Top 5 transfer portal options left for Michigan Basketball
Now that Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate have decided to stay in the NBA draft, here are the five best transfer portal options for Michigan basketball.
It shouldn’t have shocked anyone that Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate elected to remain in the NBA draft, but it was disappointing that neither returned.
Houstan seemed like an obvious choice. Diabate seemed pretty set on going since he declared but with his draft stock seeming to slip a little, Michigan basketball fans held out hope, however, it probably was never really warranted.
As upset as some fans might be, some are even saying it was a mistake to recruit Moussa and Caleb — that’s insane. Both were key parts of a Sweet-16 team.
They played a ton as freshmen and there were ups and downs. There were also some memorable moments such as Moussa’s game against Iowa, their moments in the NCAA tournament wins, or all of Caleb’s dagger 3s.
At any rate, it’s time to thank those guys for their contributions and move on. So, now that the dust has settled on the NBA draft, here are the top five transfer portal options available for Michigan basketball as it has two open scholarships.
Joey Baker
We have mentioned Joey Baker on this site before but the move makes too much sense for Michigan basketball.
Baker played the past four seasons at Duke and while he only started four career games, he’s a 37-percent career 3-point shooter in 11 minutes per game.
The past two seasons, he attempted 2.2 3-point attempts per game for the Blue Devils and made 0.9 per game. With a higher volume in 20 minutes or so, Baker could easily make over a 3-pointer per game playing for the Wolverines.
One issue is that he entered the transfer portal after the deadline, which means he’ll need a waiver to play next season. Yet, my guess is that he’ll get it. The fact that he’s a graduate transfer fits Michigan perfectly and admissions shouldn’t be an issue.
Baker also shouldn’t upset the current roster or prevent Michigan from seeking another transfer. He can play both forward spots if needed and while he doesn’t offer great size, with Houstan gone, Michigan needs proven shooting and Baker is one of the best options out there.
His experience on a Final Four team also won’t hurt and he’s not a guy that’s going to rock the boat coming off the bench.