Michigan basketball commit Papa Kante requests release from NLI

Four-star center Papa Kante has officially asked out of his National Letter of Intent with the Michigan Wolverines. Kante was one of two players to sign an NLI with the program in the 2023 recruiting cycle, along with four-star guard George Washington III.

Despite the one-player recruiting class, the Wolverines have been very active in the transfer portal by adding former North Carolina guard Caleb Love, Alabama guard Nimari Burnett and Seton Hall forward Tray Jackson. However, the loss of Kante and the pending transfer of All-Big Ten center Hunter Dickinson leaves the Wolverines woefully thin in the frontcourt.

Currently, the Michigan frontcourt next season is comprised of Jackson, Tarris Reed Jr., Terrance Williams II, Will Tschetter, Gregg Glenn, Youssef Khayat and Jace Howard as a F/G hybrid. Yikes.

Is head coach Juwan Howard targeting someone else in the portal? Could Dickinson be returning? In a make-or-break season for Howard, he will need to address the lack of frontcourt depth immediately.