According to a report from On3, the Michigan Wolverines have reached out to a top-15 overall player in the transfer portal — Purdue Fort Wayne guard Jalen Jackson:
The transfer portal just opened up on Monday, and the Michigan Wolverines wasted no time reaching out to one of the top players in the portal — former Purdue Fort Wayne guard Jalen Jackson. This was reported by On3’s Jamie Shaw .
Jackson was a first-team All-Horizon League player this past season. He averaged 19.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 3.1 assists per game. Michigan and Purdue Fort Wayne squared off during the non-conference portion of the season, and Jackson played well against the Wolverines with 27 points on 10-of-17 shooting.
Notably, Jackson’s three-point shooting percentage went down significantly from 41.0 last year to 26.4 percent this season. Jackson was at Illinois-Chicago before transferring to Purdue Fort Wayne two years ago, and his three-point percentage that lone season there was 31.8 percent.
According to 247Sports’ portal rankings , Jackson is the No. 15 overall player currently in the portal. Another Michigan target, Iowa big man Owen Freeman , is ranked No. 5.
“I want to play in a free-flowing offense,” Jackson told On3. “And play for a coach that is going to develop me, and take care of me, not just be another player on the roster. I want to have a trusting relationship with the coach. I’m a point guard, so I’m kind of an extension of the coach on the floor, so I got to have that relationship. And play for a coach who trusts me.
Sounds like he’d fit in right at Michigan if that’s what he’s looking for.
Any portal recruitment will come with stiff competition, and this one is no exception. Jackson has already heard from other schools like Nebraska, Butler, TCU, Vanderbilt, Virginia Tech, Tennessee and others.
Maize n Brew will have much more on Michigan’s efforts in the portal as action starts to heat up in the coming weeks.