Michigan basketball fans breathed a huge sigh of relief on Wednesday night as it was reported that top-ranked transfer Moustapha Thiam will play for the Wolverines in the 2026-27 season.
Jon Rothstein was the first to report the news. For Michigan basketball and interim head coach Mike Boynton, it's a massive development.
Source: Moustapha Thiam is staying at Michigan and will play for the Wolverines next season.
— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) July 1, 2026
The 7-2 big man averaged 12.8 PPG and 7.1 RPG last season at Cincinnati and was one of the top big men in the transfer portal.
Another positive development for Mike Boynton.
The 7-foot-2 center was ranked third at his position via 247 Sports in the transfer portal rankings, and 13th overall. He's not Aday Mara, but he's as good a replacement as a team could get.
After Dusty May took the head coaching job of the Dallas Mavericks, his status was up in the air. We still don't know what J.P. Estrella, the transfer from Tennessee will do, but it surely helps Michigan's chances that Thiam is back in the fold, along with Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney.
McKenney has already stumped for Boynton to be the head coach. According to his father, he told that to Michigan AD Warde Manuel. That shouldn't be the only consideration. It shouldn't be ignored either.
Moustapha Thiam is another sign that Mike Boynton needs to coach Michigan in 2026-27
Michigan fans have scoffed, at least some of them, at the idea of making Boynton the full-time head coach. However, removing the interim tag makes sense at this point.
Now that Boynton has three projected starters back, it's clear that the players on the roster support him as the head coach. Naming him as the interim head coach was the right move to the team together, but the players want to know who will coach them this season.
That should be Boynton. It's too late to hire another coach and keep this team together. Give Bonyon a multi-year deal as the permanent head coach. Yet, ensure the buyout is low enough that if things go really bad, Michigan can move on, and seek a more proven coach after the 2026-27 season.
As the interim head coach, with this roster, it's only a matter of time before he does enough to earn the job. So why not end the unease and confirm it? That doesn't guarantee Boynton anyhting beyond this season, just like Jim Harbaugh wasn't guaranteed anything beyond the 2021 season, even though he signed a mulit-year deal.
It gives the 2026-27 team the best chance to succeed, while allowing the Wolverines to maintain some long-term flexibility, as long as the deal is program-friendly.
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