The past three months have been a whirlwind for Olivier Nkamhoua, between his entry into the transfer portal and an extended dalliance with the NBA Draft process. Now, as the calendar flips to July, Nkamhoua is at last settling in — he arrived in Ann Arbor last Monday, and the Wolverines held their first official practice soon after.
Nkamhoua has his mind geared towards one goal.
“I’m trying to have the best year of my life,” Nkamhoua said Tuesday on the ‘Defend the Block’ podcast. “And I’m trying to see everybody on this team have the same type of year, too.”
For Michigan to prosper in the upcoming 2023-24 season, Nkamhoua must serve as its fulcrum. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 10.8 points and five rebounds per game last season for Tennessee, excelling in a medium-sized role of 25 minutes per game. The Wolverines, surely, expect more. So does Nkamhoua.
Ahead of his fifth collegiate season, he believes he can make the anticipated next step.
“I can pop, I can roll, I can even catch it in that short roll area — that’s something that can adapt to any basketball program,” Nkamhoua said. “Things I might have to adapt (to) is how they play, what type of offense they run, what my role as a four man is going to be here compared to what my role was at Tennessee.
“… I’m still going to be doing things I’m already good at, and obviously improving on things that I need to improve on.”
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