Michigan’s backcourt has a new veteran piece, and Kenny Noland arrives with the kind of résumé that doesn’t need blue-chip branding to make sense. A Columbia transfer, Noland is expected to matter for a Wolverines team coming off its first national championship in 37 years, and his path to Ann Arbor has been anything but ordinary.
Noland was still flying under the radar when he finished his prep career at The Hotchkiss School in Lakeville, Connecticut. He was unranked out of high school and, according to his 247Sports profile, there isn’t even a photo attached.
But the production was impossible to ignore: 18.1 points, 7.3 rebounds, 7.5 assists and 3.0 steals per game, enough to earn New England Prep School Athletic Conference Class A Player of the Year honors. He helped push the Bearcats to a NEPSAC title and a 23-1 record in 2021-22 while also playing AAU ball with Team Loaded NC 3SSB.
From there, Noland took the Ivy League route to Columbia after posting a 4.1 GPA in high school. He made his debut in a 2022 game against Rutgers and kept climbing from reserve to fixture, starting 54 of 55 games across his junior and senior seasons.
Last year, he was Columbia’s scoring leader, averaging 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 3.7 assists and 1.3 steals while shooting 44.9 percent from the field on 13.4 attempts a game, 37.5 percent from three on 6.9 tries and 92.1 percent at the line on 2.7 attempts. That free throw mark led all qualified Ivy League players.
The numbers came with team results, too. Columbia finished 16-12 and lost to Harvard in the Ivy League Tournament.
Noland scored eight points in 29 minutes against No. 3 UConn in the Lions’ only game against a ranked opponent, an 89-62 loss.
Against Brown, he had 18 points in an 86-80 overtime loss on Jan. 17 and 23 points in an 80-62 win on Feb. 27.
It makes sense that Mike Martin, who spent 14 seasons as Brown’s head coach before joining Mike Boynton Jr.’s staff, wanted him in Michigan’s program.
Noland committed to Michigan just before the Europe trip in mid-August, though he didn’t play while waiting on an eligibility ruling. Last week, he was granted a preliminary injunction, and barring further litigation, he is expected to spend his final season of eligibility in Ann Arbor.
On the floor, Noland brings a lot of polished guard skills. He’s a tough downhill driver who uses speed to make up for his size and does his best work coming off the pick-and-roll.
He isn’t a blur like DeVante’ Jones, but he’s crafty, changes pace well and knows how to get to his spots. He also has a knack for stopping on a dime, using his pivot foot to create room and get to a mid-range jumper.
He’s also patient in ball-screen action, willing to read the defense before deciding whether to hit a rolling big or take care of it himself. In isolation, he’s comfortable using a hesitation dribble to set up a step-back, and his jumper - while a little unconventional because of its lower release point - goes down consistently. Defensively, he stays active with his feet, turns his hips to stay in front of downhill attacks and handles screens well at the point of attack.
There are a couple of small concerns. He’s not a true everything-you-need guard, and he can get himself into trouble by jumping on long passes, which can leave him stranded.
That said, those are the kinds of details that usually get cleaned up with coaching. He’s also a natural comparison to former Columbia transfer Mike Smith, though the read here is that Smith had more burst and microwave scoring punch, while Noland is the better playmaker.
The jump to the Big Ten will be real, but Noland looks equipped for it. As for Michigan’s rotation, it’s hard to imagine him cracking the starting backcourt over Elliot Cadeau or Trey McKenney unless the preseason goes in a wildly different direction. The more likely fit is as a steady backup point guard, one who can run the pick-and-roll in a system that leans on it and give the Wolverines a veteran presence behind a group that includes freshmen Quinn Costello, Joseph Hartman and Malachi Brown.
He could be especially useful for Hartman’s development, with Noland’s slashing style and Hartman’s iso game potentially working well together. If Cadeau or McKenney miss time, Noland could step into spot starts or heavier minutes. His 6-foot-2 frame may get tested in Big Ten play, but the combination of toughness and basketball IQ should help him hold up.
Michigan doesn’t need him to be flashy. It needs him to be reliable. Noland looks like the kind of guard who gives a roster more stability, more depth and a proven option when the games get messy.
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