Michigan's Terrance Williams II enters transfer portal, declares for NBA Draft

Michigan forward Terrance Williams II is keeping his options open for next season.

The four-year Wolverine and two-year starter entered the transfer portal and declared for the NBA Draft while maintaining his eligibility on Thursday.

Williams announced in an Instagram post that he was entering the draft but keeping the door open to return to college for a fifth and final season. He stated the move came after conversations with his family, coaches and “much thinking about what’s next.”

Williams will go through the evaluation process before making a final decision — return to Michigan, transfer to a different school, or pursue a professional career in the United States or overseas.

He has one year of eligibility remaining if he opts to take advantage of the COVID-19 waiver. If he goes that route, he’ll have to withdraw his name from draft consideration in the weeks leading up to the June 26-27 NBA Draft.

However, it’s unclear if Williams would spend his last season with the Wolverines after the coaching change. A program spokesperson confirmed he entered his name into the transfer portal as a grad transfer.

Williams was one of Juwan Howard’s first recruits and he spent the last four seasons playing for the former coach, who was among the many people he thanked in the social media post.

“Coach Howard, thank you for giving me the opportunity to compete at the best university in the world,” Williams wrote. “Your mentorship, guidance and unwavering support kept me lifted through the highs and lows of this journey.

“To all my coaches and teammates that have been in the trenches with me, thank you for pushing me to be the best version of myself. To Michigan, thank you for it all. The love, the hate, the highs, the lows, the blessings, the lessons. Through everything I have experienced, it helped me become the man I am today.”

Williams bounced back from a rough junior campaign with a career year as a senior. The 6-foot-7, 225-pounder slid down to the small forward spot, averaged a career-best 12.4 points and shot a career-high 39.7% from 3-point range across 31 starts.

During his four years in Ann Arbor, Williams has played in 115 games, with 58 starts, and averaged 6.7 points and 3.9 rebounds.

Williams is the fifth Michigan player and third starter to enter the transfer portal since the season ended and Howard was fired, joining guards Dug McDaniel (Kansas State) and George Washington III, forward Youssef Khayat and center Tarris Reed Jr.

As it stands, there are three other Wolverines who have remaining eligibility: Nimari Burnett, Jace Howard and Will Tschetter. Burnett and Howard haven’t announced their future plans, while Tschetter confirmed in an Instagram post Thursday that he’s returning for the 2024-25 season.

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

@jamesbhawkins