Expect semi-regular basketball recruinting updates until Michigan's roster is set for next year, I guess?

Off the board

Harlond Beverly committed to Miami. The brief burst of optimism about him was evidently unfounded. Akron grad transfer Daniel Utomi, who listed Michigan to Jeff Goodman, is off to USC. He was only vaguely on the board but this is an excuse to talk about this wicked rude photoshop:

Let em talk.. #Lastgoround #Fighton✌❤️ pic.twitter.com/9izYzx9Tfs

— Daniel Utomi (@KINFOLKDAN) April 16, 2019

Usually the "moving on to other things" photoshops aren't tearing the previous jersey away like so much trash. Especially when Ace points out that USC was all of 26 spots higher on Kenpom than the Zips. The Zips were 8-10 in the MAC. Pac-12!

Priorities

The top of the board right now consists of four guys.

Franz Wagner is obviously the #1 gent. Nah'shon "Bones" Hyland is not only an intriguing combo guard prospect but also an excellent reporter. This is the second story he's inadvertently broken:

Hyland told TMI that Beilein wasn't expected to be on the trip.

"No, Beilein will be in Germany I believe," Hyland told TMI when asked whether Beilein will be visiting him this coming week.

Wagner still has a month left in his season with Alba Berlin and was planning to make a decision about his future over the summer. That timeline might get accelerated if Michigan has to make a decisions about birds in hand versus those in Germany.

FWIW, I was talking to Sam at WTKA today and he mentioned that Moe and his parents are in favor of Michigan. With Moe on an NBA contract whatever financial incentives Alba Berlin can offer might be of lesser magnitude than they might otherwise be.

[After THE JUMP: more Bones]

Meanwhile, Bones Hyland looks like Michigan's top option at the two guard. Who you go see and when is a major indicator in the frenzied draft/transfer/riser late signing period and Yaklich is headed out to Delaware:

Michigan will be in to see 2019 PG Nah'Shon Hyland on Tuesday 3/23. Hyland is tentatively setting up a visit to Michigan in the near future. 6'3 guard is one of the most dynamic playmakers available in 19, had an outstanding performance at Under Armour Session I with WeR1

— Endless Motor Sports (@endless_motor) April 17, 2019

If Wagner hadn't pulled Beilein across the Atlantic it sounds like both he and Yaklich would be taking a look.

As mentioned a couple days ago, Hyland has two officials in the books and one scheduled to VCU so getting him on campus would be significant. There would be only one other high major school that could get him up for an official. It is possible a relatively local place like Maryland could horn in without an official; if that doesn't happen Michigan would be in a really good spot. Maybe even if it does.

Ace (and Colin) on Hyland:

I can't know what I would've said before Beverly dropped elsewhere but at least fit-wise I think Hyland is more what Beilein wants. operates well out of the pick and roll, advanced passer, looks like a solid shooter with off-the-bounce ability. uses his length well, too.

— Ace Anbender (@AceAnbender) April 16, 2019

Sounds like 247’s national guys are all about him too. Easy to overemphasize the thing we missed this past season but the shot making and creation looks really legit.

— Manuel Excel (@colintj) April 17, 2019

I agree. Hyland's really creative with his dribble. Craig, being Craig, has watched a couple of full games and reports back that he's not playing much defense has has shot selection issues, but is enthusiastic anyway. You can see some of the drawbacks, along with many positives, in this single-game video:

He suffers a couple of ole drives on defense and forces up some awkward shots. He also looks like a three-level scorer and willing passer who promises to be the kind of iso player that makes switching awkward.

Finally, Justin Pierce is the one grad transfer who Michigan appears to be actively recruiting. He will be on campus this weekend, visit UNC next weekend, and decide between those two schools and Notre Dame shortly after. There is nothing new to report with him.

Ditto Lester Quinones. He cut Georgia and OSU from his list, I guess, but nobody had mentioned either of those teams for a while. He has an official visit scheduled for the end of the month but the shape of his list—LSU, Memphis, Maryland—gives the impression this is a recruitment Michigan is going uphill in.

Shots in the dark

More and more guys are coming on the market and one of them should be vaguely familiar:

6. Admon Gilder, 6-4, 199 pounds, SG, RS Jr., Texas A&M
Missed this past season with an injury, but was a productive all-around player for Texas A&M in 2017-18. Averaged 12.3 points and 4.1 rebounds and shot 39.5 percent from 3-point range.

Michigan played A&M in the tournament two years ago, scoring 10 points on 11 shot equivalents. This was my pre-game take:

6'4" shooting guard Admon Gilder is A&M's most efficient player at a 115 ORTG because he's a quality shooter from the line (82%) and 3 (40%) and decent enough from two. Like Starks, his TO rate is higher than his assist rate; unlike Starks his usage is stuck in the Role Player category on Kenpom. This is because Gilder is a spectacular spot up shooter who turns into a pumpkin when crowded. Synergy has him in the 94th percentile when allowed to catch and shoot; he drops into the 20s and 30s when doing anything else, and sample sizes get very low.

Gilder is a knockdown shooter with a slightly limited ability to get to the rack and would be close to a like-for-like replacement for Poole, except he has a reputation as as very good defender. Michigan has scouted him and probably knows his game well. The injury in question was a blood clot, which is a scary thing but not something that should affect him now that he's been cleared.

Someone will probably ask about VT's Kerry Blackshear, who is the top talent available on the transfer market after being a 115 ORTG, 27% usage guy for a top 15 Kenpom team. Blackshear is pretty definitively a center who'd be a fish out of water at the 4:

He is thus unlikely to be a fit. With a profile like that there is going to be a top-end school that can offer him 30 MPG, no fit concerns.