3 thoughts on Michigan Basketball’s 2023 recruiting class

The activity is picking up for Michigan basketball in the 2023 recruiting class and here are some early thoughts on openings, targets, and needs. 

Recruiting has probably been on the backburner for Michigan basketball fans, at least in part because much of the focus has been on the current roster and who will return next season.

Those decisions, and the ramifications of them, such as transfer portal additions (or not), will determine what the roster will look like and what kind of season Michigan can have in 2022-23.

Some have Michigan ranked near the top 10 in preseason rankings for next season. But that’s working on an assumption that Hunter Dickinson and others return.

That question is also relevant for Michigan’s 2023 recruiting class. The Wolverines don’t have any open scholarships right now, say for a transfer portal addition, and Michigan isn’t expected to have any seniors on the 2022-23 team, although a transfer could change that.

Still, the numbers moving forward are a little uncertain and that’s what we look at first with the 2023 Michigan basketball recruiting class.

How many can Michigan take in 2023?

My prediction is going to be three. Even if Hunter Dickinson, Moussa Diabate, and Caleb Houstan all return for next season, that will be it. They won’t be back for a third unless there is some sort of major injury or something drastically changes.

So it seems fairly safe to assume that Michigan will have at least three scholarships available. There has been talk of U-M losing a player to the portal and many believe it’s Isaiah Barnes because of things he has posted on his Instagram account, which could change the numbers too.

If Barnes is replaced by a senior or graduate transfer, then that would open another spot. Or, if he was replaced by a traditional transfer with multiple years of eligibility, it wouldn’t have an impact, at least not on the scholarship situation.

Jett Howard will be added to the roster and while I believe he’s a five-star talent, he feels like he will be playing for two years in Ann Arbor. I don’t see anyone else on next year’s roster as a one-and-done candidate, so outside of more attrition in the portal, three seems like a solid number.

Now, with a rough estimate of how big the class could be, what are the needs?