basketball

So today is the "official" offering day of Michigan basketball.  UMHoops will have coverage all morning and you can keep up with the live updates here:

UMHoops

Should be a very exciting day for basketball fans for sure.  We had two commits on this day last year and I definitely think we could get a commitment from Devin Booker in the near future (offered this morning already).

Some big news on the Michigan basketball front—but on the women's side: Kim Barnes Arico has secured her first verbal commitment as head coach at Michigan, and it's an impressive one. Siera Thompson, a 5-7 point guard out of Junipero Serra HS in Gardena, California, has committed to Michigan for the 2013 class, according to Bret McCormick:

Siera Thompson 5-7 PG 2013 from Serra HS CA has verbally committed to Michigan. Cal Sparks club coach Elbert Kinnebrew confirmed this.

— Bret McCormick (@ASGR1995) June 15, 2012

ESPN has Thompson pegged as a 4 star, ranked #53 in the 2013 class. Here's part of an evaluation on her ESPN profile:

The superlatives can pile up where Thompson is concerned. She is a strongly built 5-7, who uses short and quick dribble moves to penetrate the lane, can take a hit and has the powers of concentration to still finish shots. . . . Her shot is light and true to 3-point range and Thompson obviously relishes pressure situations. In the lead-guard role, she always seems to have the ball when she should have it, and is not shy about getting her team in the right spots. . . . Some players can be characterized by position or style; some, like Thompson, simply are ballers.

In recent years, the Michigan women's team has only rarely landed players ranked in the top 100 by ESPN or one of the other recruiting services, so this is huge win for the new coach on the recruiting trail.

Addendum: An ESPN item on Thompson's commitment says she picked Michigan over Kansas, Santa Barbara, and Virginia Tech. There's also this quote from the coach of her club team, Elbert Kinnebrew:

"Siera is a point guard with a consistent 3-point shot who keeps turnovers low in big games," Kinnebrew said. "She is an excellent director in half-court sets with good sense of creating passing angles within the structure of designed plays, a rare trait for a transition guard like Siera. A student-achiever in the classroom, she's prepared for the demanding academics at Michigan." 

Tomorrow is "offer day" for John Beilien - the first 2014 hoops offers go out.  Last Summer was extremely productive, as we locked up our entire #2-ranked 2013 class (thus far) within a month or two of offers going out.

Who commits in the next month or two?

I'm bullish - I think we get Booker and Bates-Diop, plus a quality big (possibly Sean O'Mara) by the end of July.

Great coverage at umhoops.

http://www.umhoops.com/2012/06/14/june-15th-offers-contact-and-new-ncaa-...

Michigan an early #2 for 2013 basketball recruiting rankings according to ESPN.

http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/classran...

cliffs: Jim Rome asks David Stern if the nba lottery is rigged, Stern's jimmies are good and rustled

http://fauxjohnmadden.lockerdome.com/media/98253998

come on yalll lets get it onnn