be interested? 

With names entering the transfer portal at a fast and furious pace, it shouldn’t be a surprise that a player who should be familiar to Michigan basketball fans entered on Tuesday in Adam Miller.

Miller used to play for Illinois and was actually a recruiting target for Michigan basketball in the 2020 recruiting class when he ranked 33rd overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings.

At 6-foot-3, 170 pounds, Miller is listed as a shooting guard and a point guard according to his scouting profile and you could say he was a combo guard because he can play both spots.

Michigan basketball didn’t show much interest last offseason when Miller decided to leave Illinois and wound up at LSU but with the Tigers getting a new head coach, there is a mass exodus.

So should Michigan basketball pursue Adam Miller, who is coming off an ACL tear and missed the entire 2021-22 season, we break it down and offer our opinion.

Should Wolverines target Miller?

Michigan has been in contact with a few transfers but isn’t being as aggressive as some other schools and that could be because the Wolverines are trying to figure out what they have. If Moussa Diabate and Caleb Houstan return, that changes the picture dramatically.

If Diabate returns, then the Wolverines don’t need a center in the transfer portal. But if Hunter Dickinson leaves, along with Eli Brooks, DeVante Jones (declared for draft), Zeb Jackson (portal), and the expected departures of Adrien Nunez and Brandon Johnson (both eligible for another season if asked back) that would give the U-M two spots available.

A four-man next to Diabate who can consistently shoot the 3-ball would be a wise choice but any kind of shooting is the priority. A combo guard would also make a ton of sense and that’s where Miller could be an option.

Chris Balas of The Wolverine has been reporting that Michigan has its eye on a mid-major guard who has yet to enter his name in the transfer portal. And that there’s mutual interest.

But until that comes to fruition, it’s worth looking at the other options and there are a lot worse ones out there than Miller. I laid out three other options at guard, but if Miller is healthy, he would make some sense.

Miller wasn’t all that efficient during his only season at Illinois, shooting 39 percent from the field. Yet, many of his shots were from 3-point range and he was a 35-percent shooter from downtown. He also had a 0.99 defensive rating earned more win shares for his defense than offense.

Considering Michigan basketball desperately could use a 3-point shooter at guard, who can defend and create his own shot — all of which Miller can do, at least assuming he can get back to 100 percent — he would seem like a fit. He’s also from the Chicago area like Juwan Howard.

But the knee is my biggest concern. Michigan can’t really afford to add a transfer that isn’t ready to play next season. The Wolverines have very real needs and if that’s going to be in question, then Michigan should just pass.

However, if some other targets don’t wind up in Ann Arbor and Miller is on track to play next season, after missing all of 2021-22, he could be an attractive option, especially with his ability to compete at both guard spots.