Michigan men’s basketball team loses high-profile transfer, per report

The expected depth at point guard for the Michigan men’s basketball team might not be so deep after all.

Guard Caleb Love, who had committed to transfer to the Wolverines after three seasons at North Carolina, reportedly decommitted on Wednesday, according to Joe Tipton of On3.com. Love was ranked as the No. 16 transfer available this offseason by 247 Sports.

Love averaged 16.7 points, 2.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds in 35.7 minutes a game for the Tar Heels last season. He starred in North Carolina’s 2022 run to the NCAA tournament title game, averaging 18.8 points over six games. Love is a high-volume scorer, meaning he needs the ball often; he averaged 15.1 shots a game last season, but shot just 37.8% overall and just 29.9% on 3-pointers, despite taking 7.4 shots beyond the arc per game.

Michigan still has Jaelin Llewellyn and Dug McDaniel returning at point guard. Llewellyn, who transferred from Princeton before last season, was injured in the season’s eighth game, tearing his ACL in a Dec. 4 game against Kentucky in London. He averaged seven points and 2.8 assists in his short stint as the starter. After undergoing knee surgery, he received a medical hardship waiver from the NCAA in order to return for the 2023-24 season.

Michigan is also set to add Nimari Burnett, a transfer from Alabama, as well as guard George Washington III, the Wolverines’ lone remaining commitment from the class of 2023, who was the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year last season.

Still, Llewellyn isn’t at full strength yet.

McDaniel, a true freshman last season, became a starter after Llewellyn’s injury. After a slow start to the season, his shooting clicked, as he averaged 13.8 points, 3.5 assists, 2.5 rebounds and 1.3 steals over the Wolverines’ final eight games, while shooting 43.3% from outside.

Detroit Free Press sports writer Tony Garcia contributed to this report.