Michigan Basketball: 5 major 2022 offseason storylines for Wolverines

3. Who will arrive from the transfer portal?

The last two offseasons, Juwan Howard has added a guard from the transfer portal that has stepped in immediately into a starting role.  Both Mike Smith and Devante Jones were recruited to take the reins at point guard and served their roles well on teams with postseason success.

For next year, Howard has a decision to make.  For the first time in his tenure, he could hand the point guard keys to a player he recruited (Frankie Collins), or he could hit the portal for a more proven option.  Impacting this decision is the fact that there are no proven options at shooting guard either, other than returning sophomore Kobe Bufkin who was in and out of the rotation all season long.

Howard could opt for a combo guard to cover his bases – ideally someone who could play 30 minutes combined at both point guard and shooting guard.  Or he could go all in on a star at one of the two spots.  Collins showed promise stepping in for the injured Jones at point guard in the NCAA Tournament, and it seems reasonable that he could be ready to play major minutes at point guard on a winning team.  Bufkin is more of a question mark.

If early rumors of transfer targets are any indication, Howard is more focused on shooting guards than a traditional point.  Penn State combo guard Sam Sessoms named Michigan in his final list of options, although there are questions if he has a committable offer yet or not.  Sessoms would provide Michigan with a guard with proven Big Ten experience, although not much upside as an impact player as a scorer or facilitator.

The other rumored option is Texas Tech transfer Terrence Shannon Jr., who is widely considered one of the most talented players to hit the portal.  Shannon is a next-level athlete and a capable shooter.  He would immediately start for Michigan and could play the 2 or the 3, pending Caleb Houstan’s NBA decision.

There is buzz that Michigan’s admissions department is making things difficult with Shannon. They have notoriously squashed undergrad transfer attempts into Michigan in the past with a very selective set of standards.  It remains to be seen if Shannon is set on Michigan or if he will take his talents elsewhere.

The likeliest outcome is that Howard identifies and signs an impact player to play 30 minutes at the 2/3 spots, providing Caleb Houstan insurance and a more talented, proven option than Kobe Bufkin.  This would allow Frankie Collins to run the show from day one and usher in a new era of guard play for the Michigan program.