The Wolverines have three prospects which are the sole focus of the 2020 class after the commitment of five-star Isaiah Todd. Decisions could be forthcoming within a few weeks for two of the three and Michigan appears to be on solid ground heading into the early signing period. The fact that Michigan is locked-in on these three, and these three exclusively, may give some insight as to the staff’s respective confidence meter.

Michigan Makes Final 3 for Moody

2020 Top-30 Prospect Moses Moody is down to 3 schools. @moses_moody3 pic.twitter.com/nSsnpqdVW7

— TIPTON EDITS (@TiptonEdits) October 29, 2019

Top-60 prospect Moses Moody cut his list down to Michigan, Arkansas and Virginia yesterday. Moody took an official visit to Michigan in late September where the staff made a great impression by all accounts. Isaiah Todd and family also struck up friendship with the Moodys and one has to assume Isaiah himself has on his recruiting hat with just two weeks until the early signing period.

The Montverde wing recently took an official visit to home-state Arkansas, and his parents are likely pushing him in that direction if their visits are indicative. Despite reports to the contrary, I’ve been hearing for months the Razorbacks are a serious contender in this recruitment with Mom and Dad on board and childhood friend and top-100 guard KK Robinson likely to end up in Fayetteville.

Virginia recently entered the picture, although a visit has yet to be scheduled. Moody placing the Cavaliers in the final 3 without an offer or visit certainly means he has serious interest. Reading between the lines, this appears to be a situation where Tony Bennett is slow-playing Moses at the moment. Based on the Virginia depth chart and 2020 commitments of SF Jabri Abdur-Rahim and SG Carson McCorkle, Bennett is more likely to give him a serious look in the Spring rather than making Moody an early signing period priority.

A decision is still expected within the next 2-3 weeks, and the key item to look for is whether a Virginia visit comes to fruition. If not, we’re looking at a Michigan-Arkansas battle where the kid may gravitate a bit more toward the Wolverines while staying home is the likely pitch from Mom and Dad.

[Hit THE JUMP for the status quo elsewhere.]

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Holding Pattern

Prolific Prep guard Nimari Burnett finished off his OV tour in Eugene last weekend. Having spoken to Burnett extensively in recent days, the Ducks made a favorable impression without doubt. With Payton Pritchard set to graduate after this year, Dana Altman and crew are selling immediate playing time in an on-ball role.

The plan hasn’t changed for the Burnett family, they are fully intent on watching roughly 10 games or so from each of the 4 finalists before making a decision in December. In particular, all eyes will be on Nate Oats and Juwan Howard, specifically whether an up-tempo system will be on display. Michigan may end up squaring off against Alabama in the Battle 4 Atlantis and will host Oregon on December 14.

In addition to the offensive pace, the denial of immediate eligibility for Alabama transfer Jahvon Quinerly is definitely something to look at here. As we monitor the appeal situation, let’s hope the suffocating defense of Zavier Simpson and Jon Teske can potentially bring Alabama and Oregon to a grinding halt.

Top-40 center Hunter Dickinson appears to be inching closer to a decision. Insiders are essentially clueless as to where Dickinson is leaning at this point.

His most recent visit was with Duke a few weeks back for Countdown to Craziness. Duke level recruitments typically wrap-up rather quickly, so it is encouraging that he is available a few weeks removed from Durham. The lack of insider confidence from the 247 Duke side is nice to see:

“He's not saying a thing. Duke or Michigan make the most sense to me but I don't get warm fuzzies about Duke's chances here.”

Rivals’ Corey Evans is hearing Notre Dame is making a recent push but still predicts Dickinson will ultimately land in Ann Arbor:

“Michigan remains my prediction but Notre Dame has picked up some talk of late.”

I’ve been hearing Florida State is becoming a more viable option in the last week, so the information is all over the place. All that to say, this is a total crap shoot as of right now. Things will likely be set in motion on Friday with the pending commitment of top-30 center Mark Williams to Duke. While the Devils certainly want both Williams and Dickinson, the question is whether or not the DeMatha Catholic big man wants direct competition from a borderline 5-star at his position. If not, the Wolverines may present the clearest path to immediate playing time.

2021 Khristian Lander Visit Reaction

Wolverines we here ! 〽️

— Khristian Lander (@khristianlander) October 25, 2019

Five-star guard Khristian Lander was on campus for an official visit last weekend. While Lander is still in the early stages of the recruiting process, Michigan made a positive impression as the Indiana-native likes Juwan Howard’s vision of an offensive scheme with more flow:

““They are trying to change the style up some, and not run as many set plays like a lot of the Big Ten,” explained Lander. “They want to speed it up and play with more pace, and I fit in with that type of system.”

Khristian confirms he’s been a Michigan fan growing up, so that bodes well moving forward.

Happy Trails

What was the worst-kept secret in recruiting is now public, 5-star guard Jaden Springer is off the board to Tennessee.