Offseason recap: Everything that’s happened with Michigan men’s basketball since March

It’s been a busy offseason for Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines. After what was a roller coaster of a regular season in 2021-22, the men’s basketball team snatched one of the final at-large spots and made it to the Sweet Sixteen before eventually losing to Villanova, 63-55.

This year’s squad will look a lot different due to some departures to the NBA and the transfer portal. Michigan also picked up a few transfers of its own and has a quality group of freshman coming in as well.

For those of you who have been under a rock this summer or have been focused on Michigan football continue to dominate, here’s a recap of everything that’s happened this offseason.

Departures to NBA

Michigan’s two five-star recruits from last season, Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate, both ultimately decided to stay in the NBA Draft. Houstan is now with the Orlando Magic and Diabate is with the Los Angeles Clippers.

Additionally, DeVante’ Jones and Eli Brooks played in summer league with the Oklahoma Thunder and Indiana Pacers, respectively. Neither are on an NBA roster as of now, with Brooks being cut recently.

Michigan loses 3 players via transfer portal

The Wolverines lost a few players from last year’s roster to the transfer portal, with Brandon Johns Jr. and Zeb Jackson now on VCU and Frankie Collins heading back to his home state to play for the Arizona Sun Devils.

Michigan will get the chance to face either VCU or Arizona State in the Legends Classic in Brooklyn on Nov. 16-17. Michigan’s first matchup is against the University of Pittsburgh.

Hunter Dickinson decides to return for junior season

Luckily for the Wolverines and their fans, Dickinson is back for his junior season.

The unanimous preseason All-Big Ten center led the Wolverines last season with 18.6 points per game, 8.6 rebounds per game and 1.5 blocks per game. He also went 56.3% overall from the field and 80.2% from the free throw line.

Michigan gains 2 players via transfer portal

While Michigan lost a lot of contributors, this young team did pick up two transfers with 165 games of college basketball experience under their belt in versatile point guard Jaelin Llewellyn from Princeton and sharpshooter Joey Baker from Duke.

Earlier this summer, I used advanced stats to break down what Michigan fans can expect from both Llewellyn and Baker on the court this season.

Michigan lands talented Lebanese 2022 recruit

Michigan was able to use one of its final scholarships to land a talented 2022 wing in Youssef Khayat, who earlier this summer helped Lebanon advance pretty far in the FIBA Asia Cup.

Khayat was the last of five commits in the 2022 class, along with four-stars Tarris Reed Jr., Jett Howard, Dug McDaniel and Gregg Glenn.

Overseas trip

The Wolverines took a trip through Europe earlier this summer, where Michigan played 2.5 exhibition games and got to see parts of France and Greece.

Howard did speak at length about that trip at Big Ten Media Day last week, saying the trip was very beneficial for the young squad both on and off the court.

Tarris Reed Jr. gets a saxophone

One of the coolest stories of the offseason featured Michigan’s top ranked 2022 recruit in Reed Jr., who was gifted an alto saxophone from Cameron’s Music in Livonia as part of an NIL deal through MGoDao.

I was there to see him get the saxophone, an instrument he’s been playing since middle school.

Captains named for 2022-23 season

No real surprises here, as Michigan’s eldest returning players in Dickinson, Terrance Williams II and Jace Howard were named captains in late September.

Williams II and Howard are expected to have bigger roles in their junior seasons, with Howard speaking at Michigan’s Big Ten Media Day about his positional versatility and the benefits of getting to play with his younger brother at a school they grew up loving.

Howard, players speak at media day

On Wednesday, Howard was briefly able to address all the media at Big Ten Media Days last week before taking the time to talk at his podium session afterward. Dickinson, Llewellyn and Howard also talked for about 20 minutes.

Michigan also held a media day of its own last Friday, where Maize n Brew’s David Woelkers Jr. got the chance to talk to coaches and players before watching part of practice.

There’s a lot to break down from both those media days, and with Michigan football on a bye this week, be on the lookout for more basketball coverage from Maize n Brew in the coming days.