Juwan has turned his attention to 2021 recruiting, and we’re doing the same. Part I: Guards was yesterday. Today we do the Wings.

Again, my positional distinctions:

• Guard—moves well enough to defend the perimeter; generally a competent ballhandler/shot creator in a half-court setting; ideally a competent shooter, but not necessarily
• Wing—has adequate size/length to defend the wing; ideally a competent shooter or plus defender; ideally a secondary shot creator that can attack a closeout at minimum
• Big—has adequate size/length to protect the rim and/or rebound and/or not get bullied by traditional bigs in the B10; can ideally finish as a roll-man

PART II: Wings

It is safe to assume Michigan will take two wings based on the information we have now. Livers will be gone to graduation and perhaps Franz pursues professional options if he can find his perimeter shooting touch. Cole Bejama is the wildcard here. There have been rumors swirling that he is weighing a potential transfer, and if that comes to fruition we may be looking at 3 incoming wings for the 2021 class.

Jonathan Kuminga

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’8/6’11/220
• High School/AAU: The Patrick School (NJ)/New York Lightning (EYBL)
• Offer Date: N/A
• Offers: Down to Final 10 of Duke, Kentucky, Memphis, Texas Tech, Michigan, Florida State, Georgia, Maryland, Auburn and Washington
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 5star/top 5 overall regardless of class

Scouting: A physical specimen with freakish athleticism and the skillset to do whatever he wants on a basketball court. Simply put, Kuminga is a future lottery pick that will likely be a heavy rotational player in the NBA at some point very soon. Getting into heavy detail about his game is not worth your time here, Michigan’s chances don’t justify me teasing you any more than necessary.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Kuminga included the Wolverines in his top 10 back in November and will release his top 5 soon. It has been strongly suggested that he will reclassify to the 2020 class. With recent developments, Kuminga will likely be a prime target for the G League path. In any event, he’s not coming to Ann Arbor barring a miracle.

[Hit THE JUMP for more realistic options and a few prospects I’d like to see the staff target]

Patrick Baldwin

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’9/7’0/210
• High School/AAU: Hamilton HS (WI)/Phenom U (EYBL)
• Offer Date: June 18, 2019
• Offers: Every blueblood in the country and over 20 others
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 5star/top 10 overall

Scouting: Jumbo wing with an outstanding stroke from distance and a true matchup problem in college. He’s not an explosive athlete, but doesn’t need to be at the college level with his combination of size/length and shooting. Developing handle, flashed the ability to hit pull-ups last Summer. Solid vision in transition, his size allows him to see over the defense and survey the court. Projects as mostly a catch and shoot wing, but the threat of his jumpshot will allow him to attack closeouts off the bounce. Will likely be used in the post against smaller defenders when switched on to him, as he likely has the agility + handle to blow by traditional bigs. Likely one and done prospect, and perhaps G League material.

Where Does Michigan Stand: His father, Patrick Baldwin Sr. is the head coach at Milwaukee. Both Mom and Dad are Northwestern alums. Has taken unofficial visits to Duke, Northwestern, UNC and Milwaukee per this interview with Rivals this week. Won’t release a top group per the same piece. Duke holds 100% of the 247 crystal balls and 100% of the Rivals’ future forecast. Extreme longshot for Michigan, with Duke the likely landing spot and the G League option available.

Max Christie

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’5/NA/175
• High School/AAU: Rolling Meadows HS (VA)/Illinois Wolves (Under Armour)
• Offer Date: June 18, 2019
• Offers: Duke, Michigan State, Ohio State, Villanova, Stanford, Virginia, Northwestern and over 15 others
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 5star/top 25 overall

Scouting: Good positional size and appears to have nice length despite lack of reported wingspan. Good shot mechanics, nice arch/rotation on his jumper, shot better than 41% from distance on the Under Armour circuit last Summer on roughly 5 attempts per game. Fluid athlete, but lacks any sort of quick twitch explosion. Handle is solid, but it can be a bit high and soft at times. Uses length to finish over defenders at the rim, but primarily a jumpshooter at this stage in his development. Projects mostly as a catch and shoot wing at the next level with flashes of creating his own offense. Will become more of an on-ball shot creator with further development. High ceiling prospect that doesn’t appear to be one and done material based on lack of size/strength/athleticism. Shotmaking likely translates from day 1, but needs to add muscle mass in order to be competent defender on the wing.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Mom played at Northwestern. Michigan hasn’t been mentioned at all recently. Based on an interview with Rivals last week, it appears his top group is Michigan State, Duke, Villanova, Virginia, Ohio State and Northwestern. Lone official visit was to MSU. Per aforementioned article, Christie plans on taking visits before making a decision prior to his senior season. Reading between the lines, Duke and the Spartans appear to be two of the primary contenders.

Trevor Keels

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’4/6’5/230
• High School/AAU: Paul VI Catholic (VA)/Team Takeover (EYBL)
• Offer Date: December 10, 2019
• Offers: Duke, North Carolina, Virginia, Ohio State, Villanova, Louisville, Maryland and over 15 others
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 4star/top 35 overall

Scouting: Elite shooter off the catch with NBA range. Effortless stroke with repeatable form. Handle good enough to attack a closeout and straight line drives against smaller defenders. Below average athlete that lacks ideal movement. Projects as a floor-spacing shooter that attacks out of control defenders on closeouts. Shooting will translate the second he steps foot on a college campus. Productive, multi-year college player that lacks the physical profile and athleticism to be attractive to NBA GMs any time in the near future. Needs to refine body and shed 15-20 pounds in order to be competent wing defender.

Where Does Michigan Stand: The Wolverines didn’t get much mention recently until conducting a virtual visit with Keels on Tuesday. Many expected him to be on the verge of committing to Virginia or Villanova as recently as last week. His High School teammate is Duke signee Jeremy Roach, while 2020 commits Hunter Dickinson and Terrance Williams are both travel ball teammates for Team Takeover. I heard Villanova was strong with him in early April. But it seems Juwan Howard has started to turn the heat up with 21s, so we have a puncher’s chance here with his AAU teammates also in his ear.

Kobe Bufkin

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’5/6’7/170
• High School/AAU: Grand Rapids Christian HS (MI)/The Family (EYBL)
• Offer Date: April 24, 2020
• Offers: Michigan State, DePaul, Northwestern, VCU, Rhode Island, TCU, Ohio
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 4star/top 40-60 overall

Scouting: Kobe definitely has good ball skills and the offensive repertoire of a guard. Good shooter with nice arch and fluid motion on his jumper. Pull-up jumper from distance is very good. Advanced perimeter footwork to create space from the wing. Above average handle and can functionally get where he needs to. Thrives in ballscreen action as both scorer and playmaker for others. Good vision and makes teammates better. Above average finisher with good body control that absorbs contact well despite slender frame. Fluid athlete, but lacks explosiveness and ideal movement to defend P5 level guards. Projects as a versatile offensive player in college that can play the 1-3 spots depending on the opponent. His skillset and movements definitely remind me of a smaller Jalen Rose. A multi-year college player that needs to add muscle mass. High ceiling, has pro-potential down the road, particularly if he grows 2 inches.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Bufkin took an unofficial visit in the Fall for a football game, but Michigan hasn’t been involved much until offering last week. He definitely liked the idea of playing at Michigan under Coach Beilein, but DePaul is certainly a team that is strong with him as of right now.

Isaiah Barnes

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’5/NA/190
• High School/AAU: River Forest HS (IL)/Illinois Wolves (Under Armour)
• Offer Date: April 26, 2020
• Offers: Kansas, Wisconsin, Georgia, Maryland, Iowa, Illinois, Iowa State and a handful of mid-majors
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 4star/top 50-75 overall

Scouting: Physically developed athlete with some vertical explosion at the rim when finishing. Very good lower body balance on his jumper with good elevation. Has a bit of extra motion on his mechanics, but nothing that’s of great concern. Hits pull-up jumpers from both distance and midrange. Good catch and shoot floor spacer as well. Above average handle, can change direction/speed off the bounce. Good first-step acceleration for a wing. Projects as versatile wing that can score from multiple spots on the court and have some on-ball duty depending on the matchup. Has some real potential as a plus defender with his combination of size, strength and athleticism. Likely to be a productive two-way wing that makes an impact early in his career, but sticks around multiple years. Think a less explosive Charles Matthews, perhaps with better ballskills/shooting at the same stage of development.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Barnes’ recruitment has exploded in recent weeks, and Michigan is the most recent school to jump in with an offer. He mentions Michigan, along with Iowa State, Georgia, Wisconsin, St. Louis, Iowa, Maryland, TCU and Illinois as the schools he speaks with the most in an interview with 247 earlier this week.

Bonus: Desirable Wings Not Yet on The Radar

I preface this section in saying the prospects reflected below have not yet been targeted by the staff. Put simply, I think said prospects are kids that I’d like to see Michigan express some interest in should the aforementioned offers not work out. Since no interest has been expressed, I’ll keep it brief.

Eric van der Heijden

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’8/NA/200
• High School/AAU: Millbrook HS (NC)/Team Wall (Adidas)
• Current Ranking: Composite #140 Overall

My Take: this kid is criminally undervalued. You simply cannot find prospects with this combination of size/shotmaking/ballskills/athleticism. Will likely be a top 50ish prospect for me when I update my 2021 rankings. If the live evaluation periods happen this Summer, he’s likely to blow-up on the national scene in short order.

Alex Fudge

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’7/NA/185
• High School/AAU: Lee HS (FL)/Team Parsons (Adidas)
• Current Ranking: Composite #78 Overall

My Take: explosive athlete that has the physical profile of an NBA wing. Developing ball skills and nice shot mechanics. Ceiling is off the charts for this kid. Has the look of a slightly smaller Greg Brown. Definitely not 75ish prospects better in the 2021 class. Again, likely to be top 50ish in my rankings update.

Jordan Nesbitt

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’6/6’7/210
• High School/AAU: St. Louis Christian Academy (MO)/Brad Beal Elite (EYBL)
• Current Ranking: Composite #134 Overall

My Take: much like Heijden above, Nesbitt is among the most undervalued prospects in the nation. I first saw him last year in Milwaukee at the NY2LA event and he immediately entered my database as a 4star prospect. I next saw him in November at the Chambana Classic in Illinois, where he was the best player on the court by a wide margin when matched up against a Prolific Prep team featuring 5stars Jalen Green, Nimari Burnett and 4stars Coleman Hawkins, Jaden Jones and Frank Anselem. Definitely has the offensive skillset of a guard, with a great pull-up game and the ability to do generate offense late in the clock. A high-floor prospect that will contribute very early in his career and likely be a multi-year impact player in college.