portal good

For the second straight year, Michigan picked up a kicking transfer. This time they've nabbed one with two years of eligibility, and off the roster of an upcoming opponent.

Zvada was the kicker who scored all 12 points against Ohio State a couple of years back. He's also one of the best kickers in America; by my statisics his career EPA is fourth among active kickers, behind Boise State's Jonah Dalmas, Arizona's Tyler Loop, and last year's Groza Graham Nicholson, who transferred from Miami (No not THAT Miami) to Alabama. Zvada was a 2022 Groza Semifinalist, and carries a career 34/40 mark with a long of 56 in two seasons with Arkansas State.

RANKINGS

Only On3 has a ranking for him. He's their #3 portal kicker and an 80. Since Zvada was only in the portal for as long as it takes to announce he's going to Michigan, it's reasonable to assume not even On3's really bothered to look at him yet. The players ahead of him there are Nicholson (who's missed 7 extra points over his career), and South Carolina's little-used big leg who committed Notre Dame. They all have 80s.

PFF had Zvada 62nd last year with a 78.8 score, and 5th (one spot behind Jake Moody) in 2023 with a 91.5.

CAREER THUS FAR

Zvada's been the starting kicker for Arkansas State since 2022, when he won the job as a true freshman, hit from 29, 38, 34, and 45 against Ohio State in the opener, and kicked a 56-yarder against Texas State after missing one from 51. Zvada finished his first season 17/18, with an average attempt distance of 36.3. He had a PAT blocked, but went 30/30 on the rest of them and was a Groza Semifinalist.

Because #College Kickers Are Weird, Zvada then whiffed on three of his next four to start the 2023 season, with misses from 44, 43, and 34 yards. He went 17/19 the rest of the way, but one of those misses was a chip shot against Coastal Carolina. He also nailed a 53-yarder against Southern Miss and went 41/41 on extra points. Career kick chart:

[After THE JUMP: Thing this is like]

Remember this morning when I said Michigan still needed a power forward?

Walters chose Michigan over Ohio State, Kentucky, and Louisville after a freshman season as Alabama's 7th man. He profiled last year as a straight-up stretch four Just-a-Shooter plus decent defensive rebounding.

Walters came off the bench every game last year, extending his time on the court to ~15 mpg in the latter part of February. However Walters was stymied by classmate Jarin Stevenson also coming off the bench to play the four, and wasn't very efficient (16th percentile to Synergy) in transition for a team that got 38% of their initial shots (to hoop-math) on the run.

What Walters can do is get a shot up over just about anyone. He was 94th percentile to Synergy on *Guarded* catch-and-shoot jumpers at 43%, actually dipping down to 35% (15/43) when uncontested.

His transfer video shows a pogo-stick with a clean release and not a lot of meat on the bones.

Defense is also predicated on that wingspan. It also sounds like he improved a lot over the course of last season. Feet may limit his NBA upside, but Walters's height and length, and a season of SEC experience, should mean he's not a liability on the other end. On a team filled with creators, adding a floor-spacer like Walters should mean Michigan can score with anybody. Adding a sophomore should also mean Dusty May isn't forced to go portal hunting like this again in two years.

Matt D will have a much more thorough breakdown after he sorts through the rest of this weekend's commitapalooza. Here's what the roster roster looks like:

PG: Tre Donaldson (Jr), Durral Brooks (Fr), [Lorenzo Cason (Fr)]
SG: Roddy Gayle (Jr), George Washington III (So), Justin Pippen (Fr)
Also SG: Rubin Jones (Sr*), [Nimari Burnett (Jr*)], [Jace Howard (Sr*)]
PF: Will Tschetter (Jr), Sam Walters (So)
C: [Vlad Goldin(Sr*)], Danny Wolf (Jr)

Michigan is now up to nine players committed for 2024-'25, with Vlad Goldin widely expected to join them after he goes through the Draft process. Nimari Burnett and Jace Howard (who can be a walk-on) haven't entered the portal or announced returns. From here they're probably going to keep pursuing 2024 5-star Khani Rooths for a 3/4 role, and/or look to add one or two more guards.

Michigan Basketball can field a team again! As expected, SG Roddy Gayle has become the third transfer, and fourth commitment to Dusty May since Friday. This time it's also at the expense of a rival. Like Tony Alford says, if you won't ever beat them again, join 'em.

Like some of the other guards that May has picked up, Gayle profiles as an efficient creator with good size, good defense, and an elevated turnover rate that will hopefully come down when playing with a lot of other guys who can generate their own offense. Unlike the others, Gayle gets to the foul line a ton.

He was also part of a team-wide run of bad luck on threes that got Chris Holtmann fired on Valentine's Day before reversing itself in time to get Jake Diebler assistant hired. That improvement didn't include Gayle, who shot 29% (23/78) behind the arc before February 14th and 24% (6/25) afterwards. Add his 43% (21/49) from his freshman year to get a 33% (50/152) career shooter thus far. Before that Gayle was a top-50 prospect whom 247's Jerry Meyer compared to Josh Christopher.

Has a college ready body with good length (long arms) and great strength. Is a powerful athlete who thrives in traffic. Handles contact extremely well and loves to dish out the contact. Shoots the ball well off the catch with an efficient and smooth low release. Also scores with pull up jumpers where he elevates and can also score at the rim. Most notably, he has a niche as a potent post up player. Ball handling is solid and efficient. Has the ability to deliver to the open man. Rebounds his position quite well and can ignite the fast break. Has potential to be a formidable and versatile defender. Overall has a well rounded game that impacts a game in virtually all facets.

Like we said on the pod, he should be a useful Big Ten starter with a lot of upside if his shooting returns to form. Matt D will have a more detailed scouting report in a few days (I'm holding off his Jones Hello for this).

The roster, with unannounced predictions in brackets:

PG: Tre Donaldson (Jr), Durral Brooks (Fr), [Lorenzo Cason (Fr)]
SG: Roddy Gayle (Jr), George Washington III (So), Justin Pippen (Fr)
Also SG: Rubin Jones (Sr*), [Nimari Burnett (Jr*)], [Jace Howard (Sr*)]
PF: Will Tschetter (Jr)
C: [Vlad Goldin(Sr*)], Danny Wolf (Jr)

May still needs to add a power forward and could theoretically push Jones to 6th man if they can find another impact guard.