15 best Michigan basketball NBA careers in Wolverines history

9. Roy Tarpley

Oh what could have been; that seems an apt descriptor for Roy Tarpley. A 6’11 big man who chose Michigan after starring in Detroit, he arrived on campus in 1982 and was a great piece for the next four seasons.

Tarpley played a minimal role as a freshman but was a starter in the frontcourt for the rest of his career. As a junior, he averaged 19.0 points and 10.4 rebounds per game and was named Big Ten Player of the Year. The figures were less impressive in his senior season, but he did lead the conference in blocks that season.

The 7th pick of the 1986 NBA Draft, Tarpley developed into a major weapon for the Dallas Mavericks. He was already averaging a double-double by his second year in the league and was named NBA Sixth Man of the Year.

Over the next three seasons, he averaged 17.2 points and 12.5 rebounds per game and was well on his way to being a dominant force in the league. Unfortunately, Tarpley had issues with substance abused and was banned from the league for three years; he’d briefly returned in 1994 but was permanently banned less than a season later.

Much of Tarpley’s professional career came overseas as a result of his own behavior. Had he stayed away from those substances, he could have been a major force for the Mavericks or another NBA franchise for many years. He played just 280 career games, but he’s the only former Wolverine to average at least 10 rebounds a game at the NBA level. Sadly, he passed away in 2015.