Michigan basketball snags former Ohio State standout Roddy Gayle Jr. in transfer portal
New Michigan basketball coach Dusty May promised his staff would search far and wide, leaving no stone unturned in search for the best available players for the Wolverines' 2024-25 roster.
Apparently, that even means former Buckeyes.
Roddy Gayle Jr., a sophomore guard who spent the past two seasons at Ohio State, has committed to join the Wolverines' basketball program, as expected. The guard formally announced his decision on social media early Monday morning.
He's not the only person with Ohio State ties to make the jump to Ann Arbor this spring: On the gridiron, former Buckeyes running backs coach Tony Alford came north to join Sherrone Moore's staff last month.
Gayle played 36 games (35 starts) as a sophomore; he finished third on OSU in scoring at 13.5 points per game as he shot 44.9% from the floor and 28.4% on 3-pointers. The 6-foot-4, 210-pound shooting guard scored a career-high 32 points in an OT win over West Virginia in late December and scored at least 10 points in 28 games last season.
YOUNG PIPPEN: Michigan basketball lands commitment from 4-star Justin Pippen, son of Scottie Pippen
Gayle scored 12 points on 3-for-8 shooting in a loss to U-M in Ann Arbor last January, but had 15 points on 6-for-10 shooting, with three rebounds and three assists, in the Buckeyes' March win over the Wolverines in Columbus.
The No. 50 prospect and the third-ranked shooting guard in the country when he came out of Wasatch Academy in 2022, Gayle is now the No. 6 available shooting guard in the portal and No. 45 overall.
It continues a busy stretch for May and the Wolverines, who landed a commitment from four-star Justin Pippen, son of Basketball Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, as well as verbal pledges from transfer portal commits in former Yale center Danny Wolf, North Texas point guard Rubin Jones and Auburn point guard Tre Donaldson over the weekend.
Wolf, who stands 7-feet and 255 pounds, nearly averaged a double-double with 14.7 points, 9.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in his sophomore campaign while Rubin Jones, a sizable lead guard at 6-foot-5, averaged 12.1 points, 3.6 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game as a senior. Donaldson scored 6.7 points per game and had more than twice as many assists (39) as turnovers (19) last year.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Michigan basketball lands Ohio State's Roddy Gayle Jr. in portal
