Michigan makes top schools list for Toledo transfer Dante Maddox Jr.
Toledo guard transfer Dante Maddox Jr. has released a list of his top eight schools, and Michigan Wolverines basketball, under new head coach Dusty May, has made the cut. The Maize and Blue appear along with Louisville, Creighton, Oklahoma, Xavier, Illinois, Kansas and TCU.
Maddox Jr. started his college career at Cal State Fullerton, spending two seasons in the Big West Conference from 2020-22. He played the last two years at Toledo and has one year of eligibility remaining.
The 6-foot-2, 195-pounder started all 32 games for the 20-12 Rockets this past season, averaging a team-high 15.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists in 33 minutes per game. The second-team All-MAC selection shot 47.6 percent on twos (89-of-187), 40.2 percent on threes (72-of-179) and 86.2 percent on free throws (106-of-123).
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As the team’s point guard, Maddox produced 0.881 points per possession on ball screens (including passes) in 2023-24, which ranked in the 52nd percentile in the country. He also was efficient as a spot-up player and coming around off-ball screens. Maddox had a 62.4 effective field goal percentage on catch-and-shoot jump shots (89th percentile in the country).
The Chicago Heights, Ill., native put up 11.3 points, 3.8 boards and 1.9 assists in 29.9 minutes per game in 35 appearances with 29 starts for Toledo in 2022-23. He shot a whopping 44.9 percent on 138 three-point attempts and converted on 52.4 percent of his twos, with a lower usage rate that he had this past season.
Maddox registered only 2 points, 1 assist, 1 rebound and 1 steal in a 90-80 loss to Michigan in the first round of the NIT that year.
A standout at Cal State Fullerton, the Michigan transfer target averaged 6.8 points and 2.6 rebounds per game in 2021-22, after registering 11.7 points per contest as a freshman in 2020-21.
A Chicago Heights (Ill.) Bloom product, Maddox was not ranked in the 2020 recruiting class.
At the time he entered the transfer portal, Maddox released a statement on social media, thanking Toledo.
“I have made the decision to enter the transfer portal for m last year of college as a graduate transfer,” the Michigan target said. “I am super excited to fight for my dreams and to kick of new beginnings and create new memories. But Toledo will forever be my home.”
