Is it Joey Baker and/or Emoni Bates or bust for Michigan basketball?
Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and his staff lost freshmen Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate to the NBA after one year, and Frankie Collins to the transfer portal (and Arizona State). The Wolverines continue to look for replacements, but the options are dwindling.
RELATED: Michigan basketball portal update – Potential transfer Joey Baker on campus
On a positive note, they did land Princeton’s Jaelin Llewellyn to replace Collins. He can shoot, has a lot of experience and averaged 15.7 points and 2.5 assists for the Tigers last year.
Beyond that, though, they’re struggling to find players to join him. Illinois guard Jacob Grandison was very interested in Michigan. The Wolverines kicked the tires on him when he left Holy Cross a few years ago, even. Duke was the only impediment, and it proved to be too big to overcome. Grandison, a 42 percent three-point shooter a year ago, pledged to the Blue Devils on a recent visit.
Michigan hasn’t gained much traction with Northwestern forward Pete Nance, who seems interested in North Carolina and Gonzaga. It’s been quiet, too, with Boise State’s Emmanuel Akot since he was linked to the Wolverines a few weeks ago.
That leaves Duke’s Joey Baker and — yes — Memphis wing Emoni Bates as two of the few options remaining. As first reported by TheWolverine.com, Baker visited midweek. He left without committing, but the former top 30 prospect remains a strong possibility.
How much he’d help is the big question. He played 11 minutes per game at Duke, but he’s a shooter who could open the floor for Michigan center Hunter Dickinson and Co. The former Blue Devils captain played in 88 games with four starts in four seasons at Duke, averaging 4.1 points on .394 shooting from the field and .379 from three-point range. He made 30-of-74 (.405) from long range and scored in double figures six times while helping the Blue Devils reach the Final Four last year.
Michigan still a possibility for Emoni Bates?
As for Bates — he and his entourage have made it clear he’d love to play for Howard at Michigan. The U-M coaches told him there was no room last month, and that was accurate … then. Now, though, there’s a spot. And while Bates has been linked to Louisville and others, he hasn’t committed. Most believe he was waiting to see what happened at Michigan.
As reported last week, Howard could go that direction if he feels the one-time prep phenom could help without being a distraction. Bates has struggled with the latter in his career, and it appeared Memphis was better without him last season. The 6-9, 190-pound Michigan native averaged 9.7 points and 1.3 assists per game but shot only 38.6 percent from the floor, 32.9 percent from three-point range.
The Tigers went on a run when he was sidelined for February and much of March, too. Fair or not, several believed there was a correlation there, though Bates returned to provide some key minutes in March.
Because was not eligible for the 2022 NBA draft, having only turned 18 in January. And while his back injuries last year were a concern, it’s the effect he’d have on chemistry that’s the bigger question mark. Howard would have to make an executive decision here, but it’s possible that happens, especially since Michigan has missed on several of their other targets. Texas Tech’s Terrance Shannon, for example, was expected to join the team. Instead, he ended up at Illinois after an admissions issue.
It’s possible Michigan will stick with the roster it has, or perhaps add only one of the two. There are talented freshmen arriving and several on the roster seemingly ready to make moves this year (Kobe Bufkin, Isaiah Barnes, Will Tschetter, etc.).
But nothing would surprise anymore in this era of roster volatility.
