Jose Perez is headed back to West Virginia; what it means for Michigan Basketball

Jose Perez was supposed to visit Michigan basketball this next week, but instead, he’s headed back to West Virginia. 

The transfer portal has proven hard to stomach for Michigan basketball fans and the Wolverines were dealt another blow on Friday by Jose Perez.

Perez entered the transfer portal not long ago from West Virginia. After playing with Marquette, and Garder-Webb most recently, Perez sat out the 2022-23 seas after transferring to play for the Mountaineers.

Bob Huggins is no longer the head coach so Perez decided to put his name into the transfer portal and Michigan basketball made a ton of sense. But now, Perez has told Joe Tipton of On3.com that he will be returning to the Mountaineers.

The Wolverines needed a high-usage guard to replace Caleb Love, who was going to play for Michigan basketball before the admissions process got in the way as far as transfer credits that would be accepted. They were seen as a favorite for Perez, but that fell apart quickly.

Michigan basketball did add Olivier Nkamhoua, a forward from Tennessee, Tray Jackson, a forward from Seton Hall, and also guard Nimari Burnett from Alabama.

So the Wolverines did add some solid pieces from the transfer portal. But Michigan baskeball could also use another scoring guard or wing and that’s looking less likely now.

Where does Michigan basketball go from here?

Now that Perez won’t visit and obviously won’t be joining Michigan basketball, the Wolverines have two open scholarships.

I would have been after Marcus Adams, the top 50 recruit in the 2023 class who was just released from his letter of intent by Kansas.

Michigan basketball hasn’t made contact yet according to reports but we’ll see. The Wolverines like to work quietly in recruiting but Adams would make a ton of sense. He’s 6-foot-7, an elite shooter, and would have four years to play — meaning unlike Perez he wouldn’t be a one-year deal.

That doens’t mean Adams is going to play for four years. But he’s a big talent and the Wolverines should at least try to get into the mix. There has also been talk of Michigan basketball going after another big in the transfer portal, which wouldn’t be a bad thing.

Michigan needs frontcourt depth, as much as it needs another 3-point specialist. However, it’s possible that the roster is what it is at this point.

It could be better. It could also be a lot worse.