Michigan meeting with transfer portal forward BJ Mack on Thursday
Michigan basketball will meet with transfer portal forward BJ Mack on Thursday, he tells On3’s Joe Tipton. The Woffard forward/center made contact with the Wolverines earlier this week and it appears the interest is moving into the next stage.
Mack, who entered the transfer portal last week, averaged 16.6 points, 5.6 rebounds and 1.4 assists during the 2022-23 season. He shot 49.2% from the field and 33.5% from three-point range. This would make him a potential stretch-4 in Michigan’s lineup.
On3 has Mack (6-8, 245) as a 4-star transfer prospect and the No. 21 available player as of March 16. Other schools with reported interest include Arkansas, Butler, Georgia, Georgia State, Georgia Tech, Grand Canyon, LSU, Mercer, Mississippi State, NC State, Ole Miss, Richmond, Rhode Island, San Diego, Santa Clara, Seton Hall, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UCLA, Vanderbilt and Xavier.
“BJ Mack is originally from Charlotte, North Carolina,” On3’s Jamie Shaw wrote recently. “He played for the Team United program on Nike’s EYBL Circuit. Mack is a noted shooter, a career 35.9 percent shooter from beyond the arc n 3.0 attempts per game. He committed to South Florida out of high school and spent his last three years at Wofford. Mack has scored 1,238 career points and was voted first-team All-SoCon for the 2022-23 season.”
Michigan had a pair of players start at the 4 this season in junior Terrance Williams and redshirt freshman Will Tschetter. They averaged a combined 8.5 points per game, so U-M’s interest in boosting the offensive output at the position appears to be a priority.
Michigan’s scholarship allotment is one over the 13-man limit for the 2023-24 season, but there could be some movement this off-season. Sophomore guard Kobe Bufkin and freshman wing Jett Howard are considered 2023 NBA Draft prospects. Junior center Hunter Dickinson could have a decision to make, too. Transfers out are also always on the table.
Michigan has been active in the transfer portal under Howard, adding at least one player in each of the last three offseasons. Those players include Mike Smith, Chaundee Brown, DeVante’ Jones, Jaelin Llewellyn and Joey Baker. Llewellyn and Baker could potentially return for sixth seasons – and their second with Michigan – but that remains to be seen.
The current season is still ongoing for the Wolverines, who beat Toledo 90-80 in the first round of the NIT on Tuesday. It next heads to Vanderbilt for a noon tipoff on Saturday in the second round. With a win, Michigan would host an NIT quarterfinal game next week at Crisler Center.
