In terms of the transfer portal, Michigan basketball has won some and it’s lost some.
The Wolverines brought in three transfers thus far this offseason in F Olivier Nkamhoua from Tennessee, Nimari Burnett from Alabama via Texas Tech, and Tray Jackson from Seton Hall. They had a commitment from Caleb Love, but the North Carolina guard wasn’t cleared by admissions.
Michigan also lost Hunter Dickinson and Gregg Glenn III via the transfer portal.
There have been multiple players in Juwan Howard’s sights, but they’ve either remained with their program or ended up elsewhere.
That’s when a new target emerged in former West Virginia guard Jose Perez. Perez entered the portal this summer following the commotion surrounding head coach Bob Huggins. He averaged 18.9 points per game in 2021-22 while still playing at Manhattan. He transferred last year to WVU, but wasn’t cleared to play immediately, despite having four years of experience — including the COVID year.
According to The Michigan Insider’s Davis Moseley, Perez appears to be trending to Michigan basketball, but Gonzaga is also under strong consideration.
Hearing #Michigan is playing ahead of the field with Jose Perez, but Gonzaga is a program making it interesting.
Watch for a visit and a quick resolve to his recruitment. Shouldn’t get past a week or so
— Davis Moseley (@DavisMoseley) July 7, 2023
The Wolverines have been looking for another scorer at the guard position all offseason and appeared to have their man when Love initially committed. They sought after Kentucky’s Antonio Reeves, but he opted to remain in Lexington.
While the competition that Perez faced playing for Manhattan certainly wasn’t at the same level as the Big Ten, the maize and blue have had luck with bringing in guards from lesser schools — such as Mike Smith coming from Columbia and Jaelin Llewellyn from Princeton (the latter only played a handful of games before going down with a season-ending injury).
Time will tell if the Wolverines can close on Perez and cement the roster heading into next season.
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