Coming off a national championship, the only player in Michigan’s rotation to transfer out this offseason was guard L.J. Cason, who left Michigan for Miami following the departure of Dusty May. The Florida native will play for the Hurricanes once he recovers from his torn ACL.
Cason was one of Michigan’s most important players last season. In 28 games, Cason averaged 8.4 points, 2.4 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 18.6 minutes per game, serving as one of Michigan’s key bench scorers. Since the media first
saw him at Michigan’s Pro Day two years ago, Cason has had the reputation of being Michigan’s best one-on-one scorer. To win games consistently in the Big Ten, you need guys like Cason who can create their own shot when nothing else in the offense is clicking.
Depth will be a huge question for this team heading into the 2026-27 season. After all the roster changes this offseason, Michigan will need to rely on freshmen to contribute off the bench in 2026-27.
Cason’s ability to take over games with his microwave scoring ability will be missed, but to paraphrase your mom after you asked to pick up McDonald’s for dinner, Michigan may have the next L.J. Cason already at home.
We saw glimpses of what freshman guard Joseph Hartman could do during Michigan’s trip to Europe last month. Hartman only made six of his 22 shots, but he showed his prowess as a scorer several times, scoring seven points and six points, respectively, off the bench in Michigan’s first two games.
In the videos above from Michigan’s second exhibition of the trip, Hartman showed off his bucket-getting ability in the fourth quarter, getting to the lane and using his pivot foot to wiggle around defenders for clutch buckets.
The 6-foot-6 guard was a top-100 four-star recruit on the 247Sports composite, and reading the first part of Hartman’s scouting report from 247’s Adam Finkelstein, Hartman’s skillset certainly sounds a lot like Cason’s.
“Hartman is built like a strong-bodied wing, but has some big guard type skills. He’s a good ball-handler and passer, and can even operate as a jumbo initiator at times. He utilizes his size and strength to take smaller defenders into the mid-post. He can also space the floor as a spot-up shooting threat, knocking down 44% of his threes, on over 4 attempts per game, during the 3SSB season.”
Finkelstein went on to say Hartman is “not a dynamic athlete and lacks elite quickness or bounce,” two parts of Cason’s game that made him a tough cover. But Hartman is four inches taller than Cason, which could help make up for that lack of burst.
Hartman re-affirmed his commitment to the Wolverines in July following May’s departure. With rosters mostly set at that point in the summer, Hartman didn’t have many other choices, but you’d have to imagine part of his reasoning for staying was having some sort of a role on this year’s team.
Is it fair to expect Hartman to immediately average the same amount of points as Cason did last season before his injury? Absolutely not, it usually takes freshman guards some time to get used to the pace of college hoops. But Michigan has a few options to replace Cason’s scoring, and Hartman is certainly one of them.
