Michigan Wolverines guard Nimari Burnett and forward Terrance Williams II are officially a part of the 2024 NBA Draft process, the league announced on Tuesday morning. Both have the option of returning to U-M for an extra season, but their futures are still to be determined.
Burnett’s status has been quiet since the end of the season and former head coach Juwan Howard’s departure from the program, while Williams entered the transfer portal while declaring for the draft last month.
Burnett was solid for Michigan last year after transferring in from Alabama, starting all 32 games and averaged 9.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 2.4 assists and shot 39.9% from the floor in 31.3 minutes per game. Williams started all 31 games in which he appeared for an 8-24 Michigan team in 2023-24, Williams averaged 12.4 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game.
Burnett was honored during U-M’s Senior Day, but stated he was not sure what his plan would be yet.
“I said, ‘Let me do it this year and see what happens,’” he said. “Obviously I know I have eligibility, but this is just in case.”
The NBA Combine is set for May 12-19, which could determine the next course of action. The deadline to withdraw from the event is May 29.
Williams was also mum in the aftermath of the season before entering the portal. It remains unclear what either of their fits would be under new head coach Dusty May, though Burnett has been speculated as a player more likely to return and be in the mix in Ann Arbor.
It has been an impressive few weeks for May in rebuilding his roster, adding a number of players via the transfer portal, headlined by FAU center Vlad Goldin, Ohio State’s Roddy Gayle Jr., Auburn point guard Tre Donaldson and others.
Michigan expects to be competitive in year one under May and make a push for Big Ten titles and an NCAA Tournament berth. He says that could help in establishing an identity and program moving forward.
“I do think year one is important for putting a product on the floor that people want to be a part of, and that means a lot of things,” May said during his introductory press conference on March 26. “How the players interact with each other, the connection between them, the connection between them and the students in the fan base. I do feel that we need to put a good team on the court from from day one, in year one and then continue to build. Therefore we’ll sign some high school players, we’ll sign some portal players, but also having some continuity where it’s not a roster overhaul every year.
“There won’t be a point when we just throw in the towel and say we’re not going to be competitive this year because it’s year one. We want to win and we want to be able to to to sell that going forward what we were able to do in year one.”
Michigan currently has one scholarship spot open pending decisions from Burnett and forward/guard Jace Howard. With Williams in the portal, his spot is not guaranteed if he were to have an interest in returning.
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