How Youssef Khayat can help Michigan Basketball right away

After seeing what Youssef Khayat can do at the Asia Cup, it’s easy to see him making an impact next season for Michigan basketball, and here’s how. 

Michigan basketball fans were excited about the addition of Lebanese forward Youssef Khayat to the 2022 class and they should be.

Not only will Khayat be eligible to play next season, but he’s got long-term upside in addition to being able to make an immediate impact for the Wolverines.

I don’t expect him to start right away as Franz Wagner did. Franz was a different animal. He was more ready than even Moritz Wagner was and that’s probably more comparable to where Khayat is right now in his development.

But his play during the Asia Cup for Lebanon has been encouraging. Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops has a fantastic breakdown and you should check it out for the highlights, but Youssef flashes a number of abilities that should help U-M right away in the 2022-23 season.

Before his addition, there was a clear need for a lockdown defender on the wing. Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard — the likely starters at the two and three — will also need to step up and defend well, but Youssef can be the energy guy off the bench sort of like Chaundee Brown.

Khayat is projected as a 3/4 but he does defend mostly on the wing for Lebanon and he’s quick. He is also long and has a tendency to get steals and deflections (a la Wagner).

Last season, Michigan basketball didn’t really have an impact defender. Eli Brooks was solid, but outside of Moussa Diabate’s shot-blocking ability, which was underwhelming for his size/skill, the Wolverines didn’t have a defensive ace.

Khayat might not be that right away, but he’s got the chance to be an impact defender that forces turnovers and can switch ball screens if he plays the four. He seems like an ideal person to put on the smaller four-men that gave the Wolverines fits last season.

Entering the offseason, it didn’t seem like the Wolverines would be able to find a potential impact defender, after missing on Terrence Shannon (thanks admissions), and while Khayat is raw, the upside is clearly there and he adds something to the roster it didn’t have before.

Breaking down Khayat’s potential offensive impact

Soon after the commitment of Khayat, we projected what the starting lineup would look like and I’ve got Terrance Williams starting at the four.

Hunter Dickinson is going to be the focal point on offense, along with the ball-screen game that will be run heavily by transfer point guard Jaelin Llewellyn who was brought in because he can actually shoot the ball and that should stop teams from going under on ball screens so much.

The key is having shooters surrounding Dickinson at the other spots and Khayat can help in that department at the three and the four. He has gone 7-of-15 from 3-point range in recent international play and he’s been averaging about 15 minutes a game, which seems like an ideal role for him next season (15-20 minutes).

Khayat moves well without the ball but his best offensive attribute for next season will be his shooting ability, especially as a spot-up shooter on the wing or in the corner.

If he can knock down 3-pointers consistently, and be a positive on the defensive end, which isn’t hard to imagine with how hard he plays, he should have a regular role and should prove to be an impactful addition for the Wolverines.