Nimari Burnett returning to Michigan basketball for another season

Nimari Burnett is running it back at Michigan.

The 6-foot-4 guard who started every game for the Wolverines last season will return for the 2024-25 campaign, the basketball program announced in a social media post Tuesday.

“One more year,” the caption read, with an image of Burnett and the words “I’M BACK.”

Burnett, who began his college career at Texas Tech and spent two seasons at Alabama, set career highs in nearly every statistical category during his first year in Ann Arbor.

The former McDonald’s All-American averaged 9.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 2.4 assists in 31.3 minutes. He also shot a career-best 39.9% from the field and 34.7% from 3-point range on nearly five attempts per game.

Burnett was the only Wolverine to start all 32 games and one of just two to appear in every contest. His relationship with former coach Juwan Howard — the two Chicago natives knew each other before Burnett was a highly touted high school prospect — played a big role in him transferring to Michigan as a grad transfer last offseason.

But now, Burnett joins forward Will Tschetter as one of two players from last year’s team — which finished 8-24 and set a program record for losses — committed to coming back and playing for new coach Dusty May.

Burnett’s name appeared on the 2024 NBA Draft early-entry candidates list that was released Tuesday, but he will be putting his pursuit of a pro career on hold. According to a program spokesperson, Burnett will withdraw from draft consideration.

Burnett’s return will provide May with another experienced guard who can play multiple perimeter positions on a roster that’s been overhauled. Burnett will be part of a new-look backcourt mix that includes transfers Tre Donaldson (Auburn), Roddy Gayle Jr. (Ohio State) and Rubin Jones (North Texas) and 2024 recruits Durral Brooks, Lorenzo Cason and Justin Pippen.

With Burnett back in the fold, Michigan has 11 of the 13 allotted scholarship spots filled for next season. That total doesn’t account for Jace Howard, who hasn’t made any public declarations about his future plans since the coaching change.

All the other Michigan players from last year's team who had remaining eligibility have entered the transfer portal, including Dug McDaniel (Kanas State), Tarris Reed Jr. (UConn), Terrance Williams II (USC), Youssef Khayat (Bowling Green) and George Washington III.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

@jamesbhawkins