With a top 10 recruiting class in hand for 2021, Michigan is looking to put icing on the cake with a blue chip big and a 5star perimeter prospect to close out the class. All the latest in this week’s roundup below.

The Latest on 5-star Caleb Houstan

2021 five-star Caleb Houstan is down to 4 schools: Virginia, Duke, Michigan, & Alabama. pic.twitter.com/fIlrH55qzU

— Tipton Edits (@TiptonEdits) October 7, 2020

As I projected in the last roundup, Montverde wing Caleb Houstan placed Michigan in his final four along with Duke, Virginia and Alabama.

I was also first to mention the Wolverines may indeed be at or near the top of the list, with Eric Bossi of 247 confirming the same on Saturday:

“I don’t feel near confident enough to make a Crystal Ball prediction on Houstan just yet, but if I had to bet I’d I would say that Alabama and Michigan make up the upper tier while Duke and Virginia may still have a little ground to make up.”

After checking in on things over the weekend, Michigan may very well be in pole position as of right now. I’m told Alabama isn’t a real threat here despite inclusion in the final four and Bossi’s piece above.

The team to look out for here is Duke, particularly with former target Trevor Keels. He has Duke in a final three along with Villanova and Virginia. If Keels lands in Durham, Coach K will undoubtedly save room for 5star Patrick Baldwin (more later) and presumably run out of space for Houstan. If Keels chooses one of the other options, Duke may turn up the heat for Houstan.

Logic dictates my intel on the Alabama front may be good information. 4star JUCO Langston Wilson committed to Nate Oats yesterday. The Crimson Tide are down to a final spot, and look to be prioritizing 5-star Charles Bediako. That said, never doubt the ability of an SEC program to make room for a 5-star.

For now though, Michigan is positioned very well in this recruitment with Houstan expected to sign during the early period in November. Fingers crossed.

[After THE JUMP: the latest on the bigs, a new 5star target and some 2022 news]

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Bediako Down to Five

2021 five-star Charles Bediako is down to five schools, he tells me: Alabama, Michigan, Duke, Ohio State, & Texas. pic.twitter.com/jMtpNZlZq3

— Tipton Edits (@TiptonEdits) October 10, 2020

Speaking of, 5-star big Charles Bediako cut his list to a final five of Michigan, Alabama, Duke, Ohio State and Texas last week. Juwan Howard and crew have done a good job here, but my sources indicate Alabama is the likely landing spot and all 6 crystal balls over the last two weeks seem to solidify the same.

While we may not be a serious option for Bediako, we are strongly in the mix for his top 30 teammate.

The Better Bet

I was told this weekend that Michigan is in solid position with IMG big Efton Reid, and it may be a battle with arch-rival Ohio State. In the aforementioned 247 piece, Eric Bossi seems to concur:

“I would say that Michigan and Ohio State look to be in solid shape at this juncture of Reid's recruitment. They’ve gotten plenty of traction while recruiting him for some time and may have a little bit of a leg up on the competition.”

I’m not quite ready to dismiss Pitt just yet, and if Kentucky decides to get serious then obviously things will get interesting. But Michigan has been the one constant with Reid, which bodes well for a recruitment that has been all but clear.

In a class that needs a legit big a major way (although that may be mitigated by the recent eligibility ruling), Reid would be an absolute home run.

Puncher’s Chance?

While 5-star wing Patrick Baldwin placed Michigan in his final 10 back in May, I never thought the Wolverines were a realistic option.

Juwan Howard seems to be making a push in recent months and Baldwin’s quotes over the weekend can only be perceived as positive:

“And Michigan has pleasantly surprised me as of late. I’m a huge film guy and they’ve frequently sent me a film of their offense and even went in-depth on it during a zoom call. Coach Howard’s program is headed in the right direction and it appears to be a really great basketball orientated environment from what I’ve picked up.”

I refuse to get optimistic here with Dad the head coach at Milwaukee and Duke the presumed leader. But there appears to be a non-zero chance, which is a considerable improvement in relation to my previous intel. I’d still peg Michigan as an extreme long shot though.

The Newest 5-star Target

Michigan has been in hot pursuit of 5star guard Bryce McGowens since he decommitted from Florida State a few weeks back. McGowens conducted a Zoom call with Juwan yesterday in hopes of landing in his final five to be released today.

I don’t have a ton of intel on McGowens, but with his brother Trey on the Nebraska roster, you can bet the Cornhuskers will make the list along with Georgia and perhaps Florida. I don’t have good enough information to confidently project Michigan in the final five.

For what its worth, I like Bryce considerably more than former target Harrison Ingram and it would be a massive pickup, despite the unlikely nature of that coming to fruition.

2022 News

Michigan is off to a strong start with the consensus number one PG for 2022, Jaden Bradley. Jaden’s father had high praise for Juwan Howard and Michigan in an interview with Chris Balas of The Wolverine:

“They’re building a crazy good relationship,” Bradley said. “Juwan is down to earth. He’s not only preaching that family talk, but he’s walking that walk. You see it with Jett.”

While most prospects and their parents are focused primarily on early playing time, Dad also seems open to his son actually being coached:

“There’s also the accountability factor. He’s not trying to be his friend, his ‘home boy’ … he’s trying to be his coach. We’ve had three Zoom calls with them, and he’ll hold his hand over the fire in those, go over some of the Xs and Os and say, ‘what do you see here?’ He’ll pause and say, ‘let me know what you see.’ He wants his input, and if he doesn’t agree, he’ll say, ‘I don’t see that … I see this.”

I don’t have any information on Jaden’s recruitment at this time, but I tentatively plan to see him live this weekend and hope to have get a solid feel for where we stand.

Pump The Brakes?

I frequently speak with 4-star wing/forward Colin Smith, who holds a Michigan offer and is definitely serious about the Wolverines.

If all things were equal I might be willing to say that Michigan sits near the top of his early informal list, but things aren’t necessarily equal here. In my discussions with Smith, I’ve learned that his sister is currently a freshman on the Stanford volleyball team, where his current high school and AAU teammate, Harrison Ingram, recently committed to over Michigan.

Family ties and a current friend/teammate will certainly factor in here.