Hoops Recruiting Has A Preference: The Wings
As we await the impact of Juwan Howard on the 2022s taking official visits to Ann Arbor, this seems like an ideal time to run down my own personal board by position. In the second of a three part series, I rundown my Wing board today. Guards were covered yesterday.
Wings
A) Jarace Walker
Measurements: 6'8/225
School/AAU: IMG Academy (FL)/Team Thrill (Under Armour/Maryland)
Why: Instant impact player at the next level with a college ready frame. Projects as a playmaking forward that can break down bigger defenders off the bounce, while bullying smaller defenders in the paint. Best overall talent at the wing spot.
Where Michigan Stands: This one is trending away from Michigan. Walker already took a visit to Auburn and will visit Houston + Ohio State this month. Reclassification and professional route are also options.
B) Eric Dailey
Measurements: 6'7/215
School/AAU: IMG Academy (FL)/Doesn't Play AAU
Why: Instant impact player at the next level with college ready frame. Rapidly coming on as a shooter. Versatile prospect that isn't the same level of playmaker in relation to Walker, but a superior shooter.
Where Michigan Stands: The Wolverines have been a constant presence over the last year. Dailey confirmed to both 247 and Rivals that Michigan along with Miami, Virginia Tech, Dayton and Florida are the schools he plans to visit in the Fall. Functionally, this translates to a top 5. Per the same articles, Jett and Moussa are in his ear. Has known Juwan Howard since elementary school. There are rumblings that Eric could pursue the professional route in Spain. Feels like Michigan has a great shot here but for the timeline. I'm not sure the staff is willing to wait until the Fall.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the board]
C) Cam Whitmore
Measurements: 6'7/200
School/AAU: Archbishop Spalding (MD)/Team Melo (Nike EYBL/Maryland)
Why: Explosive, NBA-caliber athlete with college ready frame and outstanding ceiling as a two-way player. Coming on as a shooter that hits catch + shoot threes and flashes the ability to hit pull-ups. Solid playmaker as a passer, but not on Walker's level. Best athlete of the group.
Where Michigan Stands: A plan B for the staff at this point with no offer in hand. Staff has been in contact over the last year, with an uptick since late April. Can't be considered serious until an offer is extended.
D) Andre Casey
Measurements: 6'7/200
School/AAU: Whitney Young HS (IL)/Meanstreets (Nike EYBL/Illinois)
Why: Very good athlete with nice upside. Showing flashes as a shooter. Projects as a versatile defender.
Where Michigan Stands: Michigan thought to be in his informal top group. Took OV to Ohio State last week. Will visit Marquette later this month. Will see Ann Arbor at some point this Summer. Juwan Howard ties to Chicago should pay dividends here.
E) Colin Smith
Measurements: 6'7/200
School/AAU: AZ Compass Prep (AZ)/Southern Assault (Adidas/Texas)
Why: Above-average/good shooter as a combo-forward. Can playmaker for others/pass a bit and put the ball on the floor. Projects as a nice utility-wing that is a good secondary piece for multiple years. Doesn't possess the athleticism/agility of the others, nor the upside.
Where Michigan Stands: Michigan has been in the thick of things here for a while, but never really seemed to gain pole position. Sister plays volleyball for Stanford and former HS/AAU teammate Harrison Ingram is a freshman there. Just coming off OV to Vanderbilt. Will likely visit Illinois. Expect LSU to get involved soon. In speaking with Colin often, he's in no hurry with the recruiting process. Heading to AZ Compass will likely open new doors for him.
F) Gregg Glenn
Measurements: 6'6/210
School: Calvary Christian (FL)/We All Can Go (Adidas/Tennessee)
Why: Good playmaker/passer as a face-up forward that can create off the bounce a bit. Good motor on the glass. Solid vertical athlete, but lacks ideal agility to defend perimeter. Below-average shooter at this point in development. More of an undersized PF tweener.
Where Michigan Stands: Michigan at or near the top based on heavy ties to Juwan Howard + family. I'd peg the Wolverines as the favorite. The question is the timeline. If he doesn't give a pledge by late July/early August, it may reach a breaking point.
G) Ty Rodgers
Measurements: 6'6/215
School: Grand Blanc (MI)/Meanstreets (Nike EYBL/Illinois)
Why: Good athlete with a college ready frame. Versatile defender that will be able to defend multiple positions the day he steps foot on a college campus. Good motor. The least skilled of the entire group. Non-shooter. Close to being maxed-out physically. Limited upside on that basis.
Where Michigan Stands: Michigan is really strong here after an OV the first week of June. Was on campus at UConn over the weekend and will start OV with Purdue today. With three visits already out of the way, this feels like a recruitment that could end in the next two months. Like Michigan's chances as of right now.
Do you have any intel on how Michigan will play their wing recruiting for this class? Seems like a lot of wings higher on our board haven't visited yet. Will they take Rodgers if he wants in or will they make him wait?
Also, do you have any intel on the 2023 guys that the staff has reached out to since last night? Specifically Curtis Williams?
My opinion, distinct from what I know/report, is the staff may take 2 wings (in addition to Jett). So there is some fluidity there. If I had to bet, I think Glenn + Rodgers will fill those spots as of today.
Curtis confirmed to me the staff has contacted him.
Any truth to the comments that Walker takes a lot of plays off and disappears at times?
Also rumblings that the pro route is best for him and that he wouldn't fit the culture in Michigan's program.
I have no idea, obviously. Just wondering if it's has some validity or if it's sour grapes.
Thanks Matt!
I know Jett is a given pretty much for the class so he wouldn't fall in a list like this, but out of curiosity were would he fall in this list in your opinion if the recruitment was more neutral for him?
Last I saw I think Matt was viewing Jett as a possible big guard (although I realize he was not covered in the latest guards section but all three were more PG or combo guard guys) b/c of his improved on ball skills. In any event, I would guess that Jett would fall in the Eric Dailey range if Jett were on this list (just a guess, not speaking for Matt obviously).
Jett is a guarantee, so there's really no need for me to provide updates. In terms of his positional designation/standing in the hierarchy, that's a bit nuanced.
He's certainly not a lead guard in any sense, but he's probably a bit more on-ballsy than everyone on this list sans Jarace Walker. A 2/3 is probably the best way I can put it. He would land just behind Eric Dailey in terms of best overall talent for me.
Should we feel good about where this class is at? It feels fairly underwhelming after the 2021 haul.
It will definitely be a smaller class and we should not expect #1 each year. If we get a good amount of our top choices, it could be an impressive class. e.g. Trimble, Jett, (Dailey/Glenn/Rodgers) and Clingan would be a great class. If we miss out on Clingan, Trimble and others, then yes it will be a solid but certainly lower rated class.
Im not expert, and did not stay in a Holiday Inn Express, but i would think Trimble, Jett, (one of those 3) and Clingan would be about the number 4 to 6 class in the nation.
** EDIT **
using the class calculator, landing Trimble, Jett, Clingan and Glenn would give us a class ranking of 64.69, which would have put as as the number 8 class in the nation this last year.
I am curious if the overall class rankings "total" will fall going forward for the top teams.
With more and more viable Pro options for the top kids, I suspect a higher percentage of 5-stars will flee the NCAA each year until we reach an equilibrium which includes a standardized NLI ruling.
Great point and your right, it will probably slowly lower through the years.
Good Stuff Matt
isn't AJ Casey a part of the wing group as well?
I had to double check, but Andre Casey is AJ Casey!
Thanks...didn't click in my head...
That Jarace Walker dude is a beast. 17-18 year old kids shouldn't look like that. Too bad he is trending away.
I’m not sure why he said trending away since we never had a realistic chance in the first place.
When the staff is in serious pursuit for months, the coach's son is HS teammates with the kid, the kid indicates that Michigan is among the school pursuing him the hardest + he intends on taking a visit (said it multiple times throughout a 3 month period) and there is no reliable intel available anywhere...............there can only be one conclusion.
Try to take over the world?
Shock The World !!
You didn’t get the reference? Man, folks ain’t raised right these days.
I was going to say the exact same thing. Good God, how does one get shoulders like that at that age?
Matt your #1 appears to be 28 years old, so I'm calling b.s. /s
Walker is the surest thing to produce at a solid clip from Day 1 in large part because of that physique. It is absolutely ridiculous how filled-out he is as a HS prospect.
Eric Daily please. Also love he's a lefty.
Would be great to land one the IMG kids... keep the pipeline active too.
I am POSITIVE Juwan will land at least one IMG kid!
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