Michigan basketball: Transfer Jose Perez to visit later this month
Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard is still looking to fill out the 2023-24 roster with at least one more guard, and he took a step closer to achieving that recently. West Virginia transfer Jose Perez, one of the top remaining guards in the portal after entering several days ago, is scheduled to visit Ann Arbor July 28-30.
The mysterious Trilly Donovan first broke the news on twitter Tues., July 11.
California, Gonzaga, Oregon and others are those also extremely interested, per reports, but Michigan has prioritized Perez from the jump. He’ll have one more year of eligibility remaining wherever he ends up, but it’s clear the Wolverines have made an impression. As of now, U-M is his first visit at the start of the quiet period (but on during which visits are allowed).
Perez (6-5, 220), out of The Bronx (N.Y.) Wings Academy, spent his first two seasons at Gardner-Webb, where he averaged 15.1 points per game in 2018-19 and 15.2 in 2019-20. He played in 10 games after transferring to Marquette, averaging 3.1 points per game before a coaching change sent him back to the portal.
From there, Perez ended up at Manhattan, where he scored 18.9 points per game with a career-best 4.5 assists and 3.2 rebounds per game. He transferred to West Virginia and tried to get a waiver to play immediately, but he was denied — as was an appeal. He sat out last season, and with Bob Huggins out at WVU, Perez is on the move again without having played a game for the Mountaineers.
Though he’s not known as a shooter (more a scorer), Perez has been a high usage guy in his career. He did make 38.1 percent of his triples in his first year at Gardner-Webb, shooting 44.8 percent overall, but he was at 39.9 percent overall and 25.9 from long range last season. He also shot a career-best 80.2 percent from the free throw line going into the preseason as the 2022-23 MAAC player of the year.
Should Perez choose Michigan, he would likely compete for a starting spot with the ability to play three spots depending on the lineup combination. Michigan has a pair of scholarships remaining after adding three transfers and a true freshman in 2024 in three-star combo guard George Washington III. Howard and his staff have had a busy offseason after losing Hunter Dickinson to Kansas and Jett Howard and Kobe Bufkin to the NBA. They added Tennessee forward Olivier Nkamhoua, Seton Hall forward Tray Jackson, and Alabama wing Nimari Burnett. All three are expected to play big minutes this year.
The Wolverines also received a commitment from North Carolina’s Caleb Love. He had admissions issues, though, and ended up at Arizona. Instead, they’ve continued to look elsewhere to add to a revamped roster. Only two starters — point guard Dug McDaniel and forward Terrance Williams II— return from last year’s NIT team. The transfers should help, though, and Perez could be another big addition.
Michigan finished 18-16 last season, missing the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015 and splitting the games they played in the NIT with a win over Toledo and a loss at Vanderbilt. The goal is to get back to the tournament in 2023-24 and get some momentum back. They are hopeful Perez will be part of it.
Watch for more on this development in the days to come …
