The first domino fell in place last week, with 5-star wing/forward Isaiah Todd committing to the Wolverines. I’d highly encourage everyone to take another look at the Hoops Hello post for Todd if you subscribe to the We Can Have Nice Things theory with respect to basketball. In a piece with USA Today, Todd says he’s already started giving the Michigan pitch to other prospects. Moving forward, Juwan Howard has a few high-level prospects on the board that are moving toward decisions. Let’s see where things stand.

Hunter Dickinson Makes it Out of Durham

Top-40 center Hunter Dickinson took an official visit to Duke last weekend for Countdown to Craziness with a slew of blue-chippers. There hasn’t been a ton of reaction in the aftermath, but Coach K is selling immediate playing time:

“It was nice,” Dickinson told ZAGSBLOG Sunday via text. “[They’re message] is to come in and play a lot right away. What’s next is just try to keep narrowing it down.”

As mentioned last week, the Blue Devils certainly are pushing for both Dickinson and top-30 center Mark Williams. With Williams being a near guarantee to pledge to Duke on November 1, the DeMatha Catholic big man may genuinely be seeking the best opportunity for early playing time among his finalists.

No crystal balls have been placed in favor of Duke since the visit, with Michigan receiving the two most recent CBs in late September. A well-placed Duke-source doesn’t even have a clear read as to where the Devils currently stand. That said, there has been some Florida State buzz from multiple sources recently.

This very much has the feel of a recruitment that will wrap-up sooner rather than later, and it doesn’t appear anyone has a solid grasp of where things are headed right now. Michigan has as good a chance as anyone.

[Hit THE JUMP for latest on Moody, Burnett, Springer.]

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Where Do We Stand on The Perimeter?

Montverde Academy wing Moses Moody completed his OV to Arkansas over the weekend. The top-60 prospect took in Fayetteville with long-time friend and 2020 top-100 prospect KK Robinson. Robinson estimates a 70-75 percent chance the two will suit up together for the Razorbacks. I rarely place any stock into basketball buddies teaming up at the college level, but Moody himself does acknowledge it as a possibility per the same hogville.net article:

"It's not definite, but it's definitely possible," Moody said of playing with Robinson at Arkansas. "I like to play with KK, that's one of my favorite players to play with."

It is extremely likely that Robinson commits to Arkansas in the near future, and while that is certainly a factor for Moses, he seems to be more influenced by Eric Musselman’s NBA experience.

“I would say Coach (Musselman) having his pro experience, I could see all that in his meetings,” Moody said. “The main thing they pitched about getting me ready was the pro experience. He’s coached in the pros, he has connections and just the stuff he knows, I could tell from watching the practice what he can do.”

Moody is on record with similar statements to Rivals and 247 in the last two days, so the NBA chops of Musselman are hitting home.

As I projected in previous editions, Moody is still on track for an early-signing commitment per the Rivals article cited above.

“I’m thinking about making a decision coming up in the next month or so but I’m not sure. I’m thinking about taking another visit but I don’t have any set up right now, it’s possible.”

On the one hand, Moody seems drawn to Musselman and Robinson pulling him to be part of the home-state resurrection. On the other hand, he’s had ample opportunity to make a commitment to the Razorbacks and may be looking for reasons not to do.

2020 offeree Nimari Burnett took in Lubbock for an official visit with Texas Tech as well. While no public reports are available just yet, I was able to speak with Nimari briefly this morning. The visit was good. Burnett and family had some questions about the pace under Coach Beard and the depth chart.

Heading into next week’s OV with Oregon, Michigan and Alabama are still in solid position. The Isaiah Todd pick-up certainly helped the case for the Wolverines with an elite talent that is an on-court fit.

Seems like I’ve been projecting this for a few weeks, but expect 2020 five-star Jaden Springer to announce for Tennessee in short order. Springer likes Michigan for sure, but family and coaches are pushing hard for the Volunteers.

2021 Khristian Lander to Visit

Five-star guard Khristian Lander will be in Ann Arbor this weekend. Growing up a Michigan fan under John Beilein along with a visit with the new staff is certainly indicative of real interest. There have been talks of possible reclassification to 2020 for Lander, but Michigan likely wants him in the 2021 class with Zeb Jackson already in the mix and priority recruits in Burnett/Moody still on the board in 2020.