The Portal: Bigs and Wings Part II

Moustapha Thiam Raw Stats: 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 52.5 FG, 28.8 from three, 63.3 FTShort Eval Pros: Behemoth at 7'2 and 250 pounds. Good rim protector with a 6.8 block rate (though it falls to 4.1 against top-50 opponents) and 98th percentile rim protection. Opponents shoot 7.9 worse at the rim with Thiam on the floor. Extremely good short midrange shooter at 55.2 on short mid attempts. Good rebounder with 20.4 Dreb rate. Viable back-to-basket option at .90ppp on post-ups. High-floor option that will provide solid production on both ends. Short Eval Cons: Drop-off in production against elevated competition as noted above with the block rate. Solid, but not overwhelming finisher at 67 at the rim. Really lacks in drawing FTs, with a 32.1 FT rate and that falls to 24.4 against top-50 opponents. Where Things Stand: Visiting today, so there is obviously some level of serious mutual interest. You may recall Thiam was on my initial list last week, and I've become more intrigued with him since then. Why? Because of the age factor that I didn't account for initially. Moustapha is young for his class, just having turned 20 years old in late February (younger than Morez, who is young for his class). It's nearly unheard of for impact bigs to be young relative to class these days, and taking that in tandem with the size/talent/productivity combination, Thiam should be the 1 overall target on the board (yes, over Juke Harris) given roster needs and the way the game of basketball has shifted. I've poked around a bit and this is going to be a bidding war, as it was for him coming out of HS. Visited St. John's last week with Kansas, Michigan State, Arkansas, UConn and others reportedly involved. This is a big boy recruitment that will require big bog tactic. Franck Kepnang Raw Stats: 6.2 points, 6.3 rebounds, 2.1 blocks, 51.5 FG, 68.9 FTShort Eval Pros: Good rim protector with outstanding 9.9 block rate (declines considerably against top-50 competition at 6.3) and elite offensive rebounder at 13 Oreb rate (relatively stable against top-50 opponents at 11.3). Has above-average touch on floaters/jumphooks, converting 47.1 of other 2s on solid volume (68 attempts last season). Kepnang is what he is, an anchor rim protector that gives you extra possessions offensively. Michigan needs that. Short Eval Cons: Poor finisher that converts only 57.1 at the rim (with 58.3 of makes assisted). Limited utility as a dumpoff option that can exploit smaller defenders on low-ish volume and score on putbacks.Where Things Stand: Held zoom meeting with Michigan last week along with Oklahoma State and Michigan State. Reportedly setting up visits. Clearly a tier below Thiam in the pecking order. If Thiam leaves Ann Arbor without committing, we may see Dusty May pivot to Kepnang quickly. Julius Halaifunoa Raw Stats: 9.5 points, 4.4 rebounds, 0.7 blocks, 60.8 FG, 74.7 FTShort Eval Pros: Fantastic roll-man and finisher in general at 83.1 on rim attempts. Above-average touch on floaters/jumphooks at 44.1 conversion on other 2s. Draws fouls at a solid clip with a FT Rate 51.1. Good offensive rebounder with a 9.2 Oreb rate that remains relatively stable versus top-50 competition at 8.2. Flashes some ability to stretch the floor from distance on low volume, which may become more viable with continued development. Can put the ball on the floor for a dribble or two on the short-roll and makes plays for himself or teammates. Perhaps the most offensively talented big on this list. Short Eval Cons: Not necessarily a strong rim protector. 4.3 block rate on the season, but that drops significantly to just 2.8 against top-50 opponents. Relatively weak defensive rebounder given the size/position, with a 16.2 Dreb Rate that falls to just 13.3 against top-50 foes. Likely the weakest defender on this list and redundant with Estrella in some ways as scoring bigs that don't necessarily make a ton of impact defensively. Where Things Stand: Hasn't been much that connects Michigan to Julius from mainstream media, but there's been some buzz from a few different sources elsewhere. Pure speculation on my part, but I'm inclined to think this is identical to the Kepnang situation....................Thiam is the priority and Dusty May will pivot if he leaves Ann Arbor without pledging to Michigan.[AFTER THE JUMP: The Full Rundown]Eric Reibe Raw Stats: 5.9 points, 3.3 rebounds, 0.7 blocks, 65.8 FG, 52.1 FTShort Eval Pros: Upside. A freshman at a premier program with great positional size at 7'1 is what Dusty May would be banking on here. 6.1 block rate and 17.8 Dreb rates are good, particularly for a freshman. Really good finisher at 72.9 at the rim and 47.4 on short mid shots (19 attempts) suggests there is some touch on floaters. At 1.34ppp on cut + roll possessions in tandem with the finishing numbers, Reibe has the look of an elite roll-man. Outstanding offensive rebounder with a 10.1 Oreb rate that is relatively stable at 8.9 against top-50 opponents.Short Eval Cons: Some questions surrounding the rim protection, as the rim deterrence is 55th percentile and the overall rim protection is 26th percentile. Does not draw FTs well for a big at just 30.4 for the season and 18.2 against top-50 opponents. Have to weigh the cons against the general struggles of being a freshman and the projected upside/development.Where Things Stand: I've yet to see Reibe linked to Michigan. But we've seen Dusty May move in silence before, and with Reibe clearly filling a need as an anchor rim protector, he'll remain an option until he's not. Robert Miller Raw Stats: 6.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.4 blocks, 0,9 steals, 65.7 FG, 69.9 FTShort Eval Pros: Would likely be near the top of the board for me not accounting for mutual interest and other thing. Superb rim protector with 7.9 block rate overall that remains stable at 7.6 against top-50 opponents. 2.7 steal rate against top-50 competition. Really disruptive defender that creates havoc with stocks. Strong finisher at 71.6 at the rim with seemingly good touch at 47.8 on other 2s. Explosive athlete that gets off the ground quick with a big catch radius because of the vertical leaping ability and reported 7'4 wingspan. Outstanding at drawing FTs with a 69.5 FT rate and 62.9 against top-50 competition. Good ballskills with the ability to put the ball on the floor and face-up from the perimeter/elbows. Young for class........still only 19 years old. Struggling to understand why he didn't feature more at LSU.Short Eval Cons: Sub-par defensive rebounder at 14.6 Dreb rate that falls to 11.4 against top-50 opponents. High TO rate (22.5) given low usage 14. And that's about it.Where Things Stand: See Reibe above. Ditto here. Juke Harris Raw Stats: 21.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 44.4 FG, 33.2 from three, 78.3 FTsShort Eval Pros: At his best getting downhill as a straight line-driver that gets rim pressure. Physical finisher with good contact balance despite slender frame. Solid finisher despite somewhat middling numbers(61.2 at the rim) for a guard/wing when accounting for shot difficulty/quality and self-creation volume. The physicality/contact balance also shines through with a 47.2 FT rate (86th percentile nationally). Excellent second-level scorer that converts 47.8 of midrange attempts (93rd percentile). Better floorspacer than the raw numbers (33.2 from distance) indicate, as he attempted movement triples on solid volume with Wake Forest. Good rebounder for a perimeter player with 17.6 Dreb rate.Short Eval Cons: Poor playmaker for others, particularly considering the high usage. 11.6 overall assist rate (31st percentile) and only 27th percentile with respect to rim assists (the most valuable assist in basketball). Relatively weak defender, checking in at 31st percentile nationally in DRAPM. Wake Forest opponents were 4.1 points better and shot 4.1 better at the rim with Harris on the court. Doesn't use the same level of physicality on defense in relation to offense, slender frame makes it difficult for him to absorb contact defensively. Solid run + jump athlete, but not necessarily great with respect to acceleration/agility.Where Things Stand: After a ton of early buzz and some predictions in favor of Michigan on the heels of the visit to Ann Arbor, this recruitment has slowed down a lot. North Carolina and Tennessee are both heavily involved now. Perhaps more importantly, Harris seems intent on seeing where he stands with the NBA draft process. This one doesn't seem to be coming to a conclusion any time soon. I won't pretend to know where this is headed and I doubt anyone does at this point. Jaylin Stewart Raw Stats: 4.2 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, 43 FG, 34.5 from three, 59.3 FTShort Evals Pros: The raw stats aren't impressive, but I think Stewart is much better than the numbers indicate, particularly for what Dusty May likes. Jaylin is a 3.5 position defender at 6'7 that does a lot of the connector facets at a championship level. A 3.8 block rate against top-50 opponents as a wing speaks to his ability to scale up and provide quality low-man play. Beyond that he was a superb low-volume finisher last season, converting 72.7 of his rim attempts with only 58.3 of the makes assisted. Takes some projection, but I think Stewart would be significantly better with Dusty May at Michigan. Short Eval Cons: There just isn't much in the way of proven production offensively. Has been a below average floor-spacer at UConn, at 34.5 from distance last year as mostly a stationary catch + shoot release valve. Where Things Stand: No reported link between Stewart and Michigan. But with Harris on his own timeline, Jaylin seems like a plausible money-ball option if you want an impact big (Thiam) along with a proven defensive wing with limited resources. Personally, I'd go that route (impact big + rotational wing) rather than going impact wing and questionable big. Milan Momcilovic Raw Stats: 16.9 points, 3.1 rebounds, 1 assist, 50.6 FG, 48.7 from three, 87.8 FTShort Eval Pros: The best shotmaker in college basketball. Elite three-level scorer that completely bends defenses with the ability to connect on movement threes off screens, DHOs and relocations. Great positional size for the college level and largely contest immune. Putting up a mindboggling 1.38ppp on off-the-dribble jumpers and 1.48ppp on pick-and-pops. In short, a lethally efficient scoring machine. Short Eval Cons: Perhaps the best scorer in college basketball, but not much more than that. A 5.4 assist rate is hard to grasp in tandem with a 0.4 rim assist rate. Wouldn't describe Milan as a strong defender, but he was part of a top-5 defense in the nation while playing heavy minutes. Where Things Stand: Have yet to see anyone connect Momcilovic to Michigan. But with Dusty May we've seen big moves made in silence before. The roster needs a rim protecting anchor more than anything, but Milan would be the 1 wing target on my board. Presumably this would take a lot of reources. Paul McNeil Raw Stats: 13.8 points, 3.6 rebounds, 0.8 assists, 43.3 FG, 42.7 from three, 82.4 FTShort Eval Pros: Elite perimeter shotmaker that makes threes on volume as a stationary release valve and movement shooter with ability to hit pull-ups off the bounce. Likely the best available shooter in the portal exclusive of Milan Momcilovic.Short Eval Cons: One trick pony offensively. 3rd percentile rim frequency and 2nd percentile in rim assists. A 5.2 assist rate overall is almost hard to believe from a perimeter player. In short, the epitome of Just A Shooter. Defensively McNeil profiles a lot like Juke Harris as a below average defender. Opponents shoot 5.8 better at the rim with him on the floor, the EFG is 2.2 better and the NC State defense gave up 2ppp more (39th percentile) with McNeil on the court. Where Things Stand: No mention of McNeil with Michigan as of now. But if Dusty May strikes out with Thiam, he may decide to go big-game hunting on the wing, particularly with the Juke Harris situation being what it is. Log in or register to post comments Yinka Double Dare April 20th, 2026 at 10:34 AM ^ Momcilovic is a 3 year player so he's almost certainly not an option unless he's also graduating. Same with Jaylin Stewart. Joined: 06/30/2008 MGoPoints: 11044 swn April 20th, 2026 at 11:17 AM ^ I'll take Thiam and Christian Anderson please. Call it a day. McKenney can play SF. Joined: 08/29/2017 MGoPoints: 11207 Dusty May moustapha thiam franck kepnang eric reibe robert miller julius halaifunoa juke harris jaylin stewart paul mcneil milan momcilovic