Ah. So. Here we are.

None of us (stares in Brian's direction) really wanted next year to be here so fast, but we're suddenly in the offseason, so it's time to take a broad view of Michigan's roster.

The Scholarship Chart

As things currently stand, Michigan is one spot over the 13 scholarship limit for 2020-21, though that spot could easily be opened up by Jace Howard starting his career as a preferred walk-on.

We know for sure that Austin Davis will be back after Juwan Howard made it public he wanted the backup center on the team for his fifth year. Davis didn't go through Senior Day ceremonies. He's not going anywhere and is slated to at least reprise his role as a valuable player off the bench at the position with the most uncertainty heading into next season.

The roster isn't set, of course. It'd be an unusual offseason indeed without any attrition, particularly with so many players on the roster who committed to a head coach who's no longer here. In fact, with assistant Saddi Washington emerging as a leading candidate to replace fired Western Michigan head coach Steve Hawkins, there may soon be no more holdovers on the coaching staff from John Beilein's tenure.

You may also have heard that Howard is still recruiting a couple high-profile 2020 prospects. Let's take a look at where Michigan stands with some five-star talent.

[Hit THE JUMP]

Potential Additions: 2020 Recruiting

watch at your own peril

Five-star Lakewood (CA) Mayfair shooting guard Josh Christopher represents Michigan's best chance at a high-profile addition to the 2020 team. The Wolverines hold 100% of the crystal ball picks for the nation's #10 overall prospect, whose decision shouldn't be too far off. Michigan's primary competition appears to be Arizona State, where his brother Caleb Christopher will be a sophomore next year. UCLA and Mizzou are also involved.

Christopher would be a massive addition. While Michigan is deep on the wing and has plenty of bodies capable of playing center, they're a little thin in the backcourt, and Christopher could start as a 6'5" attacking off-guard from the outset. 247's scouting report is tantalizing:

Excellent strength and good length for a shooting guard. Functional athleticism. Makes plays in traffic. Has great body control and ability to make tough shots and shots off one foot. Solid ball handler. More scorer than passer but can distribute. Rebounds position. Has potential to be an outstanding, versatile defender. Has a high floor as a prospect.

His highlights, well, speak for themselves. He's a one-and-done prospect who can make a very big impact in that one season.

Michigan also received an official visit from the #9 overall player, Texas PF Greg Brown, but they appear to have an outside shot at best. Texas, Memphis, and Kentucky all have picks on the crystal ball for the lanky human pogo-stick, and he's taken officials to all three as well as Auburn. He posted on Sunday night that a decision is "coming soon," and there's been little-to-no buzz about Michigan.

Potential Additions: Grad Transfers

While the grad transfer options very much seems like a Plan B, it's always best to approach the presumed addition of five-star recruits with caution, plus there's the potential for attrition from elsewhere.

A couple weeks ago, reports came out that Harvard grad transfer Seth Towns, a former four-star Michigan target, had the Wolverines on his list of potential destinations:

Source: Harvard grad transfer Seth Towns is considering Kansas, Virginia, Syracuse, Ohio State, Michigan, and Maryland. Immediately eligible for next season.

— Jon Rothstein (@JonRothstein) March 8, 2020

I don't expect Michigan to land Towns. As a 6'7" wing, he doesn't fill a need, and he's also missed the last two full seasons to injury. He's also probably not on the right timeline for Howard to be able to add him to the roster, as Towns plans to announce a decision this week—it's unclear where that scholarship would come from right now.

A more likely option could be another Harvard grad, 6'0" guard Bryce Aiken. Before missing most of this past season with a foot injury, putting him in line for a medical redshirt, Aiken averaged 22.2 points and 2.9 assists per game in 2018-19 while shooting 47% on twos, 40% on threes, and 86% from the line on a sizable free throw rate. His degree of difficulty was high: only 12 of his 51 three-point makes and six of his 48 makes at the rim were assisted, per hoop-math. While it's generally for himself, the guy can create a high-percentage shot.

Aiken could find a role in Michigan's backcourt if they miss on Christopher or lose someone elsewhere. Aiken told 247's Evan Daniels that Howard is among the coaches to have already reached out to him:

“So far Maryland, Marquette, Seton Hall a little bit,” Aiken said. “I’ve spoken to Juwan Howard over at Michigan, the head coach of Iowa State, Kansas has reached out, but not to me personally yet and Gonzaga.”

Aiken told 247Sports that he has previous relationships with Maryland and Seton Hall from his high school recruitment. He was also recruited by Michigan during his prep days, but it was the Wolverines previous staff. Aiken took visits to Maryland and Seton Hall when he was in high school.

The timing could work out well, too. Aiken said his process is essentially on hold, other than talking to coaches by phone, while the country deals with the COVID-19 pandemic. Depending on how that plays out, Michigan may know of Christopher's college selection and/or transfer decisions by players on the roster before having to decide if they have a spot for Aiken. Of course, they'd also have to win Aiken's recruitment; he may be the most sought-after grad transfer guard in the country.

We'll see if other names emerge down the road. For now, funnily enough, the two grad transfer options both come from Tommy Amaker's Crimson.

Vaguely Gesturing At Potential Areas of Attrition

As we've mentioned before on this site, we don't like to speculate about specific transfers without concrete information. We can, however, take a look at the projected roster and see where there could be a playing time crunch or a younger player passing an older one. We're not trying to ignore reality, we just know how the internet works.

With that said, here's a stab at the depth chart with the way the roster stands right now, which would require Jace Howard to come in as a walk-on. Don't take the positions or the order of players too seriously, this is about the big picture:

There are three categories of potential departures.

Decommits. Unless there's a stunning reversal by another recruit, the only unsigned 2020 commit who's seen as a flight risk is five-star forward Isaiah Todd, whose choice comes down to playing college ball at Michigan or going straight to the pro game overseas. Optimism has been high that Todd will stick with his Michigan commitment.

NBA Draft. While there's been some worry that one or both of Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner could test the draft waters, the sudden end to the season may help push both back to another year (at least, in Wagner's case) in Ann Arbor. Neither player has appeared in recent 2020 draft projections and they no longer have the NCAA Tournament as a final collegiate showcase in front of a lot of scouts.

Meanwhile, the entire pre-draft process is in jeopardy because of COVID-19, including individual player workouts, so there's a chance the NBA has to go in with what they have right now. If that's the case, Livers and Wagner would both be in danger of going undrafted given current projections, and the two may be leaning to come back anyway after the 2019-20 season didn't go as planned. That's speculation on my part based on a lack of NBA buzz around this pair and quotes from Wagner indicating he's not in a hurry to leap to the pros.

Playing time transfers. The most likely source of attrition. Michigan projects to have a glut of players who can play small or power forward: Livers, Wagner, Johns, Adrien Nunez, Cole Bajema, Todd, Terrance Williams, and Howard could all slot into at least one of those spots. While some of those guys can play multiple positions (Johns/Todd at center, Wagner/Nunez/Bajema at shooting guard), they may be blocked from getting many minutes there as well, particularly if Christopher comes in.

Center is also a spot to keep an eye on. While we preach never giving up on a big man, sometimes big men bail for greener pastures before they're done developing, and with Davis back, Michigan now has an experienced backup that they clearly plan to play along with a blue chip center incoming in freshman Hunter Dickinson. There's a chance one of the junior-to-be bigs doesn't like where that could put them in the pecking order, though I'd hope attrition comes from elsewhere.

You really never know with these situations. Michigan has been surprised by past NBA departures—look no further than Iggy Brazdeikis and Jordan Poole last year—and while some transfers are predictable (see: Ibi Watson), others are more surprising (see: Aubrey Dawkins). Given that Howard invited Davis back to the team, he's probably expecting at least one departure from the current roster.