Hunter Dickinson, Michigan’s star center, has entered the transfer portal, per multiple media outlets. This is quite surprising to say the least.

There had been plenty of recent chatter about this possibility. The surprising part is maybe more so seeing it go down like this — his name simply dropping in the portal instead of Dickinson announcing it himself.

— Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) March 31, 2023

He had just completed his junior season in Ann Arbor averaging 18.5 points and nine rebounds per game. He was voted first-team All-Big Ten by the media this past season.

The Wolverines struggled this season to a 18-16 (11-9 Big Ten) record and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2015. That certainly wasn’t the expectation heading into the season coming off of a Sweet Sixteen birth in 2022.

Dickinson arrived on campus in 2020 with a lot of excitement. He was a force his freshman campaign and earned All-American honors. He was also named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.

Since then, his growth has been minimal. His rebounds and blocks have gone up each of the past two seasons. But his overall impact on the game hasn’t grown noticeably. He’s still known for being a slower big man who’s main use on offense is near the basket. He’s a good but not elite defender as well.

After his freshman year Hunter Dickinson was nearly a lock to be drafted in the first round. Nowadays if you look at a plethora of mock drafts, he’s not even drafted in some.

Dickinson is a really good college basketball player. But if we’re going off of the hype and potential after his freshman year, the progression of his game hasn’t matched it.

Not Your Standard Transfer

Him transferring is a very interesting move. He’s not a star player at a mid-tier college transferring to a better school. This is Michigan. He’s also not a highly-touted recruit at a big school who isn’t getting enough minutes.

It’s kind of sad that he’s leaving considering he was head coach Juwan Howard’s first big time recruit. Is Dickinson leaving a sign of the current state of the program?

It’s not so much that Michigan missed the tournament last year, it’s more of how. They never really looked like a tournament team throughout the season.

Fans have begun starting to call for Howard’s job. Which is crazy considering he’s a notable alum who took this team to the Elite Eight two seasons ago.

But then again this is a guy who has had his temper get the best of him on multiple occasions. And a lot of the last possession plays he draws up are head scratching.

This is a big loss for the program. Howard was already under a lot of pressure. Now that Dickinson is gone, he has even more work to do, in order to turn the ship around.