Hoops Recruiting Has the Latest from Dallas
Michigan currently holds a top 5 recruiting class for 2021 after 4-star guard Frankie Collins announced for Michigan a few weeks back. While 5-star recruitments haven’t been kind over the last six months, we’re heading down that road again.
Two Team Race?
I made the trip to Dallas over the weekend to get my first live viewing of top 20 forward Harrison Ingram this year at the War B4 The Storm.
Offensively, Ingram displayed legitimate point guard skills as demonstrated in my film above. He was absolutely superb in terms of spatial awareness and vision in ballscreen action. Harrison consistently collapsed the defense off the bounce and made plays for teammates. To be candid, the highlights above don’t do his facilitation ability justice. Ingram had several more eye-popping passes that didn’t make the clip because teammates couldn’t finish the play off.
In terms of scoring, that was a much different story. Harrison scored 9 points in total through two games (no typo). While part of this is due to his optimal role being a shot creator for others, there were consistent issues finishing at the rim because he simply lacks the verticality to do so.
In talking to his coaches, Ingram hasn’t done much over the last two months and did sit out Southern Assault’s final game on Sunday. So perhaps conditioning or very minor injury played a role here. In reviewing film though in tandem with live viewings of last Summer, I’m comfortable saying his limited athleticism plays at least a minimal role.
On the recruiting trail, Michigan is in the final 6 along with Stanford, Purdue, Howard, North Carolina and Harvard. My newest intel over the weekend suggests this is more of a top two plus one.
A source close to the recruitment tells me that Michigan is one of two teams at the top along with Purdue. The parents (Mom) really like the Stanford option, but the on-court situation in Palo Alto isn’t appealing enough to Harrison at this time. North Carolina is stronger than accepted wisdom, but trailing the Wolverines and Boilermakers.
Juwan Howard and staff have done a phenomenal job of making Ingram a top priority to the extent of perhaps being in pole position. The holdup? The same source tells me Harrison may have questions about his role in the offense come 2022 when Jett Howard comes aboard if he’s not a one and done.
Never could I have imagined that Jett Howard, a top 50 prospect that is likely best suited playing off-ball, would potentially be a roadblock for a 2021 5-star that is an elite shot creator. Such is life in recruiting.
Bringing this all together, a reliable source indicated last week that Michigan was likely sitting at the very top of the list. A different source close to the situation this weekend conveyed the Wolverines in a top 2 along with Purdue. A third source believes Ingram will ultimately pick the program that sells him on having the ball in his hands.
Reading the tea leaves here, Michigan is consistently mentioned among the top two schools in connection with Harrison. Matt Painter is absolutely selling Ingram as a true PG and that is attractive from his perspective. The Wolverine staff has done a phenomenal job after playing catch-up. But as I always say, recruiting has little to do with objective on-court factors and everything to do with the ability to sell a kid his dream. Michigan has a real chance to close the deal with an instant impact 5-star with relatively low NBA upside, let’s hope Juwan Howard can get it done.
[After THE JUMP: not looking good elsewhere on the 5-star front and a 2022 target impresses]
The Remaining 5-Star Perimeter Options
2021 five-star Trevor Keels tells me he will announce his top three schools “soon”.
— Tipton Edits (@TiptonEdits) September 6, 2020
Stayed tuned for the date and time.
Offers: UNC, Duke, Michigan, Villanova, Virginia, Ohio State, Louisville, among others. pic.twitter.com/nKClNTMlDz
Top 20 guard Trevor Keels will release his top 3 schools in the coming days. While Michigan was once thought to be strong in this recruitment, there hasn’t been much buzz lately.
I spoke to a well-placed source over the weekend and Duke is still making a push here. Villanova and Virginia are the other two programs that have been consistently mentioned.
It would be a mild surprise if Michigan made the cut here, but I suppose the Team Takeover connections with Terrance Williams, Hunter Dickinson and Phil Martelli give the Wolverines a puncher’s chance. That said, I don’t anticipate Keels being part of the 2021 class even if we land on the final list.
Top 12! pic.twitter.com/NuBzENpwI9
— Hunter Sallis (@HunterSallis_) August 23, 2020
5-star guard Hunter Sallis included Michigan in his top 12 a few weeks ago after being offered ten days prior.
The Wolverines have been in the mix since May, but this is a blueblood recruitment where we’re an extreme longshot.
Jerry Meyer of 247 pegged North Carolina the leader last week, while Corey Evans over at Rivals believes that Kentucky will be the ultimate pick as of today . Either way, he’s not going to end up in Ann Arbor.
Rivals’ Corey Evans has flipped his prediction for 2021 five-star Jaden Hardy from Kentucky to UCLA.
— Tipton Edits (@TiptonEdits) September 5, 2020
Evans has a 91% accuracy rate. pic.twitter.com/atIGythg07
Top 10 guard Jaden Hardy was always going to be a tough pull given the competition. He is originally from Detroit and assistant coach Howard Eisley is very close with Dad, but Kentucky has been the presumed landing spot for over a year.
Corey Evans made some headlines by switching his prediction to UCLA over the weekend. I’m never going to completely eliminate Michigan because of the hometown ties, but I’m extremely pessimistic that we have a legit chance here.
Strong With a 2022?
My primary objective in Dallas was to get an updated viewing of Harrison Ingram and gather intel on the recruiting front. Mission accomplished. As an added benefit, I took in 2022 offer Colin Smith for the first time ... and came away very impressed.
For those that don’t know, Smith is the high school and AAU teammate of Harrison Ingram. In talking with a source close to the situation, Michigan is making Colin a priority and the pitch is resonating. Probably safe to say that if Ingram ends up at Michigan, it bodes well for landing his teammate in 2022.
From a scouting perspective, Smith was absolutely elite on the defensive end. He goes a legit 6’7, with good length and nice lateral movement. He made a huge impact on that end of the floor all weekend as an on-ball and off-ball defender. Offensively, he handles the ball well in transition and has solid playmaking ability/vision.
Absolutely love his two-way ceiling as a versatile defender that is a utility player in the half-court offense and thrives in transition. Although they have some similarities, I prefer Smith to 2022 in-state option Ty Rodgers. Both are non-shooters, but Colin is a bit bigger and has better playmaking ability, while having the same defensive prowess.
This is definitely a recruitment to monitor, particularly if Ingram pops for the Wolverines.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:43 AM ^
"Limited verticality"? I'll take your word for it because you were there, but does your highlight reel not include Ingram throwing down a two-handed tomahawk, mid-game? Seems like a PG who can dunk like that should have plenty of athleticism to score around the basket.
EDIT: Also, loved the tape of Colin Smith. Smooth on the break, seems like a creative finisher around the basket as well.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:51 AM ^
In terms of evaluation, an open-court/run and jump dunk is of extremely limited value. For better context, evaluation of explosiveness (or lack thereof) is generally assessed against a set defense in a half-court setting.
I'm comfortable in saying that Ingram is an average athlete at best.
September 8th, 2020 at 11:35 AM ^
Perhaps a shared scale based on Michigan players of the past would help us to understand your evaluation of the athleticism of these guys.
September 8th, 2020 at 11:47 AM ^
I've gone back and forth about this with my recruiting/Hello posts, and ultimately decided its probably not best to utilize a scale based on former Michigan players.
The logic behind that is for the majority on this board, John Beilien players are likely to be the measuring scale. Juwan Howard recruits a different caliber of player and there just aren't a ton of similarities in most cases.
I much prefer using an NBA scale, because in most cases those players share more traits in relation to the prospects that we currently target.
For Harrison Ingram in particular, I've seen the Kyle Anderson comp thrown around. And while I think that's a pretty sound comp, I like Boris Diaw as the archetype a bit better. Similar physical profiles (Boris a bit taller), both are outstanding passers that don't shoot a ton of 3s, while also lacking ideal agility.
September 8th, 2020 at 12:28 PM ^
Watching Ingrams film, if were looking for a B1G comp, reminded me of Evan Turner. Im sure thats a best case scenario as Evan was big poty but the point forward with a well rounded skill set and lack of top tier athleticism is what got me to that comp.
September 8th, 2020 at 1:25 PM ^
For simplicity it seems more likely your readers are familiar with Michigan players.
I'm also curious as to which kid Howard has gotten on campus that you think is more athletic than GRIII or McGary. Because I would have figured they were top of the scale post-Petway.
September 8th, 2020 at 1:52 PM ^
UM fans/Mgoblog uses should be aware of who Evan Turner is...
8.3.0September 8th, 2020 at 5:24 PM ^
When you say "get on campus" are you referring to kids that have visited, or is the discussion limited to kids that have committed/signed? If restricted to those that have signed/committed, that's probably not a fair discussion since 2021 is Howard's first full cycle.
In terms of kids that visited (and committed in this case), Isaiah Todd was a better athlete than McGary by a pretty wide margin. Josh Christopher was probably a better athlete than any perimeter player Beilein ever pulled-in sans GR3. Honestly, Barnes isn't that far behind GR3 as an athlete either.
Frankie Collins will likely be Michigan's most athletic PG in over 15 years.
I don't think there's any question that Juwan Howard will elevate the overall athleticism and ability to compete physically at Michigan.
September 8th, 2020 at 6:01 PM ^
Yeah, I meant kids who sign and register for classes. Not sure how important the athletic ability of kids who go elsewhere is when creating a scale of Michigan players that fans would be familiar with as a comparison tool are.
I brought up GRIII and McGary as two of the most athletic kids that played for Beilein because I can't think of anyone on those rosters who would beat them out.
And I'm not at all questioning the idea that Howard will bring in a higher average level of athleticism. But until those guys are on the team they aren't really all that useful for those of us asking how recruits compare athletically to players we're all more familiar with.
September 9th, 2020 at 7:57 AM ^
McGary was more skilled than athletic. GRIII was a pretty damn good athlete, but his jumping was his superior trait. Was not extremely quick.
Although Burke is on the lower end of NBA PG Athletes, i would say he may be Michigan's best athlete recently and not GRIII. Maybe not - but it's close.
September 8th, 2020 at 1:51 PM ^
Ingram is 6-7. He should be able to dunk with two hands on a fast break.
Whether or no a 6-7 "PG (he's a forward who can handle)" can dunk is not an endorsement either way of his athleticsm the same way as Frankie Collins doing the same.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:47 AM ^
In terms of Ingram, did you come away higher or lower on him? You said his playmaking was more impressive than you thought, but his scoring was underwhelming
September 8th, 2020 at 10:54 AM ^
Probably the same. A few months back I went on record to say that Ingram isn't really a true top 10/5star level talent. He's more of a 25-50 type talent in a normal cycle and I stick by that.
His playmaking ability/vision and handle are better than anticipated, but his scoring punch a bit less than anticipated. Athletically, he's exactly as I thought. All in all, he's a guy that I think will be an instant impact college player with a limited ceiling because he's simply not a very good athlete. That screams productive college player that has a glaring weakness for NBA purposes, particularly since he isn't a potent jumpshooter. Although I think he's a better shooter off the catch than given credit for.
September 8th, 2020 at 11:41 AM ^
Gotta love guys with limited NBA ability. Somebody will get at least 3yrs out of them. A 21yr old player with limited athletic ability is better than most 18yr olds.
September 8th, 2020 at 12:20 PM ^
Tom Izzo: "Better yet, get a guy with NBA ability and do everything you can to drag him down into the 'limited ability' zone and keep him for 4 years"
September 8th, 2020 at 1:19 PM ^
I know there is not a gigantic difference between a 25-50 player, and a 50-75 player, but i believe you have Ingram 25-50, and Frankie Collins 50-75. I would personally flip-flop them. I'm higher on Collins than Ingram.
I still think Collins was a huge get that honestly did not get the attention it deserved. Maybe because Howard has been so close to landing a 5 star that fans are almost expecting it and are underwhelmed when we get 'only' the #9 PG prospect.
I would have Collins somewhere between the #3 PG and the #7 PG. Davison and Chandler are locked at top 2, then you could throw some darts.
September 8th, 2020 at 3:12 PM ^
I think it was more likely the timing of it. Akins was clearly plan A for Howard and the staff and its especially annoying losing that to State. Then Collins committed so quickly after that. I think if we were chasing Collins throughout the fall he would have gotten a lot more attention when he ultimately committed.
September 8th, 2020 at 10:51 AM ^
My question is - Matt, did you fly or drive to Dallas?
If you flew, how was your experience post -lockdown?
September 8th, 2020 at 10:57 AM ^
I flew. Honestly, not much has changed in terms of the process other than reduced TSA lines. Planes are still relatively full, with less snack service available to decrease the level of physical interaction and presumably cleaning protocols in place pre-departure/post-landing.
September 8th, 2020 at 11:44 AM ^
Any updates on 5s? We really need a big in '21 class. Efton Reid, maybe Holmgren and ????
September 8th, 2020 at 5:17 PM ^
Unfortunately, no. Nothing new on Reid, Bediako or Holmgren. Reid still the best shot here, although I'm not sure I'd go any higher than 50/50 right now.
September 8th, 2020 at 12:12 PM ^
Great report. Helpful info. Thanks.
September 8th, 2020 at 1:26 PM ^
I’m surprised based on Ingram’s rating that he’s not a better athlete. He’s definitely limited. Great handles and passing, but he isn’t super quick and explosive.
September 8th, 2020 at 2:11 PM ^
I've been away from the game too long to have a good understanding of the nuances that are in play here. It seems as though, given the assessment, this is quite the dilemma for Michigan-since you already have Collins in the fold. With the explosive, dynamic play and athleticism of Collins, Ingram would have to be willing and able to play alongside him. And, you have Bufkin and Barnes in the class. When you do not have a bona fide threat(s) sitting outside the arc this can relegate your team to advanced stat hell. Can this group shoot 35% from three game in and game out???
September 8th, 2020 at 5:09 PM ^
I was about to ask the same thing from the perimeter shooting aspect. The ability to drive and dish is evident, but how are these kids at pulling up and drilling the 3 when defenses are all in stopping penetration? Saw a couple of examples and the stroke seems to be there.
September 8th, 2020 at 11:21 PM ^
This is definitely something I've thought about as well. In the 2020 class, Terrance Williams, is the best shooter in that class then in 2021, Bufkin seems like the best shooter, Barnes and Tschetter are respectable shooters, then Collins jumpshot seems like a work in progress. Seems like Howard's compiling a bunch of guys who can shoot around 35% from 3 but overall aren't great shooters. It's going to be interesting how this team starts fitting together once the Beilein players graduate. A starting lineup in 2021 of Collins, Jackson, Barnes, Williams, and Dickinson would be interesting
September 9th, 2020 at 10:43 AM ^
I don't think Williams is starting over Johns.
September 8th, 2020 at 4:26 PM ^
So is his worry with Jett that Juwan will tend to play favorites with his sons at the expense of the team? And if so, is that something other coaches are negatively recruiting against Michigan with? Like you said just seems like a weird comment.
September 8th, 2020 at 8:25 PM ^
Matt,
Can an ‘average’ athlete blossom in the more physical world of Camp Sanderson? How do you recruiting savant even factor something like that in?
September 8th, 2020 at 8:46 PM ^
Depends on your definition of blossom. Functionally, the answer to the "can athleticism be improved" question is yes, but only by a marginal/considerable margin. I like to use the tiered approach - a below average athlete can become adequate/average with a college strength/conditioning program, but a below average athlete is never going to become a good athlete. To a certain extent, you are what you are athletically.
A Michigan specific example would be Jon Teske. I can be more transparent now that he's graduated - he had very poor leaping ability as a HS prospect, with years of Camp Sanderson, his vertical leaping ability improved to poor/below average. It just didn't matter how may squats/conditioning drills he did, Jon Teske was never going to be anything more than a below average leaper.
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