With Hunter Dickinson back for his junior season, the need for a portal big in 2022-23 becomes much less pressing even with the departure of Moussa Diabate.

Still, it is difficult to imagine a situation where Michigan doesn't add an additional big from the high school ranks for the 2023-24 season, as Dickinson will presumably bolt for the professional path if viable. If that scenario comes to fruition, 2022 signee Tarris Reed would be the only true scholarship center on the roster. Let's take a look at the board coming off the first live evaluation period of June.

 

Papa Kante

Height/Weight: Listed at 6'10 and 225 pounds. Probably closer to a legit 6'8.5 - 6'9 and 215 - 220lbs.

High School/AAU: South Kent School (CT)/Nike EYBL New York Renaissance (NY)

Weekend Performance: I was in Hamden (CT) over the weekend for the NEPSAC live period event to get an updated look at Papa in a HS setting. Defensively, he was once again superb in every way imaginable. Rim protection, switchability on the perimeter and strong post defense were all on display. Kante absolutely shut down fast-rising 4-star big JP Estrella of Brewster Academy (side note - Estrella was very underwhelming relative to the recent buzz; an assistant coach in the CAA conference told me "he's garbage compared to the offer list, a mid-major kid") and I don't know that he scored a single basket for the duration of the game.

I was more curious to see what sort of offensive skillset Kante displayed in a different setting. And there were definitely some bright moments, as he hit multiple triples over the weekend and looked comfortable taking jumpers. Most notably shotfaking to get a closing defender off his feet, before taking a side dribble and connecting on an above-the-break three. Papa also looked more comfortable with his face-up game, taking hard dribbles one way before spinning baseline to create space for clean looks. While he wasn't super productive in terms of points, you can see the burgeoning skill offensively that makes me more comfortable for projecting purposes. While he will never be an offensive hub at the college level, there are some tools to work with that will make him a productive offensive player with continued development.

Mainstream Ranking: Received massive bump from On3 and now sits at #34 overall after a strong performance at the Pangos AA Camp. I'd take that with a grain of salt personally, as those camps tend to lack defense and structure (and this coming from someone that runs camps). Wide variance among mainstream services with Kante in the 30-140 range overall. 

EM Ranking/Evaluation: Projects to have the impact of a 70 - 100 level prospect based on what I've viewed live so far. Superb defender with good agility and length that is switchable on the perimeter. Should be ready to contribute defensively from the day he steps foot on a college campus based on his defensive instincts in tandem with the size + movement. 

Offense is still a work in progress, but not as limited as I viewed during my EYBL evaluation in April. That gives me hope that Papa is likely closer to a #70 prospect heading into my next evaluation in July. 

Recruitment: Took an official visit to Ann Arbor last week. I checked in on where things stand over the weekend and still feel good about Michigan's standing. In my purely hypothetical crystal ball, I'd upgrade my confidence level to a 5-6 (in April I said I'd put in a low confidence crystal ball after breaking news that Kante would visit Michigan), as the visit went very well. Kante is extremely close with former target and Rutgers commit Gavin Griffiths (Griffiths' family accompanied Papa on his OV to Ann Arbor), but I'm told Griffiths/family aren't pushing Papa to Rutgers with real conviction and are content to let him to find the best possible situation. Juwan Howard was front and center for both Saturday games and that says something where time/resources are limited. I'm hesitant go any higher than that, as Papa is currently on an OV to College Park and will also take an official to Pitt on 6/28.  As we saw with Tarris Reed, visits can absolutely change things in a hurry. In addition to Coach Howard, head coaches from both Pitt and Maryland were also front row for Kante's games, so those two schools appear to be the primary competition along with Rutgers. That said, I'm told Michigan leads as of now and the tentative plan is for Papa to speak with his family during July and make a decision after the final live evaluation period toward the end of the month or early August.  

 

Xavier Booker

Height/Weight: Listed at 6'10/205. That appears accurate.

High School/AAU: Indianapolis Cathedral HS (IN)/Independent George Hill All Indy (IN)

Mainstream Ranking: Now top-10 overall for every service exclusive of ESPN. 

EM Ranking/Evaluation: My previous evaluation was about as thorough as it gets. Long story short, Booker is stretch big with some ball-skills and a ton of upside while having some serious motor/physicality issues. The combination of "may not be ready to play from day 1" and "likely NBA player" seems quite risky in the portal era where players enter free agency on an annual basis. 

Recruitment:  Booker was thought to be a heavy Michigan State lean after a recent OV, but that seems like a lifetime ago with the bluebloods now entering the mix in addition to OTE. Expressly says Kentucky is the dream school and plans to visit Lexington soon, despite the fact that no offer has been extended. After seeing Papa Kante in Connecticut, Coach Howard was off to Shelbyville (KY) to see Xavier on Sunday. Michigan is still fighting for a visit, but you can see the writing on the wall here. The Wolverines probably aren't a serious option at this point. 

[Hit THE JUMP for Zayden High, Aaron Bradshaw and a new offer]

Zayden High

Height/Weight: Listed at 6'7-6'9/185-225. He's a legit 6'8-6'9 and 210 pounds at minimum.

High School/AAU: San Antonio Smithson Valley HS (TX)/Nike EYBL JL3 Elite (TX)

Mainstream Ranking: Now a universal top-40 prospect in the country

EM Ranking/Evaluation: Projected impact resembles that of a top-50 prospect. Potent perimeter shotmaker off the catch or the bounce. Good playmaker/secondary shot-creator for a big with good ball-skills. Not a great athlete, so struggles to finish at the rim in traffic based on lack of lift/twitchiness. Does a good job of protecting the rim at this level, but probably more of a secondary rim protector at the college level based on his size/length/athleticism. Projects to be a good, multi-year college player that can play the PF or C spot based on matchup. 

Recruitment: Over the weekend I was told that Michigan is fighting an uphill battle. Zayden loves Juwan Howard and that is keeping the Wolverines in it. High says he intends to visit Ann Arbor and Michigan is among the four schools recruiting him the hardest, but I still don't have a ton of optimism here based on distance and the competition. Unless he makes his way to Ann Arbor, things don't look promising as of now. 

 

Aaron Bradshaw

Height/Weight: Listed at 7' - 7'1/205 - 220. That appears accurate. 

High School/AAU: Camden HS (NJ)/Nike EYBL NJ Scholars (NJ)

Mainstream Ranking: 5-star/Top-20 overall prospect

EM Ranking/Evaluation: Just had a good look at Bradshaw when he took the court against Xavier Booker at the Southern Jamfest in May (see my film above). Projects to have the impact of a legit 5-star prospect that immediately impacts winning. Will undoubtedly be a one and done. Obvious pro considering NBA size/length/agility and skill. Outstanding shot mechanics for a big. Good face-up game with consistent range from 18-20 feet. Projects to be a solid shooter from distance in time given shot mechanics and already effective midrange game. Good finisher at the basket with nice touch. Absolute game changer defensively in terms of rim protection. Runs the floor like a deer when changing ends. Would absolutely be my first choice of all the prospects mentioned in this piece.  

Recruitment:  Included Michigan in a top-7 last month along with Kentucky, Louisville, Maryland, Oklahoma State, UCLA and the G-League. Took official visits to Kentucky and Louisville last weekend. Doesn't seem like a coincidence that those OVs are the schools heavily linked to HS and AAU teammate DJ Wagner. I'd be more than surprised if Michigan was a legit option at this point. Don't get your hopes up here. 

 

Carey Booth

Height/Weight: Listed at 6'9 - 6'10 and between 190 - 215 pounds. My eye test over the weekend says 6'9 and 195 is about right.

High School/AAU: Brewster Academy (NH)/KC Run GMC (MO)

Mainstream Ranking: 4-star/65 - 100 overall

EM Ranking/Evaluation: I had an extensive look at Booth over the weekend in Hamden. Great physical profile with good positional size/length and a frame easily capable of carrying another 30 pounds of muscle mass. In terms of skill, he's an outstanding shooter at that size, burying at least three triples in two games that I took in. The mechanics aren't a thing of beauty, but it consistently goes in. Where he's lacking is ball-skills. His handle is very loose and his decision making can be erratic when putting the ball on the floor. Athletically, he has good straight line speed and solid agility, though he's not necessarily explosive/twitchy. Some of his movements appear awkward occasionally. I do like the motor here, as Calvin hauls ass when running the floor + changing ends and is a willing help defender. That aggression can get him in trouble defensively, where his closeouts are out of control at times and he can be overly aggressive hunting blocks. There is definitely some similarity to Moussa Diabate here in terms of physique, with Booth a much better shooter at the same stage and Diabate the much better handle/playmaker/passer at the same stage. Moussa was also more athletic at the same age. In sum, there is a lot to like in terms of size/shotmaking/athleticism and the upside is very high. Kids of this size/physique have wide variance with development, so he could improve rapidly over the next year with the ballskills and general basketball IQ. As of now, projects to be a lot like Diabate in that he'll likely be a borderline 5-star based on NBA upside, but may not necessarily be a guy that is an all-conference type as a freshman. In other words, a Tier II five star. 

Recruitment:  Offered last weekend. Son of former Penn State standout and long-time pro Calvin Booth. Visited Penn State and Marquette with Florida likely getting a visit at the end of this month. Ohio State and USC are also in the mix, but it sounds like Carey is slowing things down with a plethora of new schools entering the equation recently. Purdue, Oklahoma, Stanford, Vanderbilt have all offered in the last week. Too early to know if Michigan is getting any traction here.