Cal Basketball: Western Michigan Combo Guard Michael Flowers Considers the Bears

Grad transfer could provide floor leadership and scoring punch

Photo courtesy of Western Michigan Athletics

On the same day the Cal basketball team landed graduate transfer shooting guard Ryan Betley, the Bears are perhaps a step closer to filling a point vacancy on their roster.

Michael Flowers, who averaged 17 points for Western Michigan this past season before entering the transfer portal, announced Saturday his four finalists include Cal. Flowers played both guard positions this season but says he considers himself a natural point.

Flowers also is considering Santa Clara, Iowa State and DePaul.

The arrival of Betley, a transfer from Penn, leaves the Bears with two vacant scholarship spots.

Because of travel and recruiting restricts resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, players are not allowed right now to make campus recruiting visits.

Flowers conceded that can be frustrating, “But it’s out of my control so I can’t be too angry about it,” he said. “I just have to deal with it and find ways to learn as much about each program as I can without being on the campus.”

Flowers said he does not have a timetable for picking a school. “I definitely want to make a decision soon,” he said, “but I don’t want to rush the process.”

Western Michigan made a coaching change after this season ended, and Flowers will graduate in three years, allowing him to transfer and be immediately eligible to play.

Th 6-foot-1, 190-pounder played point guard his first two seasons in Kalamazoo, Michigan, then was moved to shooting guard last season. “They moved me off the ball because teams were loading up on me,” he said. “I think my natural position is a point guard. Nowadays the guard spot can be positionless.”

Cal’s only returning point guard is sophomore-to-be Joel Brown, who started 17 games this season. The Bears also can use more scoring punch, with only junior-to-be Matt Bradley back as a dependable point producer.

“They’re just telling me how impressed they are with my game,” Flowers said. “They think my experience and scoring can really help them next year. I like the coaching staff so far. We’ve had some pretty good talks.”

Flowers scored 20 points or more nine times this past season, including three games of at least 30 points. He had a career-high 35 in the Broncos’ loss to Toledo in the opening round of the Mid-American Conference tournament.

“Everybody knows me mostly for my scoring,” Flowers said, “but I feel like I'm a playmaker. I’m leader by example, a hard worker Just fearless.”

Besides being WMU’s leading scorer, Flowers averaged 2.9 rebounds and 3.3 assists. His converted 36.8 percent on 3-point, making 68 shot from beyond the arc.

He will enter his final season of college ball having scored 1,122 career points with 242 assists.

Flowers said he is looking for “the best fit and the best situation as far as everyone welcoming me, coaching staff, players,” he said. “A good place I could end my college career.”

*** Cal coach Mark Fox talks late in the season about how he always believed his team would be stronger than others expected: