Michigan didn’t need long to see what Moustapha Thiam can bring to the table. In Friday’s exhibition win over Oregon State, the transfer center put together a full-line performance, finishing with 19 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and a block in 31 minutes.
That kind of impact is exactly why Michigan went out and brought him in after losing three first-round draft picks and plenty of production from last season’s frontcourt. The Wolverines had one of the country’s most dominant big groups a year ago, and now Thiam is the centerpiece of the rebuild inside.
He arrives with a solid track record already on his résumé. Last season at Cincinnati, Thiam averaged 12.8 points and 7.1 rebounds per game while sharing the frontcourt with Baba Miller. At Michigan, the role looks different: he’s the go-to big man, and he has two skilled guards to work with in Elliot Cadeau and Trey McKenney.
“I’ve played with a lot of great guards, but I don’t think I’ve played with guys like Elliot and Trey,” Thiam said. “The three of us, I think we’re important pieces on this team. And the more we get comfortable being with each other and playing the game, we (will) understand what everybody should do.”
The Thiam-Cadeau connection stood out in the second half. Thiam scored three times on assists from Cadeau, including two lobs that showed how naturally the two were starting to find each other. Even after Thiam missed much of Michigan’s overseas trip this summer because of injury, the chemistry between him, Cadeau and McKenney is clearly moving in the right direction.
“I think we’ve seen through two exhibition games that we can find some real good opportunities for those guys to build leverage for each other,” Mike Boynton Jr. said. “(On the) back-screen lob, Elliot makes the pass and Trey sets the screen. Those are some of the things we’ll try to tweak as we go through the season to try and put ourselves in the best position on offense.”
In Other News...
Michigan Just Took A Tough Backcourt Recruiting Hit
Michigan had been in the mix for a major backcourt addition in Devin Cleveland, but the four-star guard chose Missouri instead, closing the door on what had looked like one of the Wolverines better recruiting battles. For a program that has already dealt with recent coaching turnover, with Mike Boynton Jr. taking over for Dusty May, losing out on a guard of Clevelands caliber stings a little more because of what he represented for the next wave of roster building.
The miss also leaves Michigan without an immediate impact backcourt piece in the 2027 class, which puts a little extra pressure on the staff as it keeps chasing perimeter help. There is still time for the Wolverines to reshape that group, but this was the kind of recruiting swing that can change the feel of a class, and for now it is Missouri that gets the benefit. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Just Got Called Out Before A Season Defining Penn State Game
Michigans uneven start has now drawn some pointed national attention, with Nick Saban singling out the Wolverines as the Big Tens biggest disappointment because of an offense that has not matched the caliber of their defense. A team that entered the year with real expectations is sitting 3-2 overall and still searching for its first conference win, which has turned an already important stretch into a far more urgent one.
Now comes a home date with Penn State, another team still winless in the Big Ten, in a matchup that suddenly feels like a reset point for both sides. Michigan needs more from Bryce Underwood and a more reliable attack to keep the season from drifting further off course, while Penn State arrives with its own offensive issues under first-year coach Matt Campbell, leaving both programs to sort out the same problem under a brighter spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Michigan Already Faces A Tough Kyle Whittingham Reality
Michigans coaching search ended with a big-name hire in Kyle Whittingham, a move that instantly shifted the conversation in Ann Arbor from crisis management to expectation. After firing Sherrone Moore amid misconduct allegations, Michigan landed a veteran with a long track record of stability and success, the kind of presence that can calm a program that has been thrown into disarray. It is the sort of reset that usually comes with optimism, but it also comes with a familiar warning attached to any coach arriving from a proven stop: the rsum travels, the context does not.
Penn States decision to move on from James Franklin and turn to Matt Campbell only sharpens that reality, because it shows how quickly even established coaches can be judged by the latest stretch of results. Both Whittingham and Campbell bring respect from their previous programs, but midway through the season their new teams are already living with the same blunt truth - reputation alone does not fix immediate problems. For Michigan, the early returns will matter fast, because the patience that comes with a fresh hire can disappear just as quickly if the transition does not take hold. [Read more 🡒]