A transfer portal guard to watch for Michigan Basketball
Michigan basketball is showing interest in transfer portal guard Nicolas Timberlake and we analyze the potential fit, as well as where things stand.
The next couple of months are going to be challenging for Michigan basketball as the Wolverines try to address some needs to add talent to the roster through the transfer portal.
There’s no doubt Michigan basketball needs help from the portal. Papa Kante and George Washington III — Michigan’s freshman signees — are both good players but you can’t count on freshmen to change your fortunes right away.
It does happen but in terms of college production, it’s not a stretch to say that Caleb Houstan and Jett Howard didn’t quite live up to expectations.
It takes time to adjust to the college game. We saw that with Kobe Bufkin. He didn’t make much of an impact as a freshman and last season, you could make the case he was Michigan’s best player.
Bufkin is considering the NBA draft and I’m sure he will declare for the draft either way. If he’s going to be a first-round pick, there’s a good chance he’ll stay in the draft so it makes sense for Michigan basketball to look around at guards, not just power forwards or wings in the portal.
One such guard that Michigan has reached out to is Nicolas Timberlake from Towson. He’s a 6-foot-4 guard that has five years of experience but one season left as a graduate transfer.
How Nicolas Timberlake would fit with Michigan basketball
Timberlake has shot better than 40 percent in each of the past two seasons. He averaged 14 points per game two years ago and 17.7 in the 2022-23 season. Timberlake also made 49.5 percent of his 2-point shots and 84 percent at the free-throw line.
Obviously, going up to a bigger league is going to change that production. But that doesn’t mean he can’t be a really good and productive player in the Big Ten for Michigan basketball.
The Wolverines are interested according to Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider, the problem is that North Carolina has already started to emerge as a favorite. The Tar Heels have picked up a transfer crystal ball already from 247 sports, so the Wolverines have work to do.
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But it’s another name for Michigan basketball fans to watch. Hopefully, the Wolverines can make contact and try to get him on campus for a visit, because they need shooting and Timberlake would certainly meet that need.