Basketball

THING HAPPENING

2024 G Justin Pippen is announcing tomorrow. With several crystal ball picks for Michigan coming off Pippen's official and a very brief window between said visit and a commitment, this is almost certainly Michigan. None of the other schools in his final five (the others are GT, Stanford, Cal, and Texas A&M) are particularly known for basketball bags, and it's unlikely that the son of Scotty Pippen is prioritizing NIL in his decision.

THE LIMINAL SPACE BETWEEN HAPPENING AND NOT

FAU G Johnell Davis is the biggest name on the board for Michigan, and there's been general optimism about Davis eventually landing at Michigan. That ticked down yesterday after 247's Travis Branham posted something vague and negative about Michigan's chance to land Davis.

A couple hours later a youthful reporter covering FAU asserted that Davis would be on campus this weekend, which was subsequently confirmed by a couple other Michigan recruiting reporters. Then Sam Webb said that Davis was not going to be on campus this weekend, and the original tweet that set off the confirmations was deleted. Davis's absence from campus has now been confirmed, and there's widespread speculation that Davis is looking for bag first and foremost. On the roundtable this morning Webb asserted that Davis to Michigan was "fizzling," as Michigan's NIL efforts won't compare to places like Arkansas or Kentucky.

FWIW, Davis signed with Jay Z's agency.

[After THE JUMP: would you like a Ben Wallace]

Things Discussed:

• Filling the basketball roster. Expect to get C Vlad Goldin (FAU), CG Justin Pippen (HS), PG Trey Donaldson (Auburn), W Roddy Gayle (OSU), and another guy they're going after under the radar.
• Like Gayle if they can get his 3P% up better than Saint Mary's Aidan Mahaney, who took a lot of bad shots. C Justin Abson (App State) is Ben Wallace. Is he an either/or with C Danny Wolf (Yale)?
• What's the holdup? Guys want to go through the draft advisory board process. Sam thinks we'll get a drumbeat of commitments in the coming days and weeks.
• NIL: Dusty May needs a little more. How deep does the donor pool go? Well it's complicated; you're talking a quirky small subset of people who can afford this, and their individual circumstances matter a lot. There's a lot they're supporting: Football (which we're getting it done), Men's Hoops, Women's Hoops, etc. Seth: Don't forget Mott and the University of Michigan.
• Spring Game: What does the OL look like? Are there any guys standing? Sam thinks we won't be able to watch Hinton, Crippen, and El-Hadi, which that's three of your starters. Who's next? Seth doesn't like that Giudice is ahead of Efobi. That battle for RT is more iffy than we realized? Sam thinks they want a guy in the portal for Gentry or Persi to beat. Seth: If you're saying they Anderson we're at eight guys they trust now.
• Ohio State Spring Game: Their DL pushed their OL around so much it colors everything. QBs were throwing the ball into defenders; chests. Craig thinks their secondary is good. Seth says the offense is very Chip Kelly, they might have something with Julian Sayin down the road but he's skinny and mistake-prone right now.

[Hit the JUMP for the player, and video and stuff]

WHY THINGS HAVEN'T HAPPENED YET

We're at a somewhat frustrating stage where it seems like Michigan is on the verge of picking up several commits but has not actually landed anyone except for George Washington III, who withdrew from the portal. And here is the crux: Washington isn't transferring. Michigan infamously got dunked into the center of the Earth by admissions when they tried to bring Caleb Love aboard, and my guess is that Dusty May thinks this is a bad thing so nobody's going to announce until the Ps are crossed and Qs dotted.

Thus the delay for Vlad Goldin, who everyone on the planet is saying will transfer to Michigan. There are rumors of silent commits that I believe—Goldin is certainly one—because there is an obvious reason why the commits would be silent: Michigan is checking transcripts prior to any public announcements. Yes, even with grad transfers.

Thus, we wait.

VISITS PENDING

Friday will be a Large Day, in the parlance of our times. Auburn PG Tre Donaldson and OSU CG Roddy Gayle will both be on campus. 247's Eric Bossi asserts that Michigan is the "team to beat" for both. Isaac Trotter says May is a "huge player" for Gayle. 

Bossi also says that Wisconsin SG Connor Essegian and Auburn PG Aden Holloway will be on campus this weekend. Essegian's pending visit was known but that's the first I've heard that Holloway would be in Ann Arbor. Essegian was at Maryland this weekend and is visiting Indiana today. Holloway will be visiting Alabama on Thursday, to the general merriment of the Alabama internet.

[After THE JUMP: NSFMF]