Hello: Ricky Doyle

Michigan received their first commitment to the basketball class of 2014 yesterday in Fort Meyers (FL) Bishop Verot forward Ricky Doyle, who received a scholarship offer while visiting for the Indiana game. It was Doyle's first visit outside the state of Florida, but he told UMHoops's Joe Stapleton that he saw everything he needed to make a decision:

What made you choose Michigan without going on all your other visits?

“When I was visiting the campus, I couldn’t think of anything wrong about it. Like, I was in the training room thinking wow, this is awesome. The coaching staff was awesome. They’re a great group of guys and I can’t wait to work with them. The staff, the gym, they had everything. Why wait when it’s right in front of you?”

While Doyle is the first prospect to commit to the 2014 class, one-time 2013 commit Austin Hatch has reclassified to 2014 after he was involved in a tragic plane crash in 2011. Doyle's pledge means the Wolverines are committed to the max 13 scholarships for the 2014-15 season, but that assumes zero attrition from the current roster, and raise your hand if you expect Trey Burke to play his senior season at Michigan. Thought so.

GURU RATINGS

As you can see, Doyle isn't a high-profile recruit; he decided not to play AAU basketball, which goes a long way towards explaining his lack of exposure. Three of the four sites list him at 6'9" (Scout says 6'7") and all have him in the neighborhood of 230 pounds. Given that his game isn't perimeter-oriented, he should be a five (center) in John Beilein's system.

With the lack of AAU exposure, there isn't a ton in the way of scouting out there on Doyle. ESPN's evaluation discusses his potential as a post scorer, pegging him as a mid-major prospect with room to develop into a high-major option ($):

Strengths:
He's got a history of basketball in the family. His father had a cup of coffee with the Detroit Pistons before playing overseas. He's receiving good coaching in high school and improved from his freshman to sophomore season. Could be a kid who plays pick and pop to mid-range. Runs well and changes ends with decent touch in the lane. Like that already owns a hook shot and has ways to score in the lane.

Weaknesses:
Not a bad athlete but not an exceptional one either. Still needs to continue to cultivate his interior post moves and work in the weight room to gain a measure of explosion to help versus size.

Bottom Line:
A good student, Doyle is a legit mid-major prospect and because of all the history and improvements, he could wind up at a high level as a second post option.

Scout's Andre Barthwell caught up with Doyle's high school coach, whose evaluation largely mirrors the above—Doyle isn't an exceptional athlete but has good potential as a post scorer—and includes quite the NBA comparison ($) [emphasis mine]:

“Ricky has a great feel for the game,” said Herting.  “He is really good with his back to the basket. Down low he can score with either hand and he is a very good three point shooter. He just doesn’t shoot it because that is not what we need from him on this team. He is very a fundamentally sound rebounder in terms of boxing out. He is working on his face up game and his foot work for more quickness.  That isn’t to say he doesn’t have quickness he is working on it to get better at.  With what he can do out on the floor his upside is huge can only get better that’s what you like about him and the direction his game is going in."

“He is a versatile player who can post up and pop out and hit the 10-12 foot shot,” Mr. Doyle added. ["]Ricky can handle out on the perimeter as well. Coach Jim Larranaga from Miami says he seen Dirk Nowitski when he was young, and that’s who Ricky reminds him of. Ricky has a seven-foot two-inch wing span with a size 18 shoe, and his doctor said that his growth plates have not closed so he is still growing."

If Doyle can develop that three-point shot he could be an option as a stretch four, though Beilein would probably prefer a little more athleticism at the position.

UMHoops had freelance writer Carl Bleich scout Doyle last November, and Bleich came away very impressed with Doyle's post game:

Doyle’s back-to-the-basket skills are second to none for a player his age. He is proficient finishing with both hands and has an array of post moves to choose from. He can also catch the ball in the post, face up and score consistently coming across the lane as well as showed on multiple occasions against LaBelle. He took just one shot outside of the paint in Thursday’s game but has showcased a smooth mid-range jump shot in the past that indicates that he is comfortable offensively outside of the paint.

Bleich also praised Doyle's defensive instincts and ability to box out, which should be welcome news to Michigan fans after watching the Wolverines for the last month.

OFFERS

Per UMHoops, Doyle held offers from Boston College, Stanford, Virginia, Purdue, Penn State, and Miami (YTM). He also had significant interest from Kansas State, Washington, and USC. That's a pretty solid offer list for a three-star/unranked recruit that didn't play AAU ball during a critical evaluation period.

STATS

According to MaxPreps, Doyle averaged 21.7 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 1.6 blocks per game while shooting 71% from the field and 67% from the line this season, though he only played nine games due to a foot injury. As a sophomore, he averaged 15.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game, shooting 66% from the field and 65% from the line.

VIDEO

Camp highlights from last summer:

Ditto:

UMHoops also has sophomore highlights and single-game film on their commitment post.

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Doyle doesn't come off as a player who's going to rise to the top of the rankings or be a star in college, but you can bet John Beilein sees something in him that the recruiting services haven't—his track record with early commits (see: Trey Burke, Glenn Robinson III) speaks for itself.

As said above, Doyle projects to the five in Beilein's system; when he hits campus, the returning post players will be redshirt senior Jon Horford, junior Mitch McGary, redshirt junior Max Bielfeldt, and sophomore (2013 commit) Mark Donnal. Only McGary and Horford seem guaranteed anything beyond role player status at that point, but it'll also be hard for Doyle to crack the rotation right away, especially if he's got work to do in the weight room before he's ready to hold up against Big Ten big men.

If Doyle lives up to his reputation as a skilled post scorer, he should have little trouble carving out a role down the road for a program that's lacked an interior scoring threat for quite some time. Continuing to develop a mid-range game should further improve Doyle's chances of seeing significant time; from there, how he develops physically and athletically will determine how big an impact he has at Michigan.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

UMHoops has the full scholarship breakdown—while Michigan appears full right now, expect at least two more spots to open up with the inevitable departure of Trey Burke and near-certain attrition that comes with any college program.

Michigan hosted their three top remaining targets last weekend along with Doyle: five-star MS SG Devin Booker, four-star IN SF Trevon Bluiett, and four-star OH SF Vincent Edwards. All three have outstanding offers and the Wolverines are very much in the mix for each of them.