Basketball Recruiting Exists Too Comment Count

Brian

Michigan's 2017 roster is set give or take an NBA declaration and/or Mo Bamba arriving on a cloud—with one exception discussed later in this post—so basketball recruiting efforts are now focused entirely on 2018. That figures to be a large class. They'll have at least three spots with the departures of Duncan Robinson, MAAR, and Jaaron Simmons. They're also likely to lose both DJ Wilson and Mo Wagner to the 2018 NBA draft. (Taking Austin Davis last year now looks like an extremely canny move by Beilein. IMO Michigan should be redshirting a center almost every year.)

They've got a commitment from instate PG David DeJulius; they can probably take a guy at every other position on the floor.

Posts

The only one on the board now may not even be a post. PF Pete Nance, who describes himself as a "point forward" at 6'10", is a candidate to be either a four or a five. He's the son of longtime NBA player Larry Nance, and you may remember that Michigan was almost his older brother's choice:

For a while, Nance Jr. thought he'd be playing for Michigan. "They seemed very interested," he said, but a formal offer never came.

Passing on the elder Nance brother turned out to be a mistake—he was a late first round pick in 2015 after a productive four-year career at Wyoming—and it looks like Michigan is not going to repeat that with the younger brother. Nance says he's "kind of sort of" down to Michigan, Ohio State, and Northwestern. You'd think Michigan should be the favorite for a 6'10" guy who wants to demonstrate his mad skillz. I mean:

Pete Nance has the height of his father and siblings, but is his own player. His ball-handling is that of a guard and is as comfortable on the perimeter as he is with his back to the basket. He sees the floor and has an improving jump shot.

Seriously:

At 6'8, Nance possesses a skillset that is unmatched by his counterparts at the four spot. He is able to stretch the floor offensively with a smooth stroke and is a gifted passer out of the high post or with his back to the basket. Nance is fundamentally sound, capable of using either hand to make cross court passes or finish with a soft touch around the rim. His ability to handle the basketball and shoot it off the bounce or pick and pop situations makes the rising senior an intriguing prospect.

You'd think Michigan would be Mecca for these dudes by now.

Michigan does not have another offer out to a guy taller than 6'8" at the moment, and the majority of those guys are definitively wing sorts. Michigan did not take a post last year. If Nance doesn't come they'd be wise to find a guy they can sit on for a while and play as an upperclassman.

Wings

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Michigan is also battling Ohio State (and others) for SF Jerome Hunter:

"We have a real good relationship," Hunter said. "I talk to (Beilein) the most. He texts me every day, he texts me after every game he watches me play and tells me what I did best and critiques me, basically."

Hunter said he's taken those messages to heart. Beilein's assessments are straightforward.

"He'll tell you the truth," Hunter said. "I like that."

Hunter is from Pickerington, the Columbus suburb that's sent Jake Butt, Taco Charlton, and Caris Levert to Ann Arbor in recent years. Hunter's been on campus three times and says his mom watches "basically every" Michigan game to get a read on their player development. Scout's Brian Snow has a recruiting update that makes it sound like M, OSU, Xavier, and Pitt are a tentative top four, and believes it's "neck-and-neck" between Michigan and Xavier.

Hunter may be in the process of blowing up after some impressive recent AAU performances:

Hunter was absolutely dominant all weekend long at Spiece. On the perimeter, he displayed an elite shot with range out to 26 feet and a very quick release. He was stellar knocking down threes off pick and pop action and off the dribble. Hunter had multiple games where he knocked down 4+ triples. Jerome played large portions of the weekend on the wing as a playmaker as well, and his vision was a real asset. He broke defenders down off the dribble and found teammates for easy lay-ups and dunks on several occasions.

Endless Motor thinks he's a top 50 player. Snow also asserted that he had a "TREMENDOUS" weekend at Spiece.

IN SG/SF Cole Swider recently named a top eight that included Michigan despite not having an offer yet—this is one of those things where he knows he'll have one as soon as he visits:

“Coach Beilein saw me play in Virginia, and he thought that I fit their system perfectly,” Swider said to UM Hoops Wednesday. “He called my dad and he called me, and he said, ‘We’d love to have you at Michigan,’ and all those things. He wants me to come up and visit campus.

“He said they specialize in guys like me — guys who can shoot the ball, know how to play the game and love to work. He said I’m a perfect fit for them, and they can have spots for me to play at with some guys leaving for the draft and some guys graduating.”

Swider appears to be Zak Irvin 2.0, a shooter who can pull up from the elbow and occasionally get to the basket:

His jumper doesn't look as goofy.

6'8" Canadian SF Ignas Brazdeikis does have an offer after an unofficial visit. Yes, a Lithuanian dude from Ontario. That's a model Michigan has used to excellent effect in the recent past. Brazdeikis appears to be a burlier gent than Stauskas:

He has the option of coming in as a 17 or an 18 and is leaning towards the latter. Michigan could have an open spot for him in 17—and if they do they would probably want him to come in, because he can be a four for them.

MI SF Brandon Johns is still from East Lansing, so yeah man.

Guards

NY SG Cormac Ryan remains a priority; with a dad who played at Yale and is currently in finance this is an unusual recruitment. To wit:

Northwestern Basketball Recruiting Update: Wildcats in the lead for four-star shooting guard Cormac Ryan?

That's based off an assertion in a Teddy Greenstein article ("Now the sense is that Northwestern and Stanford are the leaders") that appears to be an attribution-free lift from Corey Evans at Rivals. His article notes that he's taken the following visits...

“I have visited Michigan twice. I have also visited Notre Dame, Yale, Villanova and Penn,” Ryan said.

...and then only quotes him talking about Northwestern and Stanford. FWIW, Ryan just gave an interview to 247 in which he produced a top list...

I haven't made any decisions, but the list is Stanford, Northwestern, Michigan, Notre Dame, Villanova, and Yale are among the ones that have been recruiting me the hardest off of that package I'm looking for. There are some others, but I would say those are the core ones.

...and was then capable of rattling off a factoid about each of these schools in a subsequent question.

The other offered guard is PA SG Robby Carmody, who has set up a fourth visit to Michigan for June. Maryland just offered, joining Michigan, Indiana, Purdue, and several other regional powers.

Comments

AC1997

May 9th, 2017 at 1:16 PM ^

Would anyone care to offer a prediction on the class or a wishlist based on the players on the list and needs (including Brian - would love to get his take).

I personally think we need Nance for sure.  I never understood why Beilein picked Max Bielfeldt instead of Nance.  I liked Max and he carved out a decent role, but he was a 6'6" earth-bound center who was a marginal shooter.  If nothing else Michigan should have seen his positional limitations.  

Meanwhile, Nance had his own limitations as a recruit but was taller, athletic, and could contribute in multiple ways.  Michigan was also in the midst of great success with the off-spring of former NBA starts (Hardaway, Robinson, Horford, Dumars).  That was a recruiting decision that never made sense to me.....so let's sign his brother immediately.

Trader Jack

May 9th, 2017 at 1:16 PM ^

The lack of an offer for Nance at this point is puzzling. I like most of the guys on this list quite a bit, especially Hunter and the Lithuanian/Canadian guy. I think not taking Cain or Elliot last year is going to come back bite us; hopefully I'm wrong.

wolverinekeith

May 9th, 2017 at 1:23 PM ^

I read JB has talked to Bradzeikis about being a 2/3 wing, not really a 4.  

I'd be ecstatic about Nance-Johns-Hunter-Bradzeikis-DeJulius, but that seems like a best case scenario, so probably a pipe dream.  

Matt EM

May 9th, 2017 at 1:25 PM ^

after viewing him extensively this weekend at Spiece..........I would not offer. He was very underwhelming in relation to all the buzz/anticipation heading into this weekend. He looked out of place against legitimate competition, and that is being diplomatic about it.

The universal opinion within the scouting community on Nance after this weekend is that Rivals had him WAY over-ranked at #39. I can confirm Corey Evans (new to Rivals BBall staff) was present, and I'd anticipate Nance taking a rather steep decline in the Rivals rankings update come June.

AC1997

May 9th, 2017 at 1:43 PM ^

Interesting information Matt D.  How would you compare him to his older brother at this stage of the process?  I'm wondering if the recruiting services over compensated for missing on his brother a few years ago.  

 

His brother was a very lightly-recruited player who was talking to schools like CMU, Wyoming, Kent State, and Toledo.  Other than his namesake, there was no reason to believe he was going to turn into a 4-year solid player who is now playing 20mpg for the Lakers in the NBA.  



If Michigan were to sign him, could Beilein turn him into another version of his older brother in 2-3 years?

Matt EM

May 9th, 2017 at 2:07 PM ^

The first noticeable difference comes in terms of athleticism.........Larry had much more quick-twich explosion. Pete just doesn't have that sort of athletic ability, he's below average in terms of lateral agility and straight line speed, and more imortantly, moves really slow with the ball in his hands.

In terms of skillset, Pete has nice stagnant vision.......meaning he can find teammates when not moving with the ball/handling the ball. Other than that though, I didn't see anything that would lead me to believe he can be a 3/4 in Michigan's offense. His handle is below average, he dribbles the ball rather soft, and doesn't change direction with the ball at all. His shot is flat, often hitting the front of the rim because it lacks proper arch.

I did see him convert a nice post move against Marcus Bingham, where he backed him down before turning over the right shoulder with a lefty layup.

Perhaps the biggest difference comes in terms of motor, Pete leaves a lot to be desired in that regard whereas Larry was a monster in that department. Pete doesn't crash the boards at all, fails to box out, and just doesn't bring any physicality to the game.

High level summary is this - below average athlete, below average handle, below average shot, nice stagnant vision, doesn't play very hard. At this point he's a total project in my opinion, he has decent size at a legit 6'7-6'8 with good length............but he's a LONG way from contributing in my opinion. Could be wrong, but this weekend there was certainly a noticeable difference between prospects like Nance in relation to guys like Hunter, Johns and even Bingham. He has the mentality of a perimeter player, without the requisite skill. He has the height of a post player, but without the requisite physicality/motor/mentality.

 

Matt EM

May 10th, 2017 at 11:47 AM ^

DJ had a lot more ball skills at the same age. Wilson had a much better handle, and a better shot at the same stage of development. Granted, I wasn't huge on DJ at the time........thought he was a top 100-125 player in HS. That said, I think DJ was a lot further along in relation to Nance at the same stage.

The thing that really worries me about Nance is competition level, it's pretty poor in Akron for High School. Additionally, he doesn't play on a shoe circuit, so he's essentially been feasting on sub-par competition in AAU as well. The one opportunity where he has faced legit comp (this weekend at Spiece) he looked pretty rough. We've seen this  before with Kam Chatman, Ricky Doyle, Mark Donnal, etc............the lack of good/great competition is definitely something to be accounted for when evaluating a prospect.

DJ played much better comp in HS in California. While I can see the similarities from a physical standpoint in terms of length/height, DJ displayled a much better skillset and athletic tools at the same stage of development while facing better competition.

Hopefully I'll get to check out Nance again at some point in July.

 

ypsituckyboy

May 9th, 2017 at 2:15 PM ^

Looking forward to 2018, we need one more <30 second guy at the very least i.e. a guy who is a threat with the ball in his hands with under 30 seconds left in a close game. Our best option next year is probably going to be Matthews or Simmons...maybe Mo.

Mo will be gone, as will Simmons, so in 2018 that leaves Matthews and maybe someone like Poole if his handle tightens up.

corundum

May 9th, 2017 at 2:13 PM ^

I think the point-forward type prospects would be lining up to play at Michigan if we could guarantee them that a majority of their minutes would be at the three spot. I might be completely off base, but it seems like these stretch players come in and end up getting immediately pigeon holed into a PF or even C role due to necessity.

Michifornia

May 9th, 2017 at 2:16 PM ^

To decide whether they are going pro or coming back?  I thought it was mid to late May.  Obviously will clear a lot of things up when they decide and if they both come back, it could be a great year next season.

GO BLUE!

goblueritzy92

May 9th, 2017 at 2:35 PM ^

Would Michigan take both Hunter and Johns if they wanted in, or do they have too much positional overlap? I think Michigan is setting up very well if they can reel those two in.

Matt EM

May 9th, 2017 at 2:39 PM ^

Has the skillset to play the 2, 3 or 4 and that is no exaggeration. In my right up that Brian linked to, top 50 was conservative...........Jerome may be trending toward top 35ish/5star territory if he continues to play the way he did this weekend. Getting him in the fold allows us to get either a 3 or a 4 because Hunter can basically play anywhere on the floor.

 

Here are highlights I put together of him at Spiece this weekend against legit competition.

http://endlessmotor.net/2017/05/07/jerome-hunter-18oh-nova-2017-run-n-s…

nerv

May 9th, 2017 at 6:43 PM ^

I get pretty excited when I read things like 'elite shot with range out to 26 feet'

Especially when it is regarding a 6'7 wing..

wolverinekeith

May 9th, 2017 at 7:11 PM ^

MattD....

Have you seen Duane Washington from GR Christian much?  Any thoughts there?  

For '18 kids who can play the 5, have you seen either Marcus Bingham or Trevion Williams?  

Those guys don't seem like priorities right now, but may emerge if some of the top targets go elsewhere.  

Matt EM

May 9th, 2017 at 10:05 PM ^

I've watched all 3 extensively and know each of them pretty well.

With Duane, he's a great shooter but we already have David DeJulius in the mix so probably redundant in that regard.

Marcus is a prospect with extremely high upside. His measurables in terms of height/length are just insane considering his skillset. He has a lot of work to do in terms of adding mass/strength and physicality. He has a great looking shot and some ball skills but needs further development. He's going to take a few years before he reaches his potential but he could be special as an upperclassmen. The staff is certainly aware of Bingham and tracking his progress.

Trevion is a kid who's playing through some injuries right now, but seems to be coming around. He was the most dominant post player this weekend at the Run-N-Slam. In bracket play he had a 20-20 game against C2K Elite and Dylan Swingle (holds a W Va offer). Williams needs to dedicate himself to getting in tip-top shape.....though that is difficult when fighting the injury bug. While he has soft touch around the rim and good footwork, his perimeter skills for a kid that massive are elite. He can handle the ball exceptionally well for a big and his passing is elite for a post prospect. The staff is certainly expressing interest to Trevion, but he's not the primary focal point right now. If Trevion can get healthy and shed 30-40 pounds he's going to have a huge July because the tools are there for sure

The Fan in Fargo

May 9th, 2017 at 10:51 PM ^

Watched fifteen seconds of Nance and that was enough of the entire piece of information and the rest of the players shown. Nance has little athletic ability and his skillset wont take him very far in the college game in the B1G. Can someone show me something please??