Six new offers over the last two weeks seems like good enough reason for a refresh on the recruiting front. Juwan Howard and crew have been extremely active recently and the absence of live evaluation periods has allowed the staff to hone-in on relationship building with top targets.

Not Done in 2020?

I speculated a few weeks back that Michigan would probably love to have top-30 center Efton Reid in the 2020 class and he confirmed as much with Sam Webb:

“I talked about it in the Zoom call with Coach Howard, my mom, Coach Martelli, and the other coaches,” Reid recalled. “Coach Juwan was like, ‘whatever decision you make, we want you in both classes. I could go potentially in ‘20, but I don’t know right now. So, I’m still in the ‘21 class, but they definitely want me for both classes basically.”

In the same piece Reid states new schools are still entering the picture, but Virginia, Louisville, Ohio State and Michigan have been among the programs consistently mentioned over the last month or so.

Efton doesn’t have a timeline for cutting his list, making a commitment or a reclassification decision. The global health crisis complicates the matter since visits are off the table, so a final reclassification decision could drop at any time.

Given the depth issues at the center position, you can count on the Wolverines making a push here. AAU teammates and 2020 signees Terrance Williams and Hunter Dickinson are certainly making a pitch, but I just don’t know how appealing it is for Efton to be in the same class as a multi-year college big in Dickinson.

[After THE JUMP: Offers, Updates, Rankings and More Offers!]

New 2021 Offers

Juwan Howard dished out an offer to 5star wing Peyton Watson out of Long Beach Poly (CA). The SoCal native is an athletic and lengthy prospect that does his best work attacking the rim, but is probably a better long-term NBA project as opposed to productive first year college player.

He boasts an impressive offer list, and while the bluebloods haven’t turned the heat up just yet, I expect that to change shortly. We conducted a virtual visit last week. Juwan Howard will always give Michigan a puncher’s chance, but I’m skeptical on our chances here for a 5star West Coast kid considering our recent experience in that stratosphere.

Next up on the offer spree was composite top-50 prospect Quincy Allen. You can find my evaluation for Allen in my Wings Wish List from a few weeks back.

I caught up with Quincy over the weekend and Michigan is definitely making him a priority recently. He mentioned the Wolverines as one of the 3 programs recruiting him the hardest and will conduct a Zoom/Virtual meeting with the staff this week after having done the same last week.

He’s another DMV-area kid and suits up for Team Takeover on the EYBL circuit. The same program as 2020 signees Hunter Dickinson and Terrance Williams. Martelli’s connections in this region have proven to be advantageous. We look to be in the hunt here and this is one to monitor in the coming months.

A few hours after Allen, Juwan Howard offered another Chicago prospect in 4star wing Brandon Weston. Originally a 2020, Weston is a physical wing that projects to fit well in the B10. He has the look of a utility player that does a bit of everything and contributes as an underclassmen.

His offer list features several high-majors, but Michigan is definitely the most noteworthy. Illinois figures to be heavily in the mix here, but his Prep School choice may very well determine his recruitment. If he heads out West to Hillcrest Prep (AZ), his suitors may take on more of PAC-12 flavor.

The most recent offer went out to Stewartville HS (MN) 3star forward Will Tschetter. Tschetter is another Back to The Future type, as he’s the quintessential Beilein prospect that lacks ideal athleticism but can shoot the ball at a high clip. He put up monster numbers during his junior campaign, but the competition level is such that it is difficult to project/evaluate. What I can say is that he’s purely a PF at the college level barring more growth, as he simply lacks the mobility to defend the perimeter and isn’t quite big enough to be a center.

Will spoke on his recent offers with GopherIllustrated and had this to say about Michigan:

"Coach Howard is a great guy," Tschetter said. "We have a pretty good relationship as I enjoy the conversations that we have had. Coach Martelli has a great mind for basketball and I think he is a coach that you can trust really knows what he is doing. I think he is a great guy as well."

Elsewhere in 2021 Updates

Cutting my list on June 7th.

— Jalen Warley (@jjwarley) May 26, 2020

Top 30 guard Jalen Warley will cut his list this week and I expect Michigan to make the cut.

Warley has heavy ties to assistant coach Phil Martelli, as both his Dad and Uncle suited up for him at St. Joe’s. Jalen is looking to visit when it is safe to do so and we look to be in solid position here.

We entered the party a bit late for 5star forward Harrison Ingram, but making his top 10 only 2 days after offering indicated a certain level of mutual interest. Corey Evans says Michigan has made up a ton of ground and I tend to agree. Purdue and Stanford have been thought to be his informal top two, and with that sort of list this seems like a very winnable recruitment for Michigan.

Top-25 center Charles Bediako can be hard to read and doesn’t give many quotes to the media. Michigan offered roughly a month back and we haven’t had any real update other than confirmation of a Zoom Call a few weeks ago.

Rivals opines that Duke may be the favorite, but that may be nothing more than speculation. I’m not overly optimistic, but he attends school in the Cleveland area and his parents reside in the Midwest so it seems there is an opportunity to make a move.

Rankings Anyone?

Stock is going up on a Tuesday (247)

Rivals updated their 2021 rankings and here’s a quick rundown of offers that we’re in serious contention for that aren’t mentioned above:

Jaden Akins – checks in at #66. He makes the second biggest leap of any 2021 prospect by jumping up 39 spots. I’ve been on the Akins train for years, but I still think this is a bit too low, but certainly not ridiculous. Nothing has changed on the recruiting front. Michigan State, Northwestern, Michigan, DePaul and Louisville are all on solid ground.

Angelo Brizzi – debuts at #118. Probably a bit too low, but again, within a respectable range. Status quo for him as well, Michigan is a factor with the Martelli connection going back years. Bluebloods are starting to flirt with him as I reported he conducted a Zoom meeting with North Carolina last week and Arizona just extended an offer.

Kobe Bufkin – remains at #62. This range is appropriate. I’ve been alone in saying that Michigan isn’t in pole position until now. Rivals’ has conceded that Bufkin may be looking to go out of state. DePaul, LSU and Michigan are the three programs under heavy consideration at the moment, but its certainly not a slam dunk for Juwan Howard. Ohio State just reached out and may look to get serious.

Matthew Cleveland – checks in at #36. Appropriate range, as I think the 247 ranking is too generous. No news on Matt, but a high-academic kid is one I tend to think will gravitate toward Michigan a bit more than the typical prospect from Georgia.

2022 In-State Offers

Clarkston HS guard Fletcher Loyer became the first in-state offer for 2022. The younger Loyer is a considerably different prospect than Foster. Six to seven inches taller and more of a pure catch and shoot type at this stage in his development. He’s an elite shooter that has the look of a back-end top 100 type, but may still be growing.

Despite his brother attending MSU, Fletcher is definitely intrigued by Michigan. He attended elite camp last August and also visited during the Fall. Louisville is poking around so nothing is imminent.

Grand Blanc wing-forward Ty Rodgers landed an offer a day later. I’ve never been quite as high on Rodgers in relation to the mainstreams, who had him as an early 5star. A quick peak confirms they’ve adjusted and he’s now hovering in the 50-70 range. An athletic 6’5 prospect that is physically developed, Ty’s true potential is on the defensive end where has the versatility to check up to 3 different positions at the next level. Offensively he’s great in transition and finishing at the rim in general, and works well as a back-to-the-basket scorer. He lacks a reliable jumpshot and gives me undersized Michael Kidd-Gilchrist vibes. With Juwan’s emphasis on athletes that can contribute early, I can certainly see the appeal, particularly if he grows a few inches.

Rodgers is related to forger target Brian Bowen and is the nephew of former Michigan State star Jason Richardson. Rumor has it that Ty’s father is a Michigan fan.