Hello: 2011 PG Carlton Brundidge Comment Count

Brian

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Southfield point guard Carlton Brundidge has committed to Michigan. He's a junior at the moment, so will come in for 2011 when Darius Morris is a junior. UMHoops has a full rundown on Brundidge for your delectation. A highlight or two:

Brundidge ranks 98th on Rivals, 68th on Scout and 33rd on ESPN. Carlton is one of the top juniors in the state of Michigan as well, ranking as high or higher as Tommie McCune, Patrick Lucas-Perry, Amir Williams, Brandan Kearney, and others. While some like Brandan Kearney may have more potential, it is hard to argue with Brundidge’s production. …

Brundidge is a power guard who thrives taking the ball to the hoop and creating for himself. His three point jump shot is streaky and a bit funky but he can score in bunches. He is a high energy guy who is often mentioned in scouting reports for being active on the glass despite his short height.

As you can see by the above video, Brundidge is a bulldog of a scoring point guard closer to a Rodney Stuckey (YMRMFSPA!) than a traditional distributor. Like Stuckey, Brundidge can get to the rack and finish with the best of them. He puts up points in bunches, most of them on shots he's created for himself. Also (and unfortunately) like Stuckey, his outside shot is a weakness. Brundidge is considerably shorter than Stuckey, but should be fine for college and may have an inch or two of growth left.

Yes, MGoBlog readers with long memories for slightly uncomplimentary things said about Michigan coaches around these parts will remember a long mailbag post doubting John Beilein's recruiting ability. Picking up Brundidge, who's not a guy you would think finds the Beilein offense a huge selling point, goes a long way towards making that opinion look stupid, and I welcome the opportunity for a fuller mea culpa in the event Beilein picks up either Prather or Zeigler and finishes out the '11 class with a highly-rated post. Stupidity, in this case, is preferred.

Comments

V.O.R.

September 21st, 2009 at 11:48 AM ^

Excellent pick up. JB is putting together a very dangerous team that will scare even the major power teams because of his style of play and the depth of talent that is being stocked.

Seth

September 21st, 2009 at 12:05 PM ^

Has anyone considered this might just be evidence that English picked up the Carr game face?

I saw a lot of ScaryFace moments on the sidelines, even before M ran away with the thing.

English has cause to be a little sour at Michigan. He has been a rising star among the coaching ranks since he was a DB coach in the Pac Ten. It wouldn't surprise me if Carr et al. offered him a chance to be in line for the H.C. job one day. If it didn't happen then, the promise also could have easily materialized when he was offered the D.C. job (when he was about to bolt for the NFL).

I figured he would land in a Head Coaching job somewhere a bit above EMU -- young guys with big program experience who have made national headlines as coordinators are a pretty easy gamble for mid-majors who just had their coach picked off by the SEC or whatnot. The Louisville gig for him last year was obviously a step backwards, which could generate some resentment.

Anyway, he never seemed like a man to expect Michigan to be his last stop ever, unless the H.C. job became his, or be all that rattled by a change in fortune at Carr's retirement. This is just from spectator level -- I don't know anything beyond what's out there for the fans to digest. It just seems that his career arc has always been about moving forward toward a Head Coaching job, no grudges, no looking back. He gets a better offer, he'll take it right away, unless someone else comes through with a better one.

Meeechigan Dan

September 21st, 2009 at 1:08 PM ^

What stuns me about potential is this.

JB took two additions to his train wreck 2007 season - Novak and Douglass - and forged a winner.

Now he has these new bodies to work with this year...

Darius Morris
Matt Vogrich
Blake McLimans
Jordan Morgan
Ben Cronin
Eso Akunne
Josh Bartelstein (sp)

Not to mention, the following year...

Evan Smotrycz
Tim Hardaway

...and then, Carlton. With a possibility of Prather or Ziegler to fill up his scholarships for the next three years.

This must be like giving a Stradivarius to Itzhak Perlman.

tn wolverine

September 21st, 2009 at 1:31 PM ^

My favorite part of the highlight tape was all the free throws hitting nothing but net. There's nothing like having a point guard that can calmly step to the line and hit free throws in crunch time. Welcome to Michigan Carlton !!!!!!!!!!

jamiemac

September 21st, 2009 at 1:36 PM ^

There is no ceiling for John Beilein at the University of Michigan.

I understood the hesitancy to buy this mindset, given how bad the program had been.

But, what you're seeing in the Olympic sports is if Michigan can find the right coach, a top shelf coach, then no sport at this amazing place really has a ceiling as its traditionally defined. The same holds true for the revenue sports.

With Beilein you have one of the top 10 coaches in the game today. With the Univeristy of Michigan you have one of the top school/athletic program combos in the country. This is a perfect match to win big.

With Beilein, Michigan will win its first Big 10 title since the 85-86 season and compete nationally. Book It!

Enjoy the ride.

StephenRKass

September 21st, 2009 at 1:55 PM ^

Thx to Brian & Bronxblue for admitting previous fears on a recruiting ceiling for Beilein were unneeded and incorrect. With basketball improving, and new facilities on the way, recruiting will only get easier.

I am so happy for Michigan and the future. More success will undoubtedly come. I also see a strong probability of Beilein sticking around until he retires. I like him much better than Pitino, Izzo, Calipari, Huggins, Matta, and even Coach K (although for diff reasons with this last.) If players leave after a couple years, better three, so be it. Who can blame a lottery pick for leaving? But I just don't see the point in recruiting one and dones. They don't really learn the system. It also makes it less fun for me as a fan - I want to follow players for at least a couple years. If Beilein can recruit two to three players a year ranked 20/30 - 100 (cf. Smotrycz, Brundige, Prather, Zeigler) we will be very competitive yet also avoid one year wonders.

aenima0311

September 21st, 2009 at 3:35 PM ^

I partially doubted Beilein's ability to recruit, but alot of the was just me tempering my expectations. With how bad our basketball team was, I was willing to settle for a tourney bid every few years and a mid-B10 finish.

Now, it seems the sky is the limit.