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

Michigan foward Terrance Williams II has declared for the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining his college eligibility and entering the NCAA transfer portal, he announced on Thursday.

The 6-foot-7 senior averaged 12.4 points and 4.5 rebounds for the Wolverines this past season. He finished the season on a hot streak, scoring in double figures in six of Michigan’s last seven games of the season.

“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. From one Michigan man to another, nothing but love and respect, always.

“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 am today. I have formed many lifelong friendships and am blessed for each one.I have had conversations with my family and coaches, and have done much thinking about what’s next. I will be declaring for the 2024 NBA Draft while maintaining my college eligibility.”

Overall, Williams played four seasons in Ann Arbor. He was a reserve during his freshman and sophomore years at Michigan, appearing in 52 games and making one start. His production increased each year, starting 26 games in 2023 and all 31 for the Wolverines in 2024.

As a junior, he averaged 6.1 points and over doubled it the next season. In 2024, Williams would see increases across the board except for one category — rebounds. He cut that back from 5.9 per game in 2023 to 4.5 this past year but this can be chalked up to his improved shooting skills, most notably at the 3-point line having increased his averaged by 14.7 percent as he’d shoot 40 percent overall from beyond the arc.

Before Michigan, Williams was a four-star recruit coming out of high school. He was the No. 1 player in Washington D.C., and the No. 88-rated player overall, according to the On3 Industry Rating, a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services.

The 2024 NBA Draft is set to take place over two days beginning on June 26 inside the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Day two will be at ESPN’s Seaport District Studios in Manhattan.