It's been a while since we last touched base on basketball recruiting and for good reason. Such things take a back seat when the Wolverines were in the midst of closing out an incredible season in which Michigan came away with the the B10 regular season championship and followed that up with an Elite 8 run in March. After a heartbreaking loss to UCLA, it is now time to focus on where Juwan Howard will look to bolster his roster in the next few years.

I got my first taste of travel-ball this year when making my annual trip to the War Before The Storm last weekend in the Dallas-area. I love attending this event because it matches up clubs from each shoe-circuit (EYBL, Under Armour and Adidas were all represented), so I get to knock out three birds with one stone and this year was no different.

But before we get into the nitty-gritty with the 2022s at the War, let's take a look at some fresh film from one of our prized signees in 2021.

Moussa Continues To Trend Up

Moussa Diabate looked great on the biggest stage in high school basketball, Geico Nationals. Squaring off against Milton HS (GA) with 4-star junior guard/Ohio State commit Bruce Thornton, top-25 sophomore Kanaan Carlyle and 3-star junior wing Kendall Campbell, the 6'10 big looked every bit of a top-10 national prospect. 

In only 18 minutes of game action, Moussa poured in 13 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. By now we're accustomed to seeing the 5-star elevate in a crowd for dunks as a roll-man and post-up option, but the face-up jumper from 15 feet and the transition dime both lend support to my live evaluation notes from October. Diabate is rapidly developing with respect to both his jumper and overall ball-skills.

He is the best overall defensive prospect for 2021 in my opinion and did nothing to mitigate that view. The final possession in the clip above reflects Moussa on an island against Ohio State commit Bruce Thornton, beating him to the spot and forcing him to kick the ball back out to the perimeter. Diabate also top-locked a Horns set and came up with a deflection + steal that resulted in an easy bucket while adding a highlight-reel block for good measure. 

I've been touting Moussa as a top-10 overall talent for quite some time now and while 247 is coming around to that same conclusion, Rivals has lagged behind until now. Rivals appears primed to get Diabate into 5-star territory in the near future per their roundtable earlier this week:

"We moved Moussa Diabate up last time and I think he could possibly add a star. The Michigan commit has looked like a five-star prospect, as his game on the offensive end has caught up with the way he changes the game on defense. I’ve had the chance to see Diabate play multiple games against elite competition this year and he’s answered the bell on each occasion."

A reminder that 6'10 human beings should not be able to possess that level of agility and verticality. Watching him on the defensive end of the court in Ann Arbor is going to be a thing of beauty. 

Colin Smith Making Strides

This was my first time viewing 4-star 2022 offer Colin Smith (Dallas St. Marks/Adidas Southern Assault) in over 6 months, so I was intrigued to see his development. When I saw him last year, Smith was a lengthy + athletic wing with some real defensive versatility and surprisingly high-level passing that needed to improve as a shooter. 

The improved shooting immediately popped, as Colin came out hitting multiple shots from distance off screens and knocked down a pull-up as well. His versatility is really attractive, as he looked great facing up from the mid-post area and hitting defenders with crossovers before finishing with great body control. Smith absolutely hammered down a dunk on a defender in transition that had the gym buzzing if there were any questions about his vertical abilities.

The only slight negative this time around was Colin looking a bit less agile in relation to last year. At this point, I'm not really concerned about it, as this was his first game in over 6 weeks (attends a private HS that opted out of the season in early February) and it could be due to layoff. I will continue to monitor this over the Spring/Summer.

Overall, Smith's stock went up for me as he was much more potent as a perimeter shotmaker while still possessing the ball-skills and athleticism that make him a versatile matchup nightmare on both ends of the court. The mainstreams have him in the 65-120 range, which is too low. Colin has the look of a 40-75 type that makes an impact on the game from several different areas on the court at the next level.

In terms of recruitment, Michigan is making him a priority at the wing/forward spot and is in contact with him multiple times per week. Colin has already visited Ann Arbor 3 times. The other contenders at this point are Stanford (sister plays Volleyball), Illinois, North Carolina (haven't offered yet), Kansas, Vanderbilt and Purdue. Strong academics is definitely a theme here and he checks all the boxes both on and off the court. 

[Hit THE JUMP for fresh evals and updates on 2022 + 2023 prospects]

T.J. Caldwell Definitely Worth A Look

Last weekend was my first live look at 2022 T.J. Caldwell (Dallas Faith Family Academy /Team Griffin EYBL), and boy did I come away impressed. 

In evaluating his HS film, Caldwell's status as an elite athlete is undeniable (top 10 athlete for 2022 class), but he's so much more than that. While listed as a shooting guard by the mainstreams, T.J's playmaking + vision was easily his best attribute over the weekend. He consistently collapsed the defense with dribble penetration before finding teammates for easy looks. As a ballhandler, he changes speed/direction with ease and creates space consistently. There are a lot of point-guard abilities here and that unlocks a lot for him as a 6'2-6'3 prospect. 

His jumper didn't go down at the rate you'd like to see, but his mechanics are solid and he's the epitome of a quick twitch athlete. Caldwell's perimeter footwork, first-step acceleration and explosiveness as a leaper is a lethal combination that you simply cannot teach. Here are a few of my "Lost File" clips that didn't make the highlight above because his teammates couldn't finish the play or the opposition was forced to foul. Sheesh. 

T.J. is criminally undervalued as a three-star prospect that's hovering around 200ish overall. He's a no-brainer top 100 overall prospect that could very well flirt with top-50 status depending on how he performs this Summer. TCU immediately offered after this weekend, while Oklahoma, SMU, Oklahoma State and Nebraska have already extended scholarships. 

Michigan's interest is at infancy stage here, as they are doing preliminary checks with respect to academics/background. He's a kid that will likely get a look during the likely live evaluation periods in July. Caldwell is a high-academic prospect that is is also getting interest from Princeton and Georgia Tech. T.J. is going to blow up this Summer and I hope the staff gives him a serious look, as there would definitely mutual interest if that were the case. 

Jalen Washington Is One to Monitor

2022 Jalen Washington (Gary West Side/IN) was an early 5-star (still is) on the basis of his incredible shotmaking ability as a 6'9 big with a 7'2 wingspan. After season-ending injuries in both his freshman and sophomore campaigns, this was his first full-season in HS.

As the evaluator with the most live viewings of Washington in the last year, I'm comfortable in saying that he is the best perimeter shooting big in the class of 2022, period. John Beilein would absolutely make him a Tier A priority. Be that as it may, his agility as a defender didn't look particularly good coming off injury.........until my most recent viewing from the film above. 

Jalen moved his feet and looked to have potential as a switchable defender at the next level for the first time. The possession at the :20 second mark above reflects Washington switching on to Notre Dame commit Blake Wesley for a few dribbles and forcing/altering a wild shot. If that becomes consistent, his stock is going to go through the roof.

He's also a very good passer for his size and actually has a pull-up game. He projects to be a solid rim protector based on his wingspan. And while he's certainly not a quick-twitch athlete, if he can continue making strides with his agility, it will be more than enough to make a premier big in tandem with his shotmaking ability. Objectively, the top-25 ranking isn't accurate as of right now (more like 50-100), but re-gaining his pre-injury agility would have him flirting with that range. 

Michigan has been involved with varying degrees for a few years, with the communication starting to pick-up since February as Washington is looking better and better. Michigan State, Stanford, Illinois, Purdue, Louisville, Alabama are among the other contenders. There is a connection here, as Jalen attends the same HS as Chris Hunter (Director of Basketball Options) and suits up for Chicago-based Meanstreets EYBL (former M football star Tai Streets is the director). The pursuit from Juwan Howard will be largely based on Summer performance once Coach Howard can put eyes on him. 

On To 2023

Sophomore Ja'Kobe Walter (Dallas McKinney HS/Adidas Team Trae Young) is one of the select 2023s that Michigan is on early. After seeing him in Dallas, it's easy to see why. 

Standing around 6'5, Walter is a versatile and skilled guard/wing capable of creating shots as an on-ball playmaker or functioning as a floor-spacing shooter. The production was impressive considering he played a year up in the 17u division against high-level competition. I wouldn't characterize him as a great athlete, but he's certainly above-average when accounting for his age/size/playing a year up.

Early mainstream rankings have Ja'kobe as a top-20 type per 247. I haven't seen enough of the 2023 class to properly assess that ranking, but he has the look of a top-50 type at minimum.

I'm not going to get into his recruitment a ton since it's far too early for that. Michigan hasn't offered yet, but contact has been consistent since January. Early offers include Alabama, Texas A&M, SMU, Memphis, Baylor, Oklahoma and TCU. This is definitely a recruitment to monitor on June 15th, as sophomores can have direct contact with coaches on commencing on that date.