JACOB KOPNICK
Daily Sports Editor
Thursday, May 7, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Guard Cole Bajema enters name in transfer portal
After one season, freshman
guard Cole Bajema is potentially
departing
Ann
Arbor
as
he
submitted his name to the transfer
portal, a program spokesperson
confirmed to The Daily.
After not seeing the floor much
during his first year in college
basketball, Bajema has decided to
test the transfer waters and land a
spot at a program where he may be
able to scrape together a larger role.
In his one year at Michigan,
Bajema averaged just 2.6 ppg in 3.7
minutes per game. Making the most
of his time on the floor when he
could, Bajema typically highlighted
his ample on-court playing time
with a late-game 3-point bomb.
Going 4-for-7 from 3-point range
over the season, Bajema showed
promise as a deep threat.
As
Michigan
coach
Juwan
Howard’s first recruiting class is set
to unpack their bags in Michigan’s
dorm rooms, it is tough to imagine
Bajema would have seen a dramatic
uptick in his minutes during the
upcoming season. Though there
are question marks at the guard
positions with a hodge podge
of names swirling around as to
who will replace Zavier Simpson
and David DeJulius at the point,
Bajema’s name still sat pretty low
on those lists.
It is hard to speculate over a
potential ceiling for the Lynden,
Wash. native since he so rarely saw
the floor. Only playing against low
to mid-major foes in the beginning
of the season or at the end of
blowout games, Bajema was never
really subject to the thralls of Big
Ten regular season competition.
If Bajema decides to leave
the
program,
this
will
leave
the Wolverines with two open
scholarship spots for next season
and a whopping six spots on their
roster for the 2021 season. Just a
few weeks ago, two more of those
scholarships were made available
due to Isaiah Todd’s decommitment
in favor of the G League and five-
star recruit Joshua Christopher’s
surprise decision to not commit to
Michigan in favor of Arizona State.
While the Wolverines still boast
the top recruiting class in the Big
Ten despite the loss of the two
highly-ranked prospects, depth will
now be a big question for Michigan
as it scrambles to fill roster spots
with high-quality players.
If Bajema does indeed depart,
he will leave the other lone
freshman in his recruiting class —
Franz Wagner — to advance to his
sophomore year as the only member
left of his class. Wagner himself
made headlines a few weeks ago by
deciding to stay with the Wolverines
instead of pursuing professional
opportunities in the NBA.
In his one year, Bajema did show
potential for growth but struggled
to find a home in the rotation.
Perhaps another program can offer
that coveted spot where he can
flourish into an offensive-minded
weapon at the guard position.
Daniel Dash contributed reporting
to this story.
ALEC COHEN/Daily
Freshman guard Cole Bajema added himself to the transfer portal Tuesday
Ruiz first of ten Wolverines selected in 2020 NFL Draft
Ten Michigan players were
selected in the NFL Draft this
weekend, the second-most of any
school.
That stat is a bit misleading
given that just two of those
players — center Cesar Ruiz and
linebacker Josh Uche — were
selected in the first two days of the
draft. Still, the Wolverines were
one off their program record of 11
players drafted, set in 2017. They
also continued their streak of 82
consecutive years with at least one
player drafted, tied for the longest
in the country with USC.
Michigan’s offensive line was the
star of the show. All four players in
the draft — Ruiz, tackle Jon Runyan
and guards Michael Onwenu and
Ben Bredeson — were drafted, a
testament to Ed Warinner’s work
with the unit after his hire in 2018.
Ruiz, one of the Wolverines’ two
early entrants, was drafted 24th
overall by the New Orleans Saints.
Bredeson went in the fourth round
to the Baltimore Ravens while
Onwenu and Runyan were selected
in the sixth — the former by the
New England Patriots and the
latter by the Green Bay Packers.
The rest of the offense, however,
had
a
disappointing
showing.
Donovan Peoples-Jones, once a
five-star recruit, fell all the way
to the sixth round before being
selected by the Cleveland Browns.
Quarterback Shea Patterson and
tight end Sean McKeon went
undrafted, though McKeon has
since signed a free-agent deal with
the Dallas Cowboys, according to
247Sports.
Uche highlighted Michigan’s
defensive picks after being selected
in the second round by the Patriots.
In Foxboro, Uche will join Onwenu
and former Wolverine defensive
end Chase Winovich.
None
of
Michigan’s
other
defensive players were projected
surefire draftees, but four of the
five saw themselves drafted. VIPER
Khaleke Hudson was selected in
the fifth round by Washington,
while
defensive
end
Michael
Danna went later that round to the
Kansas City Chiefs. Safety Josh
Metellus and linebacker Jordan
Glasgow were both sixth-round
picks, with Metellus going to the
Minnesota Vikings and Glasgow to
the Indianapolis Colts.
Defensive
back
Lavert
Hill
somewhat
surprisingly
went
undrafted, but signed a free-agent
deal with the Chiefs shortly after
the draft. Hill nearly went pro
last season but decided to return
to school; his fellow corner David
Long was a third-round pick in
2019.
Neither Glasgow nor Danna
were invited to the NFL Draft
Combine, and with Michigan’s pro
day canceled due to COVID-19,
both were somewhat surprising
selections.
Like
his
brothers,
Glasgow completed his rise from
walk-on to the NFL. Meanwhile,
Danna, a graduate transfer from
Central Michigan, made the most
of his year in Ann Arbor. Just one
other school had multiple draftees
who were not invited to the
combine.
Overall, the draft was a mixed
bag for the Wolverines. Despite
a large number of selections,
most came in the late rounds and
Peoples-Jones’ in particular was
indicative of untapped potential.
But Michigan also showed its
ability to turn unheralded recruits
— such as Glasgow, Metellus,
Hudson and Danna — into draft
picks.
ARIA GERSON
Daily Sports Editor
ALEXIS RANKIN/Daily
Center Cesar Ruiz was the first of ten Michigan players selected in the 2020 NFL draft, going to the Saints in the first round
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Sports