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

Once 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 III: Bigs

No question about it, the Wolverines will add at least two bigs for 2021, with Hunter Dickinson and Brandon Johns the only available bodies to reasonably play the 5 spot beyond next season. A true center and perhaps a more PF/stretch/face-up type. Regardless of positional designation/skillset, we need a few guys above 6’8 on the roster.

Michael Foster

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’9/6’11/235
• High School/AAU: Hillcrest Prep (AZ)/Mac Irvin (EYBL)
• Offer Date: June 18, 2019
• Offers: Arizona, Kansas, Maryland, UCLA, Georgia, Baylor, Florida State, Marquette, N.C. State, Illinois and more than 10 others
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 5star/top 20 overall

Scouting: A skilled power forward that is a matchup nightmare. Has the ballskills and fluidity to go around slower bigs from the wing, the size/strength to bully smaller defenders in the post, and a nice looking stroke from the perimeter. Not a great athlete, and probably doesn’t move well enough to defend the perimeter at the college level, but certainly not a poor athlete by any means. Projects as a high floor player that makes an immediate impact as a pick and pop big that faces-up occasionally and scores with his back to the basket. Probably doesn’t have the explosiveness or upside that would make him a priority for the G League. Reminds me a ton of the Morris twins at Kansas.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Things have been rather quite for a prospect of his caliber. Foster has taken visits to Baylor, Marquette, Arizona and Georgia dating back to the Fall. Michael is originally from Wisconsin and Juwan Howard has heavy ties to his AAU club, Mac Irvin Fire. Despite that, Michigan hasn’t been mentioned recently and he probably isn’t an option at this point.

[Hit THE JUMP for more large humans]

Moussa Diabate

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’9/7’1/200
• High School/AAU: IMG Academy (FL)/Nightrydas Elite (EYBL)
• Offer Date: June 22, 2019
• Offers: Memphis, Arizona, Maryland, Illinois, Florida, Pitt, Florida State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Auburn and more than 10 others
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 5star/top 15 overall

Scouting: Athletic prospect with the prototype physical profile for a modern PF. Active rebounder that thrives on the offensive glass and doesn’t require designed plays to score/impact the game. Rapidly improving shooter with good shot mechanics for a big. Runs the floor well in transition and finishes with authority at the rim. Good rim protector with some switchability on the perimeter. Projects as a high floor and high ceiling prospect that will make an instant impact at the college level as a floor-spacing big that protects the rim and rebounds, while having the agility to switch on guards for a few dribbles.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Diabate has played things close to the vest, and there is very little information regarding visits, etc. That said, he will be 19 when he graduates if he remains in the 2021 class. As of March, Corey Evans didn’t think a reclass was in the cards, but the professional path may be in play with recent G League developments. Moussa has the ideal physical profile, athleticism and ceiling that NBA teams gravitate toward. Michigan isn’t a serious option at this point.

Chet Holmgren

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 7’0/7’4/190
• High School/AAU: Minnehaha Academy (MN)/Grassroots Sizzle (Under Armour)
• Offer Date: April 24, 2020
• Offers: Gonzaga, Kansas, North Carolina, Texas, Purdue, Baylor, Maryland, Ohio State, Memphis, Minnesota, Marquette and over 20 others
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 5star/top 5 overall

Scouting: The most skilled big in High School basketball. A true 7-footer that is an elite shooter for his position (48.4% from distance on 3 attempts per game on the Under Armour Circuit), can handle the ball with ease and protect the rim at an extremely high level. The issue is strength, he lacks it in a major way. The 7.2 rebounds per game on the Under Armour circuit is a bit underwhelming for a prospect of his size and no doubt influenced heavily by the absence of muscle mass or weight in general. To exacerbate things a bit, he’s not a great athlete either. His movements are fluid, but he lacks any sort of quick twitch athleticism. Holmgren is going to be an NBA player at some point, but I do worry that his impact at the college level may underwhelm relative to his ranking, particularly in the B10. No doubt he will be able to stretch the floor from day 1, but I just don’t know that he can absorb contact barring an additional 25-30 pounds of weight. To put this in perspective, Colin Castleton looks like a bodybuilder in relation to Chet and he was pushed around rather easily despite having similar height/length. In short, Chet is only going to play one year of college basketball at most, and I’m doubtful he’ll have the production of a typical top 5 prospect based on his current physical limitations.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Dad played at Minnesota. Jalen Suggs (AAU teammate) signed with Gonzaga. In an interview with Rivals last month, Chet says Minnesota, Gonzaga, Georgetown, Memphis, UNC, and Ohio State have prioritized him. Per the same piece, he took OVs to both Gonzaga and Memphis. Keep in mind that interview was conducted well before Juwan Howard jumped in with an offer. As the relationship with Michigan is in the infancy stages, it’s a bit too early to properly assess where we stand given the novelty and the absence of any presumed leader(s).

Efton Reid

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’11/7’1/240
• High School/AAU: The Steward School (VA)/Team Takeover (EYBL)
• Offer Date: N/A
• Offers: Kansas, Louisville, Virginia, N.C. State, Ohio State, Maryland, Rutgers, Virginia Tech and a handful of others
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 4star/top 35

Scouting: More traditional big than athletic roll-man/switchable type that we see at the NBA level. Good jump-hook over both shoulders, displays solid footwork in the post on drop-steps. Not shooting 3s with a ton of volume, but there is definitely some potential as a floor-spacer in pick and pop action at the college level based on shot mechanics. Solid athlete, but lacks explosion to be a great rim-protector. Good rebounder that has the size/frame to flirt with double-digit rebound numbers in college. Projects as multi-year player in college that will likely need a year in a backup role before being showcased in a more prominent role. His game fits well in the B10, will be a true back to the basket scoring threat and likely to develop as a pick and pop threat to some degree.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Its been difficult to ascertain just how long Michigan has been in the mix with Reid. His interview with Corey Evans last week implies some level of interest for at least a few months. Efton has visited Virginia, Ohio State and Louisville. But Reid openly speaks about the potential of reclassification to 2020 and that complicates things. While Hunter Dickinson was an AAU teammate with Team Takeover, its not likely he wants to be in the same class. Bottom line, if Reid stays a 2021 the Wolverines appear to have a decent chance here when considering style of play, positional need and connections with Dickinson/Williams.

Charles Bediako

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’11/7’3/215
• High School/AAU: ISA Academy (OH)/UPlay (EYBL)
• Offer Date: April 30, 2020
• Offers: Duke, Louisville, Michigan State, Alabama, Maryland, Ohio State, Texas, Arizona State, Tennessee, Xavier, USC, Florida, TCU, Providence, Rutgers, Illinois
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 4star/top 35 overall

Scouting: Modern, athletic big with prototype size/length and a raw offensive skillset. Shot mechanics are promising, and there is some potential to be a pick and pop threat with further development. Has solid touch at the rim, but doesn’t possess the footwork to be a back to the basket threat at this point in his development. Definitely a roll-man threat with combination of size/length/athleticism. Best asset is rim protection, as he will block/alter shots immediately at the college level. Projects as a high ceiling defender that makes an instant impact on defense in college. Offense will come almost exclusively on putbacks, lobs and dumpoffs, with the occasional flash of shooting.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Ohio State and Michigan State hosted Charles for visits last year. Although Duke and MSU have been the 2 programs most closely connected to his recruitment recently. Bediako is another kid that will be 19 when he graduates if he opts to remain a 2021, but much like Diabate, reclassification appears to be very much in play. Again, its unlikely Michigan wants Bediako part of the 2020 class, but if he remains 2021 then things may progress. Since the offer was just extended last night, there simply isn’t enough information to reasonably forecast things at this point.