3 takeaways from commitment of Nimari Burnett to Michigan Basketball

Out of the blue, Michigan basketball landed former five-star recruit and McDonald’s All-American Nimari Burnett, and here are three quick takeaways. 

Michigan basketball fans got some good news on Thursday as former five-star recruit Nimari Burnett has committed to the Wolverines.

For Juwan Howard, it’s another commitment that sort of comes out of the blue. As far as I’m aware, there wasn’t any reported contact between Michigan basketball and Burnett.

However, Juwan recruited Burnett out of high school. He’s got ties to Chicago just like Howard and it’s a move that makes sense for both sides.

Here are three takeaways.

Burnett fills a big need for Michigan basketball

Michigan needed guard help in the worst way and the Wolverines could do much worse than a former McDonald’s All-American that is 6-foot-4.

Burnett will be transferring for the second time but he said he’s expected to graduate this summer which would make him immediately eligible.

Burnett also has two years left to play. He was a redshirt sophomore this past season for Alabama. Prior to that, he played for Texas Tech and also took a redshirt season in 2021-22. He was ranked 34th overall in the final composite rankings for the 2020 class.

Last season, he played in 27 games for Alabama and had nine starts. He averaged one made 3-pointer per game and shot 32 percent from deep. That number will need to improve but he’ll have a bigger role to play with the Wolverines, especially if Kobe Bufkin heads for the NBA draft.

Either way, this will upgrade the backcourt and if Burnett can shoot the ball better from the perimeter, that and his defense will make him a worthwhile addition to the Wolverines.

A solid addition potentially on both ends

One thing I like about Burnett is his size and his willingness to defend. Last season with Alabama, on a per-100 possessions basis, the defensive rating with him on the floor was O.96 points per possession.

That’s a lot better than most of Michigan’s team last season. Coming back from injury is always difficult and after two years removed from that, Burnett should be back to himself. We haven’t really seen what that looks like in college yet.

Michigan basketball has been stellar with its development of guards — just look at Kobe Bufkin and if Bufkin leaves Burnett could easily be a starter next season for Michigan basketball.

This move is mostly about potential

Juwan Howard is betting that Burnett is going to be the player he thought he was as a recruit as opposed to what’s happened so far during his college career.

Burnett has only played in 39 career games, averaging 15.6 minutes per game and five points per game, while shooting below 40 percent. On the flip side, he’s a former McDonald’s All-American and there’s a reason Michigan went so hard after him the first time around.

I think his defense and his ability to impact the offense without the ball would be welcome additions to Michigan basketball after last season. I also like that I could see him as part of a three-guard lineup with Bufkin and Dug McDaniel.

While there are lots of things to like about this move, there are a lot of unknowns and the biggest is whether Burnett can finally reach his vast potential in Ann Arbor.