walker kessler

Coach Howard and crew are set on pulling in a projected one-and-done type that would likely change perception of the recruiting prowess in Ann Arbor. The staff has done a great job getting such prospects on campus and making various top lists after getting in the mix relatively late in the game. The recruiting chops seem legit, but it will be an open question until a five-star makes a pledge to the good guys.

Momma Knows Best

Top-15 forward Isaiah Todd was on campus for an official visit last weekend and the early returns are good. I was able to catch up with Todd’s mother yesterday and she certainly gave off positive vibes.

“We love Michigan. We had a wonderful time, the staff was great.”

The Wolverines envision a versatile role for the 6’10 senior, allowing him to explore his game from multiple spots on the court.

“The coaching staff sees Isaiah as a stretch 4, giving him the freedom to showcase all of his talent.”

A final five which includes Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas and Memphis along with Michigan generally incites one to pump the brakes. But Todd has visited UNC on multiple occasions without a commitment, cancelled a scheduled official to Memphis and details have yet to emerge about planned visits to both Kansas and Kentucky. Rivals’ Corey Evans recently retracted a UNC prediction and considers Michigan a darkhorse.

There have been mild concerns about Isaiah’s consistency over the last year. As someone with several live evaluations of the Virginia-native last Summer, there is no doubt he has the look of a future lottery pick down the road. Athletic 6’10 wing-forwards with a pull-up jumper off the bounce don’t grow on trees.

Yes, please.

[Hit THE JUMP for more visit notes and your weekly Nimari Burnett update.]

Hello again. I haven't done a "hey I'm back" post because I'd rather use my energy on actual posts, and also because I'm still largely taking things day-by-day and week-by-week. That said, I'm taking back the recruiting posts for now, so please excuse me while I get back up to speed—I wasn't tracking this stuff much during my time off.

A clear theme has emerged: the blue-bloods can only take so many guys. That's the hope, at least, as Juwan Howard's focus has been on a lot of top-tier prospects with the likes of Duke, Kentucky, and UNC high on their lists. Michigan hosted multiple such players over the last couple weekends for official visits and should gain some clarity relatively soon; for the moment, however, there's not a lot moving.

The Best Bet?

Five-star California combo guard Nimari Burnett recently named Michigan to his final five, and last weekend he was in Ann Arbor for the first of his official visits. While he's known Howard for a long time, he wasn't as familiar with the rest of the staff, and this trip helped get him comfortable with them, per 247's Josh Gershon:

“What stood out was how transparent and real all of the coaches were,” Burnett said. “It’s a perfect coaching staff that complements each other and I had a good time picking their brains.”

Burnett is one of the top combo guards in the 2020 class, which is a role that he would continue to have if he were to choose the Wolverines.

“They said that I would play both the one and two and be able to play in their up-tempo style of play, playing 30-35 minutes a game,” Burnett said.

Michigan is a contender and they lost some competition when Burnett canceled his planned official visit to Louisville this weekend and said he's no longer considering the Cardinals. He still has OVs set over the next month or so to Oregon, Alabama, and Texas Tech. That's tough competition; it's not Kentucky.

[Hit THE JUMP for battles against blue-bloods.]

RIP baseball. It was fun!

Memories that will last a lifetime.

We are so proud of #Team153! pic.twitter.com/faayUvnYz8

— Michigan Baseball (@umichbaseball) June 27, 2019

Franz time. Alba Berlin's season is over, and now FranzWatch begins.

Last thing I was told by someone close to Franz Wagner is that he's still undecided. He's supposed to sit down with his family. A decision should be made "very soon."

— Brendan Quinn (@BFQuinn) June 24, 2019

Franz would obviously be a big deal, especially as he's started to become a real contributor to Alba:

Here's Franz Wagner, not your typical 17-year-old, scoring 14 points on 100% shooting in Game 2 of the BBL finals against an Euroleague team in Bayern Munich. He also hit a couple of clutch shots in the 4th quarter. Not afraid of the moment. pic.twitter.com/fGGTwpT11R

— NBADraftProspects (@draftprosnba) June 21, 2019

As a reminder, this is a league where a 24-year-old Derrick Walton can't get on the court. Wagner is reportedly up to 6'9" and headed for the first round of the draft. He would be a gamechanger for Juwan Howard's first team.

[After THE JUMP: keeping various baseball persons]