Michigan Basketball: 3 thoughts on roster in a state of flux

Transfer portal pursuits

If the Wolverines only have to replace Diabate, they will be in a pretty good spot. Houstan can play the four if needed and that would give Michigan a trio of Houstan, Terrance Williams, and Jett Howard to play minutes at the three and four. Tarris Reed and Will Tschetter will also get in the mix at the four and five.

The shooting element would also seem much better. Regardless of whether Williams starts at the four (with Houstan at 3) or Jett at the three and Houstan at the four, Dickinson will be surrounded by shooters at nearly every position assuming Bufkin and Llewellyn are the starting guards.

A rotation of Llewellyn, Bufkin, Houstan, Williams, and Dickinson, plus Jett, Dug McDaniel, Reed, would be solid, plus guys like Jace Howard, Barnes, and Tschetter pushing for minutes.

Michigan could still use a defensive guard or wing. That’s why it hurt so badly to miss on Terrence Shannon. He would have filled an ideal role and could have started at the two or the three, plus he can score in double figures and shoot from three.

The Wolverines are going to need to find another option and the search should start now. More options will become available after the NBA draft withdrawal deadline, but many of those guys are going to be underclassmen, which will make transferring to U-M difficult.

The idea that Michigan is going to find a 3-and-D guard able to clearly start over Bufkin is probably far-fetched. There are options available but especially in the portal, it’s going to be hard to compete against the likes of Duke and Kansas.

So Michigan is going to need to look for graduate transfers and potentially freshmen that fit what they need unless a kid is willing to take extra credits or something in the summer.

While a veteran guard who can defend on the ball would be nice, if Diabate leaves, Michigan is also going to lose its best rim protector without any true replacement.

Dickinson was better as a shot-blocker down the stretch, but not that’s really a specialty of his or Tarris Reed. It’s also risky having just two true big guys on the roster. Tschetter is 6-foot-10 but is he ready to defend Big Ten centers in a pinch?

So if Michigan adds just one player, its roster is going to be a little thin one way or another. If Houstan leaves, it will only get more challenging because not only will Michigan still need a defensive guard/wing, but it will also need more 3-point shooting and still lack rim protection.

For now, there are lots of moving pieces and conservatively, Michigan is likely still adding at least one player from the portal and losing at least one permanently to the NBA draft.