Michigan lost a proven bench scorer when L.J. Cason transferred to Miami after Dusty May’s departure, but the Wolverines may already have a freshman who can help soften that blow.
Cason was a major piece for Michigan last season, appearing in 28 games and putting up 8.4 points, 2.4 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game. He gave Michigan a needed jolt off the bench and, since the first time the media saw him at Michigan’s Pro Day two years ago, carried a reputation as the team’s best one-on-one scorer. That kind of shot-making matters in the Big Ten, especially when an offense stalls and someone has to create something out of nothing.
That’s where Joseph Hartman enters the picture.
Michigan got an early look at the freshman guard during its trip to Europe last month, and Hartman flashed enough scoring ability to turn heads. He finished only six of 22 from the field, but he still produced seven points in one game and six in another off the bench during the first two games of the trip. In Michigan’s second exhibition, Hartman showed the kind of late-game shot-making that stands out: getting into the lane, using his pivot foot and working around defenders for clutch buckets in the fourth quarter.
The 6-foot-6 guard came to Ann Arbor as a top-100 four-star recruit in the 247Sports composite, and his scouting report from 247Sports’ Adam Finkelstein points to a skill set that overlaps with Cason’s in some important ways.
“Hartman is built like a strong-bodied wing, but has some big guard type skills. He’s a good ball-handler and passer, and can even operate as a jumbo initiator at times.
He utilizes his size and strength to take smaller defenders into the mid-post. He can also space the floor as a spot-up shooting threat, knocking down 44% of his threes, on over 4 attempts per game, during the 3SSB season.”
Finkelstein also noted that Hartman is “not a dynamic athlete and lacks elite quickness or bounce,” which are traits that made Cason such a difficult cover. Still, Hartman stands four inches taller than Cason, and that size could help him make up some of the difference.
Hartman confirmed his commitment to Michigan in July after May’s departure. By that point in the summer, most rosters were already largely set, so there weren’t many paths elsewhere. Even so, it’s fair to think he stayed because he saw a chance to carve out a real role.
No one should expect Hartman to walk in and match Cason’s scoring right away. Freshman guards usually need time to adjust to the speed and physicality of college basketball. But with Michigan facing questions about depth heading into the 2026-27 season, the Wolverines will need freshmen to give them something off the bench.
Cason’s microwave scoring will be missed. Hartman might be the closest thing Michigan already has to filling that gap.
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