Michigan stormed through the college basketball world last season. It was clear, by midseason, if not sooner, that Michigan was the best team in college basketball. Yaxel Lendeborg was the biggest find in the transfer portal and he was the Big Ten Player of the Year. But Lendeborg wasn't the only gem in the portal.
As fans know, both Morez Johnson Jr. and Aday Mara were great, and now both of them are also in the NBA. And it was impossible for Dusty May to have any three of them on the bench to start, or finish games. That trio created Michigan's three-headed monster and it was difficult for teams to contain, or stop, the Wolverines' big lineup.
With all three of them gone, Michigan could opt to play a bigger lineup again this season. J.P. Estrella and Moustapha Thiam are the Wolverines' starting front court. Roddy Gayle Jr. will slot into the wing, but Michigan could play LSU transfer Jalen Reed at times in place of Gayle Jr. However, that's not in the cards this season, according to Mike Boynton Jr.
"Nope, we've thought about it. It's, you know, obviously, we've got some experience.," Boynton Jr. pointed out. "We know there's some things we can go to in that situation. It's not a part of the plan right now, but it's certainly not out of the realm of possibility. "
Reed has a role, but it's not going to be at the '3'
Jalen Reed comes to Michigan after spending four seasons at LSU. He suffered back-to-back season-ending injuries in the last two seasons, and Michigan wasn't sure if Reed was going to play this season. But he's recovered quicker than anyone had thought and entering Sunday's exhibition game against Houston, Reed won't have many restrictions.
Reed has said he can play anywhere on the court, having confidence in his ball-handling ability and his ability to knock down the three. While Reed might be confident in his ability, Boynton Jr. likely isn't going to throw him into the fire anywhere but down low. As of now, Boynton Jr. says Reed is the Wolverines' third-string center behind Thiam and Estrella, along with the chance to play the '4'.
"Yeah, he's sort of a piece we can move around," said Boynton Jr. "But we weren't expecting it. We kind of, when we talked about it, talked to him even when we were recruiting him at the end. This is before we knew 5-for-5 was a thing or whatever. It was still a thought that if he's not healthy, maybe he just sits the year and we get them next year for him. So it was more of a kind of an insurance piece.
"But he's worked so hard in his recovery. He's done such a good amount of work on his own with our trainers. He's ready to go. I mean, right now he's on the third string center, if you will, behind Moustapha and JP. But he easily slides to the floor because he can move well. And he's still in the game."
Fans can see the Wolverines back in action on Sunday, and then Michigan's regular season will begin on Monday, Nov. 2, against Oakland.
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