Michigan Basketball: Former Ohio State G Roddy Gayle Jr. previews playing his former team on Sunday

First-year head coach Dusty May went out and searched the transfer portal to bring in elite talent to Ann Arbor. Only three scholarship players returned from the Juwan Howard era and May brought in some stars like Vlad Goldin, Tre Donaldson, and Danny Wolf. But arguably the most interesting transfer find was Roddy Gayle Jr.

Gayle Jr. played two seasons with Michigan's arch-rival, Ohio State, before coming to Ann Arbor for his junior season. The Niagra Falls (NY) native started 35 out of 36 games for the Buckeyes a year ago and it made headlines when he chose to transfer to the Wolverines. Sunday will make the first time Gayle Jr. heads back to Columbus, but this time, as a Wolverine.

Talking with the media on Friday, Gayle Jr. says he knows what's at stake coming back to his old stomping grounds. But at the end of the day, he hopes to help get the Big Ten-leading Wolverines another win.

“I know that this was the opportunity for me to be able to go back to Columbus and be able to perform, especially how I feel like I was treated after I made a decision to come (to Michigan),” Gayle Jr. said Friday. “But I think for me it was more about bragging rights and being able to play against some of my best friends. Hopefully, we can go out there and get a W.”

Gayle Jr. is fourth on the Wolverines averaging 10.9 points per game. But he's been in a slump and Coach May opted to start Rubin Jones in place of Gayle Jr. the past two games. The former Buckeye had a terrific outing in the win over Purdue on Tuesday night and he scored 14 points in the win.

He knows entering hostile territory will come with remarks from the Buckeye faithful. While Gayle Jr. insists he's good at tuning the noise out, he knows fans will be fans when it comes to seeing him play for their rival. But at the end of the day, he wants to prove that transferring to Michigan was the right choice.

“I can’t really blame the fans for me entering the transfer portal and going to Michigan," said Gayle. "I received a lot of hate for that, but at the end of the day, I get it; it’s fans being fans.

“I feel like it gives me the opportunity to be able to kinda prove myself, prove what Coach May had in store, prove what I think was the best decision for me. There were some instances, especially when I entered the transfer portal, around school, if someone would see me. I kinda feared the possibility of what people might do to me when I was out there. It’s whatever."

You can see Gayle Jr. and Michigan play against Ohio State on Sunday at 1 p.m. ET. on CBS.