The Michigan Wolverines won the national title on the back of strong March Madness performances by Yaxel Lendeborg and Eliott Cadeau. The final was a close encounter, with Dusty May’s Wolverines edging Dan Hurley’s UConn 69-63.
Now, May will be looking to shore up next year’s roster. He will likely lose important players to the NBA Draft, key among them Lendeborg, and while it seems like Cadeau will stay at Ann Arbor, his future hasn’t been officially decided yet. It wouldn’t be a surprise, then, that May’s mind is entirely on the transfer portal, which just opened today.
According to On3’s Jamie Shaw, among Michigan’s top targets is Kansas’s Flory Bidunga. Bidunga, this season’s Naismith Trophy Defensive Player of the Year finalist, averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. He’s considered the second-best player available in the transfer portal by On3.
According to Shaw, other schools likely to attempt to secure the services of the Congolese player include Duke and Texas Tech. These schools, along with Michigan, were among the finalists to recruit Bidunga out of high school. On3 predicts that the race will likely be down to the Blue Devils and Wolverines.
It’s important to note that the Jayhawks’ star center is hedging his bets and has also declared for the NBA Draft. There’s every chance he could end up with the pros by summer.
Dusty May’s Transfer Portal Philosophy Parallels The Oklahoma City Thunder
Speaking ahead of the national championship game during his Sunday press conference, Dusty May was asked if it was an issue for him that his roster was mostly made up of transferees.
May drew an important parallel to NBA teams and the current reality of college athletics.
“I think we are all better in certain situations than others… When the OKC Thunder won the Finals last year, I wasn’t judging them because SGA was drafted by the Clippers or because they signed Isaiah Hartenstein as a free agent. I thought, wow, those guys played beautiful basketball—that’s a real model for young players to watch,” May said.
It’s clear that his strategy worked, with Michigan having just won the national title, and we can expect him to do the same this offseason.
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