As we have seen when there is a coaching change, there tends to be a lot of roster turnover. Michigan basketball has already experienced that with four players leaving via the transfer portal.
Michigan basketball also had a five-star, Khani Rooths, decommit, following the firing of Juwan Howard. While Thursday brought positive news about point guard Durral Brooks, who confirmed his commitment, there was some disappointing news on Friday as Christian Anderson won’t do the same thing.
This is according to multiple reports. Anderson is ranked No. 110 overall in the 247 Sports composite rankings for the 2024 class. The 5-foot-11 point guard committed to Juwan in November of 2023, so it’s understandable that he would move on with a new head coach.
Thoughts on the decommitment of Christian Anderson
It’s a bummer. I was hoping that new Michigan basketball head coach Dusty May would be able to retain Anderson, as he did with Brooks, but there are lots of potential reasons why this might have happened.
Maybe the two sides don’t think it will be a system fit. Anderson is a stellar 3-point shooter, but May runs a different system than Juwan Howard. There will be more guards asked to do more things. That’s why I thought adding Brooks and Anderson would be a positive step.
Both players are ranked outside the top 100. Yet, as we have seen with the Howard era, singing highly-ranked players isn’t always what it’s made out to be. Often, those players are talented, but not ready for college basketball. They’ll flash enough to get drafted on potential, and leave before becoming First-Team All-Confrence contributors.
So taking guys who are more likely to be multi-year contributors makes more sense. Michigan basketball is looking at eight scholarship openings. That’s assuming Jace Howard, Will Tschetter, Nimari Burnett, and Terrance Williams all return, which is a big if.
That’s why bringing George Washington III back into the fold would be good for the future. You don’t want to build the entire team from the transfer portal.
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