Alabama transfer Nimari Burnett chose Michigan because he wanted an opportunity to showcase his skills and to prove he's more than a roleplayer as his days with Texas Tech and in Tuscaloosa showed.

Burnett found his perfect match in Ann Arbor due to his pre-existing relationship with Juwan Howard and his familiarity with the program during his recruitment process out of high school.

Now with an opportunity to expand his role tenfold in Ann Arbor, he says the Wolverines are getting a relentless defender and loyal teammate.

"Nimari Burnett the basketball player is a guy who takes pride in defense, who takes pride in helping his teammates get better," Burnett said on the Defend the Block podcast. "Who can do multiple things, whether it's shoot, get downhill, play in the mid-range. Many people haven't seen that yet but it's a part of my game that I am looking to show and prove and that I work so hard on.

"Just someone who will come with a great, relentless effort and focus throughout the entire year and that is all about winning."

Burnett was asked what kind of improvements in his game he would like to make through the course of the season and one area that he highlighted was to be more vocal.

As someone that is new to the program, he understands the fine line of coming in right away and leading and also ingratiating yourself into a new culture.

Burnett is working with that balance and only wants to see his teammates get better.

"It's hard because I'm already kind of vocal but being a little bit more and kind of galvanizing the team by not only me leading by example but also leading with my voice," Burnett said. "If there comes a time, even though I'm new, there comes a time to lead with my voice and make sure guys are in the right spot from the experience that I've had before, I'm more than willing to do that. That's an area of improvement.

"Also, being more comfortable with the ball in my hands. I haven't played much with the ball in my hands over the past few years and I feel like I am very capable of that. Those two things are two of my biggest areas of focus."

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