Michigan lands former Texas Tech, Alabama guard Nimari Burnett out of transfer portal

Mar 30, 2023 - 4:06 PM

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Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines have been reaching out to a number of talented players in the portal, and they finally landed a commitment. Combo guard Nimari Burnett has committed to Michigan, as first reported by Joe Tipton with On3.

This is now the fourth offseason in a row Howard has landed a guard out of the transfer portal, including Mike Smith, DeVante’ Jones and Jaelin Llewellyn.

A former McDonald’s All-American recruit and four-star prospect from Chicago, Burnett was originally recruited by the Wolverines out of high school.

Burnett spent his first season at Texas Tech in 2019-20, averaging 5.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.4 steals in just under 18 minutes per game. He then transferred to Alabama, playing just under 15 minutes per game and averaging 5.6 points and 2.0 rebounds. He scored in double figures five times this past season, including a career-high 18 points against Jacksonville State and 11 points in Alabama’s Round of 64 NCAA tournament game against Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.

Burnett only made 32.1% of his threes in 3.1 attempts per game, but he’s got a solid jumper and looks confident coming off screens and firing on the left wing. He’s an excellent cutter and a decent driver who did a solid job finishing at the rim. Alabama loves to play fast and move the ball in transition, and Burnett was a major beneficiary of that this past season.

Looking at the Wolverines’ current roster and projected rotation for next season, they needed another guard or two, even without accounting for the fact that Kobe Bufkin and Llewellyn may not be returning in 2023-24. Burnett, at the very, least provides Michigan with a solid scorer off the bench who has the talent to eventually start at the 2.

Howard has landed Burnett, but the Wolverines certainly aren’t done trying to improve their roster through the transfer portal. Maize n Brew will keep you updated on the latest news from the portal, which has been a reliable well that Michigan keeps going to to add talent to their roster.