Michigan Wolverines head coach Juwan Howard Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

Michigan hoops signee wants out of his National Letter of Intent

By Andrew Kulha | Last updated 4/19/23

Center Papa Kante was a big-time signing for head coach Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines. Unfortunately, any good feelings about Kante getting on campus and making an early impact for the Michigan basketball program in the fall have been extinguished.

Kante recently released a statement on Twitter saying that he has asked Michigan to release him from the National Letter of Intent he signed in November of 2022.

“First and foremost I want to thank Allah (God) for blessing me every day and making me believe that everything happens for a reason. After a lot of thought and conversations with my family, I have decided to request a release from my NLI to [the] University of Michigan," Kante wrote. "Thank you to the coaching staff and Michigan fans for their interest in me. Thank you to all my supporters, friends and family for continuing to show love.”

Alhamdoulilah pic.twitter.com/kbHt1Q1eUJ
— Papa amadou Kante (@papaamadoukante) April 18, 2023

Essentially, Kante is re-opening his recruitment, and it stands to reason that he'll receive a ton of interest in his services.

Kante is a four-star recruit, ranked as the No. 11 center in the 2023 class as well as the 90th-ranked recruit nationally. He's 6-foot-10, 215 pounds as a high school senior, and not only does he have the length and frame to be a dominant big man at the college level (he apparently has a 7-foot-4 wing span), but he has a nice outside touch and athletic rim-running ability as well.

Before committing to Michigan, he had received offers from Maryland, DePaul, East Carolina, Georgetown, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Miami, Ole Miss, Pitt, Providence, Rutgers, Seton Hall, Syracuse, TCU, Tennessee and Washington.

It will be intriguing to see where he ends up.

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