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After finishing his freshman season with the Alabama Crimson Tide, forward Sam Walters has reportedly left the program in the NCAA Transfer Portal to join the Michigan Wolverines. The 6''10" forward appeared in 37 games, averaging 12.3 minutes and recording 5.4 points and 2.4 rebounds per game while shooting 42.7% from the floor, 39.4% from three and 82.5% from the charity stripe. He also has three years of eligibility remaining ahead of him.
This move is intriguing, especially following the Crimson Tide's Final Four appearance. Walters became the fifth player to join the Michigan Wolverines under new coach Dusty May. Walters joins Yale center Danny Wolf, North Texas guard Rubin Jones, Auburn guard Tre Donaldson and Ohio State guard Roddy Gayle Jr.
Sam Walters reportedly decided to join the Michigan Wolverines over offers from the Ohio State Buckeyes and the Kentucky Wildcats, among others. This is going to be intriguing as the program looks to make a massive step in the right direction.
Also Read: Why was Juwan Howard fired? Exploring potential reasons behind Michigan coaching change
What should we expect from Michigan after getting Sam Walters?
Under Coach Juwan Howard's program last season, the Michigan Wolverines struggled. However, Coach Dustin May is taking over and has the reputation of building up the frontcourt's defense, which is Walters' biggest flaw as a player, so this would round him out.
The Michigan Wolverines were last in the Big Ten Conference last year, going 8-24 (3-17 in Big Ten). However, this team is expected to make significant strides towards reaching a .500 record next season. Sam Walters' decision to choose the Michigan Wolverines over other programs adds depth to their roster for the upcoming season.
This Michigan program has a lot of bright spots and needs to improve in conference play but with the additions in the NCAA Transfer Portal, this team should be able to do well. They had a decent offensive output with 72.9 points per game last season but the defense of 79.0 points per game should improve drastically to win more games.
