The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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NOVEMBER 2026 ❱ THE WOLVERINE 43 a box and grabbed One Shining Moment in Indianapolis — including a trio of NBA lottery picks and the head coach — are long gone. That's the current state of college bas- ketball: Rinse and (hopefully) repeat. New head coach Mike Boynton Jr.'s team sports 10 players, several in key roles, who weren't around for all the fun last season. The double handful of talent is now looking to create their own fun, so here is a who's who of Michigan's dra- matically altered cast of characters and what they do. MOUSTAPHA THIAM 7-FOOT-2, 250 POUNDS, JR., C Thiam (pronounced CHAHM) steps into the Aday Mara role for the Wolverines, although he's not Mara other than his size. The big man from Senegal trans- ferred in from Cincinnati after averaging 12.8 points, 7.1 rebounds and 1.6 blocks per game a year ago. He scored a career- high 28 in a battle at No. 8 Kansas last season, and figures to help the Wolverines in a variety of ways. In Michigan's exhibition opener against Eastern Michigan on Oct. 11, Thiam tossed in 11 points, grabbed 5 rebounds, went 7-for-9 from the free throw line, blocked 4 shots and racked up 3 assists with some slick feeds. He's an immediate key figure in the Wolverines' attempt to challenge in the Big Ten and beyond this season, according to Brian Boesch, the voice of Wolverines basketball on the radio. "He's probably a more productive col- lege basketball player now than Aday Mara was at this time last year," Boesch said. "Does that guarantee anything moving forward? No. But obviously he's incredibly important. I do think [senior point guard] Elliot Cadeau's improve- ment, his familiarity with the program and the league, will help Thiam along in a way that maybe unlocks some things for Moustapha. I'm excited about that. "On both ends of the floor, he has a ton of upside." J.P. ESTRELLA 6-11, 240, GR., F Estrella got a good look at Michigan bas- ketball when the Wol- verines knocked off his Tennessee Volunteers in the NCAA Tournament last spring. Before that season-ender, Estrella averaged 10.0 points, 5.4 rebounds and 18.3 minutes per game in 13 starts. He scored a career-high 23 points against North Florida, with 19 games in double figures as a Vol. Estrella will cer- tainly help the Wolverines in the scoring and rebounding columns, as he dropped 14 points and grabbed 4 rebounds in Michigan's exhibition opener. "He was super impressive against Eastern Michigan," Boesch said. "I thought his minutes out in Europe were probably the least indicative of what a normal role would look like for him, because of the injury to Thiam. To me, if you're able to stick around and have some success at a program like Tennes- see — which has obviously had a great 2026-27 BASKETBALL PREVIEW New Michigan head coach Mike Boynton Jr. took a decidedly new-look Wolverines team on a summer playing trip to Europe before the 2026-27 season began. PHOTO COURTESY MICHIGAN PHOTOGRAPHY