Michigan basketball: On JUCO guard Cobi Campbell, Flory Bidunga, more

Michigan hosted JUCO guard Cobi Campbell on a visit recently — here’s the latest. Plus, five-star big man Flory Bidunga is down to four schools and closing in on a decision. Do the Wolverines have a legit shot? 

First on, Campbell … 

A 6-2 guard, Campbell played in 20 games with 19 starts as a freshman at North Idaho Junior College, averaging 16.9 points, 3.3 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game. He shot 54.3 percent from the field and 54-of-103 (52.4 percent) on three-pointers, the latter a big reason the Wolverines were pursuing him. They still want to add shooters, and while it’s not clear how he’d do against (much) better competition, 52.4 percent is 52.4 percent. 

Campbell left U-M without an offer, and now he’ll wait and see what’s next. From what we’ve gathered, Michigan is not looking to fill the spot with just anyone … they want someone who can legitimately help. They’ve found a few of them already — we’ll have more in our Friday ITF, but all the transfer portal additions are impressing in some way — and are looking for one more guard. To be frank, it doesn’t appear Campbell is that guy. He has only a couple much smaller offers, even, and appears headed back to North Idaho or a smaller school next year.

Part of reason for the pursuit (very strong opinion) is the uncertainty surrounding Jaelin Llewellyn. The veteran guard still has a “longer path” back after his significant knee injury against Kentucky that robbed him of most of last season. Some have said it would be great if he were back by the end of the calendar year for Big Ten play, but you never know how a player is going to respond coming off a significant injury.  

We expect Michigan coaches to continue to look for other guards — but again, not just anyone. They will continue to watch the portal for late additions while continuing to line up visitors from all classes for the fall. 

Five-star big man Flory Bidunga, meanwhile, is down to four schools — Michigan, Auburn, Kansas, and Duke. All signs on this one point to the Blue Devils, and it’s been that way for a while. Duke was his dream school, and he has the offer. Bidunga enjoyed his visit and loves Michigan head coach Juwan Howard, but the Wolverines will likely have to look elsewhere for a ’24 big man. 

Elite point guard Boogie Fland, meanwhile, has set three official visits — Kentucky September 8-10, Alabama September 22-24, and Maryland September 29th-October 1. The White Plains (N.Y.) Archbishop Stepinac star has officially visited North Carolina, Michigan, and Indiana, while UConn and St. John’s have both hosted him unofficially. 

Fland enjoyed his Michigan visit, but the Wolverines have work to do. Alabama, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, North Carolin, St. John’s, and UConn are his other finalists.

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