Former Wisconsin Star, Duke Commit John Blackwell Admits Michigan Basketball 'Dream'

Blackwell is currently going through the NBA process, but if he comes back to college, it will be for Duke — but Michigan was a dream for him.

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John Blackwell was a star at Wisconsin during his three seasons in Madison. He instantly caught on, earning Big Ten All-Freshmen Team. He then became a two-time All-Big Ten player, and following his third season with Wisconsin, Blackwell entered the transfer portal and became one of the hottest transfers on the market.

Blackwell would end up committing to Duke, while entering his name in the NBA Draft. He is currently going through the draft process, and if he doesn't stay in the draft, the 18.3 points per game scorer will head to Duke.

But there was aspirations to play for the University of Michigan.

The Michigan dream

Some may not realize it, but Blackwell was in Michigan's backyard and neither Juwan Howard nor Tom Izzo saw it. Playing at Brother Rice in Bloomfield Hills (MI), he was a three-star prospect in the 2023 class. Blackwell played with other elite talent and his true abilities weren't able to be shown on a game-in-game-out basis.

The Wolverines only took one prospect in the 2023 class — four-star George Washington — and never offered Blackwell. But speaking to On3's The Wolverine in Chicago during the Combine, it was actually a dream of his to play for Michigan.

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“For me personally, it would’ve been a dream of mine, obviously, to go to Michigan,” Blackwell said. “I grew up a huge fan of Michigan. [Former head coach John] Beilein was one of my favorite coaches growing up. Trey Burke, Caris LeVert, Nik Stauskas, those are guys I looked up to and watched play.”

Despite Howard not offering Blackwell, he doesn't have any bitterness toward Michigan, and he admires what Dusty May has built in Ann Arbor. Blackwell recently worked out with the Brooklyn Nets, where Howard is an assistant coach, and he was able to catch up with the former Michigan coach.

Why Blackwell couldn't have come to Michigan this year

With Michigan likely losing all of its front-court players from last season, plus graduates like Nimari Burnett and Roddy Gayle, there will be a new look to the Wolverines. Dusty May added three transfer bigs, plus one of the top recruiting classes in the 2026 cycle.

It appears, on paper, Michigan is one wing away from another championship, so wouldn't Blackwell have made sense? Yes. But it's not easy for the Wolverines to recruit junior transfers due to credits transferring.

That's why you see a lot of one or two-year players coming into Ann Arbor, or graduates. It's not a cut-and-dry issue and Blackwell coming to Michigan for his senior year was going to be difficult.