Michigan transfer SG Justin Pippen commits to Cal

Michigan shooting guard Justin Pippen has committed to California, On3’s Joe Tipton reported. He spent just one season with the Wolverines and will have three years of eligibility remaining.

Pippen is the son of former NBA Hall of Famer Scottie Pippen, who won six NBA championships with the Chicago Bulls. He played in 28 games off the bench this past season at Michigan to average 1.6 points across 6.7 minutes per game as a true freshman.

Justin Pippen attended Sierra Canyon (CA) High School, where he was a teammate of current Lakers guard Bronny James, the son of NBA star LeBron James. He ranked as the No. 69 overall player and No. 18 player in the 2024 class according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Justin Pippen is also, as of this writing, the No. 165 overall player and No. 46 shooting guard according to On3’s Transfer Portal Player Rankings. He joins a Golden Bears team that is coming off of a 14-19 finish this past season, its first as an ACC member.

Justin Pippen is the fourth transfer player to join California this offseason, and the third in the back court. The Golden Bears also added former Virginia point guard Dai Dai Ames and former Campbell shooting guard Nolan Dorsey.

The college basketball transfer portal officially opened for business on Monday, March 24, and will close 30 days later on Tuesday, April 22. As of this writing, more than 1,000 players had already entered their names.

Last spring alone, 1,962 Division I players tested the portal waters. Based on the early numbers from this year, even more could follow. For the first time in history, more than half of the points scored in college basketball were scored by players from the transfer portal, not high school, in the 2024-25 season.

In data gathered over the first two years with transfer windows, the NCAA found most athletes enter the portal within the first four weeks of the portal opening. The study showed that 73% of men’s and women’s basketball undergraduate athletes entered during the first four weeks. That increased to 82% for men and 86% for women in 2024.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire. The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.