Chaminade Julienne grad enters transfer portal after one season at Michigan

George Washington III could be one and done at Michigan.

The Chaminade Julienne graduate announced Sunday he is entering the transfer portal after one season as a member of the Wolverines basketball team, though the 6-foot-2, 170pound guard did not close the door on returning to Ann Arbor.

“I want to thank Wolverine nation for the support and great moments over this past year,” Washington wrote on social media. “Coach Howard and staff, thank you for providing me with the opportunity to wear the blue and maize! The time I’ve spent with my brothers and coaches has been set in stone in my story forever.”

Washington was the 2023 Gatorade Ohio Basketball Player of the Year and OHSBCA and OPSWA Division II Player of the Year when he averaged 24 points, four rebounds and three assists per game for the Eagles, who advanced to the state final four.

He led the GCL Co-Ed in scoring and had 22 games with at least 20 points along with eight 30-point games.

A Houston, Texas, native, he originally committed to Ohio State before reopening his recruitment prior to his senior season.

A four-star prospect, Washington was the No. 95 player in the country and ranked fourth in Ohio in 247Sports Composite rankings.

He played 22 games off the bench last season for Michigan, totaling 26 points and seven rebounds in 145 minutes (6.6 per game).

Washington’s decision follows the university firing Juwan Howard, who went 82-67 in five seasons as head coach of his alma mater.

Howard led the Wolverines to the 2021 Big Ten championship and made the Elite Eight that season but oversaw a precipitous decline after that, including a last-place showing this season.

Michigan announced Sunday that Dusty May, who led Florida Atlantic to the Final Four last season and was reportedly a finalist for the Ohio State head coaching position that ultimately went to Jake Diebler, will replaced Howard.