Moustapha Thiam officially signs with Michigan
Michigan will likely need a replacement for at least one of Aday Mara or Morez Johnson Jr., both going through the NBA Draft process. Head coach Dusty May took a big step in landing Cincinnati transfer Moustapha Thiam, the big center officially signing Tues. (April 28) with the Wolverines.
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A 7-2 center from Senegal, Thiam comes to Ann Arbor after one season at Cincinnati and one at UCF. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.
“Moustapha is someone we’re really excited about,” May said. “You don’t find many players of his size and ability to move the way he does. He protects the rim, rebounds, runs the floor and changes the game defensively. He’s still improving, too, so we’re ready to get to work.”
Thiam earned All-Big 12 honorable mention honors last season after starting 31 games for the Bearcats. He ranked second on the team in both scoring (12.8 ppg) and rebounding (7.1 rpg) while leading Cincinnati with 50 blocks, marking his second straight season with 50-plus. He’ll be expected to be a rim protector at Michigan, too.
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The big center had 21 double-figure scoring games, including four 20-point performances. Thiam scored a career-high 28 points with eight rebounds in a road upset at No. 8 Kansas, then followed with 21 points and 10 rebounds at No. 16 Texas Tech and 24 points with 15 rebounds against Oklahoma State. He added nine double-doubles during the season, including an 18-point, 16-rebound effort against former school UCF in the Big 12 Tournament. He shot 52.5 percent from the field and added 15 three-pointers.
As a freshman at UCF in 2024-25, Thiam started 34 games and averaged 10.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 2.6 blocks per game. He was the only Big 12 and Power Four freshman to average at least 10 points, five rebounds and 2.5 blocks.
Thiam led the Big 12 and ranked seventh nationally in blocks per game (2.59), finishing fourth nationally with 88 total blocks. His 88 blocks set a UCF freshman record and were the second-most in program history. He also recorded 20 double-figure scoring games and three double-doubles.
Watch for more on Michigan basketball signees and targets in the days to come …