The greater DMV-area was the destination over the weekend, as I attended the Team Thrill Showcase  with intriguing matchups between the shoe-circuit powerhouses including Michigan-friendly clubs such as Team Takeover (Nike EYBL) in addition to the host Team Thrill (Under Armour) among others.

If there is one thing we've learned about Juwan Howard, the National Coach of The Year loves big wings and Michigan is in heavy with several blue-chippers. Let's see where we stand with the wing/forwards and dabble into the bigs as well.

Jarace Walker The Playmaker

The first thing that pops-out about 5-star Jarace Walker is the frame. At 6'8 and probably 230 pounds, Jarace looks capable of physically competing in the NBA, let alone college. And while his physical profile passes the eye test with flying colors, the athleticism displayed with his verticality off one or two legs in both the half-court and transition was more noteworthy. He's not the most agile kid out there, but at his projected position, he's most definitely going to have an athletic advantage against most opponents with his combination of size + strength + leaping ability. 

Walker really impressed with his playmaking for others off the bounce and from the free-throw line area. You simply don't find many HS prospects that size capable of facilitating offense. His handle can be a bit loose at times, but he does show the ability to change direction with a live dribble. Shooting is the biggest question I've had for Jarace over the last two years and he didn't do much to ease my concern in that regard. He didn't knock down any triples in the 2 games I took in and still has the same slow release. I've seen him knock down enough jumpers over the years to project him as a solid/average shooter but I'd like to see more development considering he's at a basketball factory in IMG Academy (FL). 

Nothing really new as it relates to Walker's recruitment. He's in no hurry and will likely consider the professional route given his positional size, skill and athleticism. Michigan will be in it until the end here with the all the IMG connections including Jett Howard and 2021 signee Moussa Diabate. 

AJ Casey Quickly Moving To The Top Of The Board

Things seem to be picking up with top-30 wing AJ Casey (Whitney Young HS/Meanstreets EYBL) out of Chicago. In an interview with Prep Hoops last weekend, Casey rattled off Michigan as a school he plans to visit in June once the dead period comes to an end. He also confirmed the same to Rivals a few days ago and had this to say about the Wolverines' pursuit:

"Casey has 17 scholarship offers and says Ohio State, Michigan State, Gonzaga, Purdue and Louisville are among the schools recruiting him the hardest."

Michigan should definitely be considered one of the 5ish legitimate options for AJ. Juwan Howard has heavy Chicago connections and former Wolverine football standout Tai Streets is the program director for the Meanstreets EYBL program. An added bonus - his teammate is 5-star big Jalen Washington (see below). 

On the court he's off to a tremendous start  on the travel-ball scene, consistently knocking down triples to compliment a combination of NBA size and athleticism at around 6'7 with a great frame. In my update a few weeks ago, I said AJ is challenging Jarace Walker as my top option at the wing spot and that sentiment is stronger today after watching some film from the Prep Hoops Chi Town Tip-Off. I plan on getting an updated live evaluation of Casey very soon. Pending that, he looks like the prospect I'd prefer the most at the wing/forward spot. 

[Hit THE JUMP for the full rundown on wing + big targets]

Cam Whitmore A Name to Monitor

I first reported Michigan's interest in top-50 wing Cam Whitmore (my ranking) back in September and the interest level has grown since that time. Whitmore mentioned the Wolverines as one of the six programs that he's hearing from the most. He's from the DMV-area and you can bet Phil Martelli will have the Wolverines in the thick of this race should Juwan Howard decide to offer. 

I'm much higher on Cam in relation to the mainstreams. Placing him at the back-end of the top 100 seems bizarre given his NBA level athleticism and frame. With a plus handle and a solid jumper, he's a prospect that will absolutely blow-up this Spring/Summer. Noteworthy offers already include Maryland, LSU, Florida, UConn and Virginia Tech, but he's going to be pursued by bigger names in the coming months. Whitmore would be firmly in my tier 2 wing board just behind Walker, Casey and perhaps Dailey. 

Noah Batchelor

4-star wing Noah Batchelor is another wing originally from the DMV-area. Michigan has been lukewarm in its pursuit here that started back in September. He's now playing at IMG Academy with Jett Howard, Jarace Walker, Eric Dailey and Moussa Diabate. Noah is likely a Plan B/C option at this point given the prospects we're in serious contention for.

On the court there's a lot to like here. Batchelor is a legit 6'7, displays a great looking stroke from beyond the arch and is a good open-court athlete. I was expecting to see a bit more from him in terms of shot-creation off the bounce given he had a few months at IMG, but he didn't really display any notable improvement in that regard. Projects as a big floor-spacer that scores in transition and attacks closeouts. If Michigan strikes out elsewhere, this one may be worth watching. 

File This Under Unlikely

Jalen Duren is the best high school prospect in America. Let's get it out of the way now. I believe he's likely to pursue professional options rather than college. Given the film above, it's hard to disagree with that logic. 6'10 bigs with that combination of size, strength, explosion and skill generally don't need to play basketball for free.

Duren was candid with 247 that a particular college would have to blow him away to gain his commitment. But Michigan is definitely a potential landing spot should college be in his plans and had this to say about Juwan Howard:

“[Juwan] Howard is a great coach and I have a great relationship with him. He knows what he's doing and I like their program over there. They had a good run at March Madness this year but it was expected. I feel like a lot of people expected them to go as far as they did, or even further but they are a great team. I'm definitely in talks with them. They use their bigs well and I feel like Juwan Howard really develops his guys and gets them playing together and playing well. I'm definitely looking at Michigan as one of my options.”

Don't get your hopes up here, it's not good for your emotions. Puncher's chance is about all you can realistically expect.

Coming On Strong

Michigan has ramped up talks recently with 5-star big Jalen Washington of Gary West Side/Meanstreets EYBL. You may recall that Washington was robbed of his freshman-sophomore years in high school due to injury, so the staff is taking a wait-and-see approach here.

My last live viewing of Jalen came in West Side's regional title clinching game and it was the most impressive outing I've seen of him in terms of his agility/athleticism. It's the best he's looked since coming back from injury. Well, it appears he's taken it up another level based on the most recent film the Chi-Town Tip Off. Washington's footwork in the paint looked superb and he's elevating with ease when finishing at the rim. I'm already on record as saying he's the best shooting big in the country. If he continues to play with this level of athleticism and array of moves on the block, I can definitely see Michigan offering in the near future. 

As mentioned above, Washington is teammates with AJ Casey for Meanstreets EYBL. He also attends the same high school as Chris Hunter. There are some connections here and I'd be thrilled if the staff decides this duo should be the priority for the wing-big spots for 2022.