Mike Boynton Jr. Details How Michigan Could Target L.J. Cason's Replacement

Since becoming the new head coach of the Michigan basketball program, Mike Boynton Jr. quickly went to work after the abrupt departure of Dusty May. Boynton Jr.'s first order of business was getting the team to recommit to the program.

And he batted nearly 1.000 in doing so. Boynton Jr. retained all but one player from the roster. Guard L.J. Cason was the lone player to enter the transfer portal, where he committed to Miami (FL) on Tuesday, following May's choice to leave for the Dallas Mavericks.

Cason, who suffered a torn ACL last season, wasn't going to make much of an impact this year. But with the new 5-for-5 rule in place, Cason had an opportunity to make a late comeback and give the Wolverines a ball handler off the bench.

Could Michigan look to the transfer portal?

With Cason leaving, Michigan has another open spot on its roster. In today's era of collegiate athletics, the transfer portal is always an option. Coaches leave programs, which would then open the transfer portal up, and there are current court hearings going on regarding the eligibility of players.

All of that is on the table for Michigan. Appearing on Defend the Block, head coach Mike Boynton Jr. discussed the options the Wolverines have.

Michigan guard L.J. Cason (2) cuts down net to celebrate — USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

“Yeah, 10 years ago, it probably wasn't an option," Boynton Jr. said of finding a replacement. "It's mid-July. There are a lot of different factors that go into adding somebody to your roster and people being available also. But we're in a different climate. And so there actually are several people potentially available with either a court ruling going well on the other or just somebody transferring from another school because something happened there.

"So we're very much in tune to who's available. We would like to, in a perfect world, add another veteran piece if we could. Maybe another ball handler, decision maker, a playmaker, somebody who could help, you know, just add some element of playmaking to our team. But we do like the team as it presently is constructed.

"And so we'll do both. We'll continue to work with this group and develop the guys we have, but we'll always keep our ears to the ground as to maybe how some of this stuff is playing out there in the market.”

Could Michigan turn to Mike Martin's former team?

Mike Boynton Jr.'s first move as Michigan's new head coach was to hire long-time Brown head coach Mike Martin as an assistant coach. Martin joins a star-studded coaching staff in Ann Arbor, and with Martin leaving Brown, the transfer portal will open for their players.

Brown was far from a stellar team last season, but the Wolverines aren't shy about plucking away players from the Ivy League. Both Mike Smith and Jaelin Llewellyn came from Ivy League programs, who gave Michigan playmakers on the ball.

Brown Bears guard Jeremiah Jenkins (2) dribbles the ball during the second half — IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

We touched on it before, but Brown had a premier ballhandler last season, and Jeremiah Jenkins could certainly be an option for the Wolverines.

Jenkins is a rising junior, who led the Ivy League dishing out 5.2 assists per game. He's not a big scorer, averaging just 8.2 points per game, but between his ability to make plays for his teammates and his defensive acumen, leading the conference with 1.9 steals per game, he could be an intriguing option for Michigan.

The Wolverines would need him to get caught up to speed in the Big Ten, but Jenkins would be a valuable asset off the bench, if Michigan went that route.

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