Michigan Lands Columbia Transfer Kenny Noland to Reshape Guard Rotation
Michigan just plugged one of the biggest holes on its roster.
The Wolverines landed Columbia transfer Kenny Noland this week, adding a proven Ivy League scorer to a backcourt that badly needed a shot creator. Noland averaged 17.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 3.7 assists per game for the Lions last season and was one of the most productive guards in the entire Ivy League.
Dusty May now has the piece he was chasing all August.
Michigan’s spring portal work was solid but not spectacular. The Wolverines went hard for a few high-major names and lost most of the battles. Noland was not in the initial plan. He entered the portal late after Columbia announced coaching changes, and the recruiting fight to land him lasted less than two weeks. Michigan won it over Villanova, Xavier, and a group of Big East teams.
The fit is clean. Michigan needed a downhill guard who could run pick-and-roll and hit a mid-range pull-up. Noland is exactly that. His numbers at Columbia came against Ivy competition, which needs the usual grain of salt, but the film shows a legitimate high-level shot creator. He can score against a set defense, which most of Michigan’s returning guards cannot do reliably.
The bigger picture is that this signals Michigan’s ceiling for the year. Dusty May is entering year two, and he has to prove that last season’s Sweet 16 run was the beginning of something rather than a peak. The roster is talented, the coaching is legit, and now the shot creation problem is at least partially solved.
The Big Ten is loaded. Indiana is going to be tough. Purdue is always tough. Michigan State is Michigan State. Illinois has one of the best rosters in the conference. If Michigan wants to win the league, they need more from their guards, and Noland is a real answer.
The knock is the level of competition he played against. Ivy League basketball has real players but not real depth, and the transition from that level to the Big Ten is a huge leap for anyone. Noland has to prove he can create against ACC and SEC defenders when they close hard, and that his handle holds up when the game speeds up.
He is 22 years old and has legitimate NBA hopes if he shoots well from three. The Ivy League has produced NBA guards before, from Jeremy Lin to Ryan Boatright. Noland is not that caliber of shooter yet, but a strong year in the Big Ten changes his career trajectory in a hurry.
Michigan’s projected starting five now looks pretty solid: Noland, Nimari Burnett, Yaxel Lendeborg, Roddy Gayle, and Vlad Goldin. That is a legitimate top-25 group with real Big Ten upside. The bench has questions, but the top of the rotation is more than good enough.
May’s job in year two is to prove that last year was a foundation. Landing a guy like Noland this late in the offseason is a good sign that the staff is still recruiting hard and still hunting for edges. Programs that dominate the transfer portal in August are usually programs that win in March.
Tip-off is 10 weeks away. Michigan just made itself a lot harder to beat.
A longtime sports reporter, Carlos Garcia has written about some of the biggest and most notable athletic events of the last 5 years. He has been credentialed to cover MLS, NBA and MLB games all over the United States. His work has been published on Fox Sports, Bleacher Report, AOL and the Washington Post.
