Recruiting

Remember this morning when I said Michigan still needed a power forward?

Walters chose Michigan over Ohio State, Kentucky, and Louisville after a freshman season as Alabama's 7th man. He profiled last year as a straight-up stretch four Just-a-Shooter plus decent defensive rebounding.

Walters came off the bench every game last year, extending his time on the court to ~15 mpg in the latter part of February. However Walters was stymied by classmate Jarin Stevenson also coming off the bench to play the four, and wasn't very efficient (16th percentile to Synergy) in transition for a team that got 38% of their initial shots (to hoop-math) on the run.

What Walters can do is get a shot up over just about anyone. He was 94th percentile to Synergy on *Guarded* catch-and-shoot jumpers at 43%, actually dipping down to 35% (15/43) when uncontested.

His transfer video shows a pogo-stick with a clean release and not a lot of meat on the bones.

Defense is also predicated on that wingspan. It also sounds like he improved a lot over the course of last season. Feet may limit his NBA upside, but Walters's height and length, and a season of SEC experience, should mean he's not a liability on the other end. On a team filled with creators, adding a floor-spacer like Walters should mean Michigan can score with anybody. Adding a sophomore should also mean Dusty May isn't forced to go portal hunting like this again in two years.

Matt D will have a much more thorough breakdown after he sorts through the rest of this weekend's commitapalooza. Here's what the roster roster looks like:

PG: Tre Donaldson (Jr), Durral Brooks (Fr), [Lorenzo Cason (Fr)]
SG: Roddy Gayle (Jr), George Washington III (So), Justin Pippen (Fr)
Also SG: Rubin Jones (Sr*), [Nimari Burnett (Jr*)], [Jace Howard (Sr*)]
PF: Will Tschetter (Jr), Sam Walters (So)
C: [Vlad Goldin(Sr*)], Danny Wolf (Jr)

Michigan is now up to nine players committed for 2024-'25, with Vlad Goldin widely expected to join them after he goes through the Draft process. Nimari Burnett and Jace Howard (who can be a walk-on) haven't entered the portal or announced returns. From here they're probably going to keep pursuing 2024 5-star Khani Rooths for a 3/4 role, and/or look to add one or two more guards.

Panic over Michigan's 2025 recruiting class can subside for a moment, as one of their top targets over the course of several DL coaches just committed to Lou Esposito and the Wolverines.

Marshall is a top-100 player to all the sites, and is near the 5-star cutoff to some.

The rankings will come down a bit as the class settles but right now we're looking at the fifth-highest rated freshman to come to Michigan since 2020 after Edwards, Will Johnson, McCarthy, and Derrick Moore. In fact Marshall draws a few comparisons to the rising junior star currently playing the "Heavy" edge position. Already close to 270 pounds, Marshall is coming in as an edge who can also function as a DL swingman (see also: Enow Etta and Cameron Brandt). Given the relative depth at tackle and edge, it's likely the Heavy depth chart will be responsible for filling the Jeter role of third DT in Michigan's 5-2 sets.

He has a basketball background and also plays some wildcat QB and receiver in Illinois Class 6A, in case you're wondering if Marshall has the requisite athleticism to remain outside.

Marshall was a priority recruit for Mike Elston, and his familiarity with Greg Scruggs might have played a role in that hiring. Miami (YTM) had Marshall on campus this month and was starting to gain confidence out Michigan's multiple coaching changes. But Esposito was also quite familiar with the Chicago star. It's a good sign for his recruiting chops that he was able to lock down Marshall at this point.

We'll have Alex Drain do some scouting and get back with a full hello. Michigan's 2025 class is now at four commits, but Marshall's was not the next name we expected to join it. Check back in a couple of months to see where they're at.

Michigan Basketball can field a team again! As expected, SG Roddy Gayle has become the third transfer, and fourth commitment to Dusty May since Friday. This time it's also at the expense of a rival. Like Tony Alford says, if you won't ever beat them again, join 'em.

Like some of the other guards that May has picked up, Gayle profiles as an efficient creator with good size, good defense, and an elevated turnover rate that will hopefully come down when playing with a lot of other guys who can generate their own offense. Unlike the others, Gayle gets to the foul line a ton.

He was also part of a team-wide run of bad luck on threes that got Chris Holtmann fired on Valentine's Day before reversing itself in time to get Jake Diebler assistant hired. That improvement didn't include Gayle, who shot 29% (23/78) behind the arc before February 14th and 24% (6/25) afterwards. Add his 43% (21/49) from his freshman year to get a 33% (50/152) career shooter thus far. Before that Gayle was a top-50 prospect whom 247's Jerry Meyer compared to Josh Christopher.

Has a college ready body with good length (long arms) and great strength. Is a powerful athlete who thrives in traffic. Handles contact extremely well and loves to dish out the contact. Shoots the ball well off the catch with an efficient and smooth low release. Also scores with pull up jumpers where he elevates and can also score at the rim. Most notably, he has a niche as a potent post up player. Ball handling is solid and efficient. Has the ability to deliver to the open man. Rebounds his position quite well and can ignite the fast break. Has potential to be a formidable and versatile defender. Overall has a well rounded game that impacts a game in virtually all facets.

Like we said on the pod, he should be a useful Big Ten starter with a lot of upside if his shooting returns to form. Matt D will have a more detailed scouting report in a few days (I'm holding off his Jones Hello for this).

The roster, with unannounced predictions in brackets:

PG: Tre Donaldson (Jr), Durral Brooks (Fr), [Lorenzo Cason (Fr)]
SG: Roddy Gayle (Jr), George Washington III (So), Justin Pippen (Fr)
Also SG: Rubin Jones (Sr*), [Nimari Burnett (Jr*)], [Jace Howard (Sr*)]
PF: Will Tschetter (Jr)
C: [Vlad Goldin(Sr*)], Danny Wolf (Jr)

May still needs to add a power forward and could theoretically push Jones to 6th man if they can find another impact guard.