College Basketball

Olivier Nkamhoua commits to Michigan, giving Wolverines much-needed boost

Updated Jun. 7, 2023 12:58 p.m. ET

College Basketball Broadcaster and Reporter

The Michigan Wolverines needed to make a transfer portal splash, and that’s exactly what occurred on Wednesday.

Tennessee transfer Olivier Nkamhoua announced that he’s taking his talents to Ann Arbor for his fifth season of college basketball, as first reported by Joe Tipton of On3.

Nkamhoua, who received a call-up to the NBA Draft Combine in Chicago in May after shining at G League Elite Camp, helped his draft stock but is electing to return to college and suit up for Juwan Howard in the 2023-24 campaign.

The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 10.8 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game this past season, shooting 51% from the floor. He showcased an ability to stretch the floor from time to time as well, with his best career performance coming in the NCAA Tournament second-round victory over Duke. Nkamhoua matched his career high with 27 points, shooting 10-for-13 from the field and 3-for-4 from downtown to lead the Volunteers to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2019.

For Michigan, which has had a difficult offseason that includes the departure of Hunter Dickinson to Kansas, Kobe Bufkin and Jett Howard off to the NBA Draft and North Carolina transfer Caleb Love not working out due to academic requirements, the news of Nkamhoua certainly is a welcomed positive piece of development for a program that currently projects to be in the back half of the Big Ten entering next season.

The Wolverines do get a standout, experienced forward who is a high-level defender and showed flashes of offensive upside with his other career-best performance coming against an Elite Eight Texas team, when he scored 27 in the regular season win over the Longhorns.

Michigan will be counting on sophomore guard Dug McDaniel (8.6 PPG, 3.6 APG) to take a leap with an increased role and for Jaelin Llewellyn to return from his torn ACL injury and step up. Alabama transfer Nimari Burnett should help in the backcourt as well after serving as a key reserve on a Crimson Tide team that was the No. 1 overall seed in the NCAA Tournament.

For a frontcourt that lacks experience and was going to be counting on sophomore Tarris Reed (3.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG as a freshman), Seton Hall transfer Tray Jackson as well as Terrance Williams, this is a pivotal addition for Howard and his Wolverines.

It looked like this would not happen, as it was reported Monday that West Virginia and Baylor were Nkamhoua’s two finalists.

That sparked an active 48 hours in Ann Arbor, showing just how much Michigan needed the former Tennessee standout.

There will be a wide-open doorway for Nkamhoua to step through, and he will have to raise his offensive game to a more consistent level if the Wolverines are going to have a chance at returning to the NCAA Tournament after a disappointing NIT campaign last season.

John Fanta is a national college basketball broadcaster and writer for FOX Sports. He covers the sport in a variety of capacities, from calling games on FS1 to serving as lead host on the BIG EAST Digital Network to providing commentary on The Field of 68 Media Network. Follow him on Twitter @John_Fanta.

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