Michigan secured its first pledge for the 2021 class, when Simeon HS (IL) wing Isaiah Barnes announced his commitment via twitter. While this came seemingly came out of nowhere, it is an outstanding pickup that hopefully sets things in motion for what has the potential to be a monster class.

GURU RANKINGS

Rivals	ESPN	24/7	Endless Motor
4*, #112 Ovr #28 SG	4*, #37 SG, #6 IL	4*, #85 Ovr #20 SF, #5 IL	4* SF

For a prospect that is relatively new to the national scene, there is not much variation on where he sits in the landscape. Barnes comes in as a low/mid four-star type to all four services, with consensus agreement on the 180 pound weight and an even split between as to whether he is 6’5 or 6’6. Again, Isaiah has flown largely under the radar until the Spring, so there are no recent measurement to report. My eye test says he’s probably closer to 190 now and I’m going with 6’6 because it makes me feel better.

Note – I haven’t taken up the task of individual player rankings this season with no AAU events that provide me with evaluation opportunities against legit competition on a relatively level playing field. I am comfortable issuing a general star ranking/tiered structure as indicated above. In more simplistic terminology, I’d probably have Barnes in the 65-85 range overall pending more detailed live viewings.

[After THE JUMP: Scouting, etc.]

SCOUTING

Largely extracted from my Recruiting Primer in April, Isaiah is a swiss-knife wing that is above average/good at multiple skill facets. Versatility and the ability to play in nearly any lineup combination bode well for Barnes and Michigan as a team.

He’s a physically developed athlete with some vertical explosion at the rim when finishing. Solid first-step acceleration for a wing and good strength for a senior-to-be in High School. I don’t think absorbing contact will be an issue for Isaiah. He projects to have a college ready frame as a freshman and should be able to compete physically the first day he sets foot on campus.

As a shooter, he displays 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.

Barnes is intriguing as a shot creator with an above average handle and the ability to change direction/speed off the with a live dribble. Projects as versatile wing that can score from multiple spots on the court and have some on-ball duty depending on the matchup.

On the other end of the court Isaiah has some real potential as a plus defender with his combination of size, strength and athleticism. He probably doesn’t move well enough to defend quicker guards in the B10, but certainly has the tools to adequately defend most SGs, SFs and perhaps PFs depending on how much muscle mass he adds to his frame.

247 just released an evaluation of Barnes today, and Brian Snow largely echoes my take in terms of size/athleticism/versatility:

“The first thing when watching tape of Barnes that jumps off the page is his combination of size and athleticism. A wing who can handle the ball and at times plays on the ball, Barnes is a tremendous athlete with talent and upside. He is asked to do a little bit of everything for his high school, and Barnes did it all this past year.”

Eric Bossi at Rivals views Isaiah as more of a SG and likes his ceiling in an article released today:

“A long and lanky two guard with tremendous positional size, He can shoot with range, has a solid handle and is a springy athlete whose best days are ahead of him. Barnes looked poised for a big summer with the Illinois Wolves on the Under Armour Association circuit.”

And that’s it for third party evaluations, in large part because Barnes exploded during his junior year of High School at Oak River Forest (IL). Generally the services run behind when a prospect makes a big leap for a non-powerhouse HS program as opposed to AAU season, as is the case here.

[After THE JUMP: A comparison that is likely to make me look foolish]

OFFERS

Isaiah refrained from releasing a “Final Schools” list that we’re accustomed to seeing, so its difficult to ascertain the primary competition here. That said, he pulled in a plethora of impressive offers since March that included Kansas, Maryland, Iowa, Wisconsin, Georgia, Iowa State and DePaul to compliment an existing offer from Illinois. That reads like a kid that would’ve been a B10 priority prospect once the live evaluation periods commence, with a real opportunity to field some interest from fringe national powers. In other words, we probably nabbed a kid on the way up whose recruitment would’ve been exponentially more contested during a normal cycle.

HIGH SCHOOL

Barnes played his junior year at Oak River Forest HS (IL) before word broke in May that he is transferring to Simeon High School in Chicago. The Wolverines are typically a powerhouse program, with notable alums such as Derrick Rose, Nick Anderson, Kendrick Nunn, Talen Horton-Tucker, Jabari Parker and several more.

Simeon generally has multiple Division I prospects on the roster every year. Next year’s team will feature 2021 DePaul commit Ahamed Bynum and 2022 top 100 prospect Jaylen Drane.

STATS

Isaiah put up better than 21 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists on 48.4% FG and 44.5% from distance during his junior year at Oak River Forest.

VIDEO

Fire Mixtapes Junior Year Highlights:

Single Game Highlight vs Glenbard West:

PREDICTION BASED ON FLIMSY EVIDENCE

Difficult to project what his role is early on with the waiver status of Chaundee Brown not clear just yet in tandem with the college basketball season not being an absolute certainty. Assuming Brown is granted immediate eligibility and the 20-21 season is played, Barnes has a legit shot to crack the rotation as a freshman with Franz Wagner being the only true offensive wing on the roster when he arrives.

What I can say is that Isaiah is likely to be a productive two-way wing that makes an impact early in his career, but sticks around multiple years. My comparison is a less explosive Charles Matthews, perhaps with better ballskills/shooting at the same stage of development.

I don’t necessarily think Barnes has ideal NBA size/length/athleticism that makes for an attractive candidate after 1-2 years, but rather he has the makings of a player that produces at a solid clip for multiple years and helps Michigan wing lots of games.

I often speak of return value with regard to college recruiting. That generally translates to high-floor/solid ceiling types that don’t need a ton of development to produce and aren’t real threats to bail before 2 years of college. Isaiah is exactly this, a great return value.

UPSHOT FOR THE REST OF THE CLASS

We need bodies in 2021, lots of them. We’ll definitely need a true on-ball guard or two, another wing and a big at minimum. The class is likely to get to 6 overall and perhaps 7 if Franz Wagner is able to make strides as a perimeter shooter.