Michigan basketball reaches out to Ohio State transfer Roddy Gayle Jr.
Michigan Wolverines basketball has made contact with Ohio State guard transfer Roddy Gayle Jr., he told Sam Kayser of 24/7 High School Hoops. Other programs that have reached out to Gayle, who entered the NCAA transfer portal April 3, include BYU, Georgia, Alabama, Oklahoma, Clemson, Cincinnati, Georgetown, Syracuse, Texas, Pittsburgh, Xavier and Louisville.
Gayle played two seasons in Columbus and has two years of eligibility remaining. He’s the 100th-best overall player and No. 21 shooting guard in the portal, according to On3’s rankings.
The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder ranked third on the Buckeyes with 13.4 points per game last season. He added 4.6 rebounds and 3.1 assists in 30.9 minutes per game, appearing in 36 outings with 35 starts.
Gayle shot 51.3 percent on twos (140-of-273), 28.2 percent on threes (29-of-103) and 83.2 percent on free throws (119-of-143).
Gayle ran 226 ball-screen possessions (including passes), generating 0.934 points per play in those situations. He struggled with his jump shot efficiency, with a 38.4 effective field goal percentage. Gayle took 77 jumpers off the dribble, with a 39 effective field goal percentage.
The Buckeyes finished an up-and-down season with a 22-14 record. Head coach Chris Holtmann was fired in February, with assistant Jake Diebler taking over in the interim. He was promoted as the program’s full-time head coach at the end of the year.
“The game slows down for them a little bit once they see the game more and know what to expect,” Holtmann said in December, discussing Gayle. “I think you’re seeing the game slow down for him. His paint reads need to get better. Where’s the right opportunity? Just in general, his handle last year and at times this year is too loose. He’s got to tighten it.
“We want to be able to play through him. We ran a middle drive opportunity for him and he made a really good drive. He’s hard to keep out of the paint. We want to be able to play through him and a couple other guys late.”
The Niagara Falls, N.Y., native was much more efficient with his three-point shot as a freshman, but on less attempts. He went 21-of-49 for a 42.9-percent clip, along with a 44.6 two-point field goal percentage. He averaged 4.6 points and 1.6 rebounds per game, adding 21 steals and 12 blocks. He started 10 of the team’s last 11 games and registered 12 points per contest while shooting 64 percent from the field with 9 made three-pointers in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Mount Pleasant (Utah) Wasatch Academy was a four-star recruit in 2022. He was the No. 62 overall recruit and eighth-best shooting guard in 2022.
