Juwan Howard and the Michigan men's basketball team made their first addition via the transfer portal on Thursday morning when Alabama transfer Nimari Burnett committed to Michigan.

Burnett's name is one that may be familiar to Michigan fans. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound guard was heavily recruited by Howard and Michigan coming out of high school, and the interest was mutual. Burnett had Michigan in his list of top-five schools, which also included Alabama, Louisville, Oregon and Texas Tech.

The Napa, Calif. native, and former high four-star recruit ultimately settled on Texas Tech, where he played 12 games for the Red Raiders as a freshman. He averaged 5.3 points in 17.7 minutes per game.

He then transferred to Alabama for the 2022-23 season, where he played 27 games for the NCAA Tournament's top-overall seed. In his one season with the Crimson Tide, Burnett averaged 5.6 points in 14.6 minutes per game.

Late in his Texas Tech career, Burnett tore his ACL, which forced him to miss the entire 2021-22 season.

Now, Burnett will play for Howard and Michigan. The move isn't surprising as the aforementioned mutual interest between the two parties was rather strong.

Michigan is still waiting on an NBA Draft decision from 6-foot-4 guard Kobe Bufkin, but Burnett would be a high-ceiling player to replace Bufkin, should he go pro.

---

Discuss this article with our community on our premium message boards

Not a subscriber to Maize & Blue Review? Sign up today to gain access to all the latest Michigan intel M&BR has to offer

Follow our staff on Twitter: @JoshHenschke, @Berry_Seth14, @TrevorMcCue, @DennisFithian, @BrockHeilig, @JimScarcelli, @lucasreimink, @JaredHalus

Subscribe to our podcasts: Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify

Check out Maize & Blue Review's video content on YouTube

Follow Maize & Blue Review on social media: Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram