Hoops Recruiting: The Weekly Wing Edition
Michigan has a bevy of wing-forwards in the stable, but recruiting never ceases in the portal era where programs have to functionally re-recruit their own players and deal with the possibility of mass attrition.
With that in mind, let's take a look at the pecking order of wings in the class of 2023, along with detailed evaluations + film for each.
Matas Buzelis
Height/Weight: Measured at 6'10 in shoes + 183 pounds with 6'10 Wingspan at 2022 Nike Hoop Summit.
High School/AAU: Brewster Academy (NH)/Nike EYBL Expressions Elite (MA)
Weekend Performance: Did not participate in AAU event.
Mainstream Ranking: 5-star/Top 25 Overall
EM Ranking/Evaluation: Projected impact aligns with that of a 5-star prospect. Gifted offensive player that can score + make plays for others at 6'10, while being a potent shooter that can also serve as a floor-spacing wing or pick + pop big. Elite offensive skill coupled with NBA size generally translates to great on-court impact when projecting. His profile took a bit of a hit after a relatively underwhelming junior season at Brewster, where concerns about motor + athleticism manifested. Still, its hard not to see shades of Gordon Hayward when watching Matas despite potential issues in terms of defense and/or motor.
Recruitment: I'm told this recruitment is more viable for Michigan than accepted wisdom will have you believe. The staff recently conducted a home visit + Zoom call with Buzelis and that carries some weight when resources are limited. Juwan Howard was front row for Matas twice during EYBL Session II. This is a big-boy recruitment with Kentucky heavily involved and Florida State once thought to be the leader. Arizona is emerging as a legit threat recently, along with North Carolina. Reading the tea leaves, it doesn't seem that much of anyone has solid intel here. But Michigan has a bit more traction here than people realize and the staff is putting forth a strong effort to land Matas.
Gavin Griffiths
Height/Weight: Listed at 6'6 - 6'7 and 180 - 185. That looks about right.
High School/AAU: Kingswood-Oxford School (CT)/Nike EYBL Expressions Elite (MA)
Weekend Performance: Did not participate in AAU event.
Mainstream Ranking: 4-Star/Top 15-65 Overall
EM Ranking/Evaluation: I have yet to see Griffiths play live (injured this Spring), but the film displays an outstanding shooter that connects on triples with pull-ups and movement via screens + hand-offs + relocations. Solid handle, but probably not a primary shot-creator. Decent athlete, but lacks twitchiness. Has the look of a floor-spacing wing that can serve as a secondary playmaker.
Recruitment: Last weekend I was told the confidence level from the Michigan staff has dropped considerably here. The official visit on 6/14 is no longer a certainty. Seems like an OV to Rutgers may have changed things after Griffiths flat out confirmed Michigan is at the top of the list during an interview with Rivals a few weeks back.
[After THE JUMP: Things Picking Up With The Mayor?]
Mayar Wol
Height/Weight: Listed at 6'8 and 190 pounds and that looks accurate
High School/AAU: Moravian Prep (NC)/Adidas 3SSB Team Loaded North Carolina
Weekend Performance: Did not participate in AAU event.
Mainstream Ranking: Entered 247 rankings this week as #89 prospect overall.
EM Ranking/Evaluation: Projected impact of a top-50 prospect, and that may be conservative. Has tremendous perimeter shotmaking ability off the bounce, NBA range and nearly flawless mechanics. The ability to hit pull-ups from both distance and midrange is extremely intriguing in tandem with his size. Wol handles the ball fairly well and is a good run + jump athlete. Now displaying flashes of playmaking for others in ballscreen action. Defensively he definitely makes an impact at the point of attack and altering shots with his length. Have yet to see Gavin Griffiths live, but based on film I'm inclined to think Wol has a significantly higher ceiling.
Recruitment: Likely in conjunction with the waning confidence with Griffiths, the staff has been in contact with Wol this week. Starting to blow-up in month after my initial report in April. Over that time period offers have come in from Georgia, Rutgers, Ole Miss, Georgia Tech, St. John's and VCU. Would expect more in the coming months.
Am I reading this correctly? A visit to Rutgers convinced this Griffiths kid to drop Michigan!? Holy shit…
Being a star v being a piece of the puzzle, as might be the case. As always, though, we're only speculating. So many personal issues that never even occur to us may influence a young man and his family's decision. Just sorted this through with my daughter and soccer in a far less high-profile case, and I can tell you it is complicated. Can see why they like Griffiths, though. Dunno about how he twitches, but he looks markedly more advanced than--comp that occurs to me--Duncan Robinson did as a 17-18 year old.
Yes. You are.
New England kid. The region has its own gravity.
To be fair, Rutgers has a respectable basketball program. Pikiell is a good coach and they've been a tourney level team since the Covid cancellation year. It's not some sort of basketball wasteland.
Obviously Michigan is the higher profile destination, but if they're firing all cannons for him while Michigan prefers other prospects like Matas or Mayar, that definitely plays a part in his recruitment.
OMG! A player who lives 3 hours from Rutgers might be interested in an up and coming program closer to him? He might like the thought of playing for a team close to his family that has made the NCAA's the past couple of seasons and finished ahead of UM in the Big Ten last season? He might like the idea of being "the dude" for a team in his area? Say it aint so!
It isn't surprising that a kid might prefer a "nearby" school in his region over one further away that he hasn't seen yet. However, it is a bit surprising that you would make a decision before completing more OVs and it is also a bit surprising that a guy who is a pure offensive player wouldn't at least want to evaluate some options before jumping at a program known for running terrible offense. That doesn't mean Michigan is a better choice for him and his family or that Rutgers is a bad choice.....it just seems like a pretty hasty choice given the options that someone of his skill level has to choose from.
The Griffiths thing is rather odd. Do you see that as his choice and not ours? And would that affect Michigan's chances with Papa Kante?
I'm sure you're gonna do a bigs update soon, but I am oh so curious to hear your thoughts on 247 bumping Xavier Booker up to the #4 player in the country.
In a nutshell, ranking services don't really care about college projection/productivity. It is the long-term NBA outlook that matters most. Functionally, Xavier Booker at #4 is a 5-10 year outlook rather than a 2 year outlook.
To provide some context, I don't think many would argue Cassius Winston was one of the most impactful players in all of college basketball over the last decade, let alone the B10. Yet Jaren Jackson was ranked considerably higher in HS and didn't have as much impact at Michigan State.
Why is that? Because Jaren Jackson is likely going to be an NBA All-Star at some point while Cassius Winston is going to cap out as an end of bench guy at the league level. So evaluators look to that and say "I got it right" and nobody blinks an eye despite the production/impact distinction at the college level.
In 5 years nobody outside of EL/B10 country will remember Cassius Winston while millions of people around the globe will be familiar with Jaren Jackson.
All that said, Booker won't be that high in my rankings barring some drastic change in his motor this Summer.
It's definitely complicated in basketball by how quickly guys move onto the pros. A Jaren Jackson who stays for 4 years would have been incredibly impactful.
I get the ceiling but I feel ranking Booker so highly glosses over some of the things you've pointed out. And it feels like an overreaction to a hot shooting streak more than anything.
Are your rankings on pro or college production/potential?
Regarding Booker: I will stick with the analogy that it is like demanding that Einstein be excited about first grade math. What is he...16-17 years old? I have seen clips that clearly demonstrate some of the reasons for which he is rated so highly. He may be the best in his class when it is all said and done. At this point in time he is not being challenged by his cohort group-but he is stuck with them...reminds me very much of Shawn Kemp ,who got booed mercilessly and incessantly in HS for this very thing. These kids are very young.
SO many variables in recruiting, especially the mutual uncertainty ("How much does the coach really want me" & "How much can we count on this commitment?") and now the re-recruiting.
I'm so glad Michigan has Juwan Howard.
Seems like an OV to Rutgers may have changed things
RUTGERS?!?!
User name....
For anyone who has never been to Rutgers, it's a glorified commuter school. You have to take a bus basically everywhere and New Brunswick is a sad excuse of a college town
As a Rutgers grad, I think that's a little harsh. It just has multiple campuses, but the individual campuses you can walk like normal. It's not a college town like Ann Arbor, but is Penn State really a good college town? It's a bunch of nothing and a school, is Columbus and East Lansing great? Madison and Ann Arbor are great college towns, but New Brunswick is easily the same level as other schools.
It'll be interesting to see if Michigan loses out on both Mayar and Gavins. Rutgers could really use the shooting but their offense is just run terribly so I'm surprised these wings would want to play in that system.
Comments