2023 Basketball Recruit Lee Aaliya doesn't appear to enrolled
The add/Drop deadline for Michigan was today.
Basketball recruit Lee Aaliya needed to be enrolled by September 18 to be eligible to play for the fall semester.
With no announcement, he isn't eligible to play any games until the winter semester, again, pending him enrolling.
Maybe mattd can chime in and help provide anything further.
September 18th, 2023 at 8:37 PM ^
Sucks. But won't really change the finish in the bottom 3 of the conference. I'll just be excited to see a team play high energy, disciplined, cohesive basketball, win or lose. If I see that, I see hope for Howard. If not, just delaying the inevitable
September 18th, 2023 at 8:43 PM ^
Hope is built through recruiting. And that as of now isn't where it needs to be. Two months to correct that before signing day.
Christian Anderson is a promising recruit that could blossom based on the hope that he grows.
Durral Brooks has tanked in the rankings and is probably a 4 year player, but very doubtful to be a high ceiling guy. Doesn't have a shooting background either.
No wings in the class, but a few visiting in the coming weeks.
Really need a center too if Lee Aaliya doesn't come. There are no center visits set up.
Patrick Ngongba visited, but is a priority for Duke.
September 18th, 2023 at 8:54 PM ^
We got barely a whiff in the portal, which is the exception to your correct point. We aren't recruiting at a high level and nobody of high value is coming through the portal to supplement. We were trying to fill positions on the roster desperately all summer. Team is a mess.
Also, name checks out.
September 18th, 2023 at 9:06 PM ^
We would have had one of the best transfers in the portal at a position of need if it weren’t for admissions. That’s a little more than barely getting a whiff
September 18th, 2023 at 9:17 PM ^
The deal was him coming as a graduate transfer.
One issue, love never graduated.
Not sure how that is on admissions.
September 18th, 2023 at 9:09 PM ^
It sure is a mess, we went from having a dialed in scheme and system of recruiting under Beilein to I dunno WTF is going on now.
I hope Juwan is doing well and recovering nicely from heart surgery but man, his recruiting, roster management, in game coaching, substitution patterns, game plans, etc., have been super questionable.
September 18th, 2023 at 9:35 PM ^
I get that the fan experience from Beilein > Howard is vastly different, but actually comparing their performance or aptitude to the job seems unfair.
Beilein did well in the context in which he competed, but the landscape changed drastically after he left UM. We have zero evidence for how he would have fared with COVID, the transfer portal, and NIL. Who knows, perhaps he would have excelled. But I have my doubts, given that he decided to leave college basketball out of some sense of dissatisfaction even before those changes really took hold.
September 18th, 2023 at 9:42 PM ^
Memories are short, and I was a huge fan of Beilein, but he quit at the last moment and left Juwan on the back foot almost from the start. If I were Juwan, facing the impediments he has, I would be tempted to move on myself.
As people say down below, and as was expressed here several days ago, there's hope that he can start in January.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:24 PM ^
People need to quit quiteing.
September 18th, 2023 at 11:22 PM ^
I don’t quite understand.
September 19th, 2023 at 7:50 AM ^
His impediments are largely of his own making. Terrible roster management and questionable (at best) in game coaching
September 18th, 2023 at 10:38 PM ^
You seem to completely not understand where beilein started. Honestly, are you serious? Howard inherited a program clicking on all cylinders. He rode those coattails briefly before letting us fall in the abyss.
Every team in the country dealt with COVID things.
Jb or jh. Jb did more than get the job done. Jh is going in the wrong direction, and fast
September 18th, 2023 at 10:44 PM ^
Howard inherited a really good program...with players jumping to the NBA before their considerable development could really benefit their college team.
Beilein got fed up with players leaving early for the league after a couple years. You're telling me he'd be excelling with players leaving for the NBA after a single unproductive year or jumping into the transfer portal with no penalty because he dared to bring in another guard for depth?
September 19th, 2023 at 8:48 AM ^
You're acting like JB coached in the 1960s. It was immediately preceding. They weren't different eras. One is failing, one did not.
Yes, JB got frustrated with a few guys who he thought should stick around. Still was incredibly successful - moreso than any Michigan coach in recent memory.
Even more, he had a system that he found players for and made it work. Getting to the NC game 2x, though sad we didnt win, is more than we could have expected.
Juwan Howard didn't sign up to be the basketball coach out of good faith. He has some method, and its not working off the court or on the court. There are plenty of teams who get great recruits and look like dogshit. There are plenty who don't get great recruits, and play well together. We are now failing on both counts.
JH is not a victim of circumstance. He's not solving the problem in front of him - whether its because he can't or won't, I can't tell you that. But the outcome/the product... sucks.
September 19th, 2023 at 4:48 PM ^
Dude went to the tournament with Zach Novak and Stu Douglas. He wouldve been fine.
September 19th, 2023 at 10:49 AM ^
Juwan is par for the course, and did a great job keeping things going. Don't assume that changeovers go smoothly or that recruiting doesn't fall off cliff. Juwan has done well here, and absent a few transfer snafus like Shannon and a few early departures, one could say Juwan has done great. Only thing I didn't like was not keeping Austin Davis one more year.
September 19th, 2023 at 11:17 AM ^
The only thing you didn't like in his entire tenure was not keeping Austin Davis
K
September 19th, 2023 at 12:45 PM ^
Yeah. Can say that getting the Coastal Carolina guard didn't work out, or llewellen too, but can't say it was a mistake for trying. Davis we needed him, badly, and he lost his spot to an incoming recruit
September 19th, 2023 at 4:18 PM ^
Do you mean your only portal regret? Or ... overall with him? How about his poor coaching? how about lack of accountability for his kids for lack of hussle from Jett. How about not recruiting a balanced roster? How about punching an opposing coach? How about the team not improving, but arguably regressing? How about the HORRIBLE rotations he has often leaving 5 guys who can't score on the court for long periods of time? How about the lack of a bench or culture that keeps kids here who are not stars? How about making sure that when you pursue players, you have a smart path to get them - or at least a manageable one? How about, after 2 awful seasons, changing SOMETHING in your approach or your coaching staff that shows that more of the same isn't coming? How about teaching some fundamentals to a team that seems full of players who are not playing the same style of basketball? How about better managing personalities on the team and incoming, so we don't run off a ton of players who show at least some potential? And, if that talent sucks, that means he's not good at evaluating players coming in either?
To your "not a mistake"... i mean, maybe? They weren't at the top of anyone's lists... role players at best turned into Starting PGs.
September 19th, 2023 at 12:53 PM ^
Yeah. Can say that getting the Coastal Carolina guard didn't work out, or llewellen too, but can't say it was a mistake for trying. Davis we needed him, badly, and he lost his spot to an incoming recruit
September 19th, 2023 at 8:28 AM ^
That's fucking bullshit. Beilein was turning 3 stars into nba players over and over again. You cant tell me he wouldn't have continued to do well after 40 years of excellent coaching.
September 19th, 2023 at 9:02 AM ^
He hated the emerging landscape of college ball, SAID that was why he quit. And that was before the portal. It was much harder for kids to walk away from a program if they were unhappy, and sometimes that was good, for John--who was a taskmaster--and sometimes for the kids, if they buckled down and succeeded. John struggled for three years (while I and others loved and believed in him) before the program really took off. IIRC, Juwan had a better record after three years than John did.
I'm glad people here care so much, though, if they're not just here to rip a guy who's had a number of difficult breaks. BC they certainly didn't through all the hard times, including before and during early John.
September 19th, 2023 at 4:53 PM ^
Beilein changed us from Amaker to what we were.
Howard changed us from Beilein to what we are.
You can excuse it away but eventually you wont be able to spin it anymore.
Take it for what you will but I got big time Hoke Basketball vibes going on. I hope not as just like Hoke I really want him to succeed.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:04 PM ^
C'mon. People complained like crazy about Beilein's recruiting. His player development was strong and his coaching tactics were excellent (except for auto-bench) but his recruiting was average at best.
September 19th, 2023 at 6:37 AM ^
JB had a ton of misses on the recruiting trail with guys he took. Big difference between JB and Juwan so far is JB would move on quick from those misses. Juwan seems to want to stick with kids longer.
I’m sorry Lewilyn should not still be on this team. He was average at best before injury and he still isn’t cleared for full participation. He isn’t going to help.
Our wing and guard recruiting is completely baffling. Juwan has no type he is looking for. It’s a jumbled mess. As someone said above Durrel Brooks is just plummeting. It was obvious to everyone in this state in regards to basketball that kid was a way early bloomer.
September 19th, 2023 at 8:51 AM ^
He wasn't average. He was BAD. I'm not trashing the person. JB had misses, but he also had a stock pile of 3-4 year guys who were the stable backbone of the team. He had a bench. He had a system. Players stepped in and stepped up.
For some reason it is very polarizing, but when he punched that Wisky coach, he should have been fired. It made sense morally AND strategically.
September 19th, 2023 at 4:56 PM ^
Agreed. If you dont think coach B coulve kept on finding players like Maar, Simpson, Teske, Novak, and Douglas you are crazy. Coach took leftovers and made them Big Ten main dishes.
September 18th, 2023 at 9:04 PM ^
I wish we could get some sort of explanation for this mystery, just seems like weird situation.
September 18th, 2023 at 9:12 PM ^
It doesn't seem like too much of a mystery. He made his decision relatively late in the game. There are probably several administrative hurdles to clear. Hopefully he'll still come to Michigan and be eligible in January.
There was some related discussion a few days ago:
https://mgoblog.com/mgoboard/lee-aaliya-bball-commit-argentina-still-needs-be-admitted
September 18th, 2023 at 9:31 PM ^
You can probably just read what happened with the other dozen(s) recruits that Michigan admissions didn't clear over the years. Not much of a mystery, really.
September 18th, 2023 at 9:33 PM ^
What exactly is football doing differently in terms of vetting transcripts?
September 18th, 2023 at 10:09 PM ^
Nothing. If Myles Hinton and LaDarius Henderson were playing basketball, they likely wouldn't be here.
Football gets the massive advantage of being essentially a one semester sport. Football athletes get from January to August to transfer and become academically eligible. Basketball players only get May to August. That's less time to resolve discrepancies like Hinton and Henderson did. Sometimes it works out (Burnett), sometimes it doesn't (Love).
September 18th, 2023 at 10:25 PM ^
Henderson needed to retake or redo a class or two.
He rented an ann arbor apartment on his own dime and took the classes online.
shannon needed to take 3 classes, but wasn't interested. He was on the hook to pay for them, but the fact that there was no ability to set up a small future nil deal to repay them is kinda pathetic on our part.
Hinton was never getting more than 60 credits transferred, stanford or not. He took an english class and was eligible.
Burnett worked his ass off because if he didn't graduate, he wasn't going to be eligible anywhere as a two time transfer.
Regardless, michigan is requiring guys to do extra work to get in.
The football guys are more willing to do it.
September 19th, 2023 at 7:47 AM ^
Seriously though. Having to re-take even one or two classes to a college kids is a big deal, especially if you are a college athlete and have to pay for it on your own dime. This has been an issue at Michigan since time immemorial, but with the transfer portal it has too change. Michigan is at a decided disadvantage. Yes I think there is a difference between a community college writing class and English 125, but not that much. ...and there isn't a big difference between Stanford's freshman writing class and ours. If there is, Stanford probably has the harder class.
Warde needs to figure out a way to fix this. Michigan is a great school (24th?) but there is a huge appeal to going to a school with winning football and basketball teams. (Hockey too.)
September 19th, 2023 at 9:08 AM ^
It was a 0xx (sub 100) level English class, and it was 10 weeks not 15 like English 125.
...and Warde can do nothing to fix this - he doesn't have the power. Even the University President doesn't have the power to change this.
September 19th, 2023 at 9:14 AM ^
One thing I'd like to see changed is the allowance of the "inverse transfer." Essentially, for athletes close to graduation, they should be allowed to transfer and enroll at their new school while making progress towards their degree at their old school, either by intending to transfer new school courses back or by dual enrolling. This would allow Terrance Shannon for example to enroll at Michigan for those last few classes with the intent of using those credits to complete his Texas Tech degree. I believe currently the NCAA would not allow this.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:19 PM ^
As Seth has pointed out you need to fit into one of two buckets in order to transfer to Michigan as an athlete:
- Transfer very early on in your undergraduate career where you don't have the sunk cost of a bunch of credits that are not going to transfer (Ernest Hausmann)
- Come in as a grad transfer where there are no limitations or sunk costs
Otherwise prepare to pull a Shea Patterson and re-take a whole boatload of classes. Very, very few people are going to go to all that trouble. I don't really condone the way our admissions department handles upperclassmen who transfer in, but it's not a mystery as far as what you need to do in order to transfer into Michigan as an athlete.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:27 PM ^
So why didn't basketball prioritize these underclassmen transfers when this is known?
September 19th, 2023 at 6:40 AM ^
Fantastic question. A lot of F ups as examples on Juwan still not having an understanding how this all works
September 19th, 2023 at 9:10 AM ^
Admissions has nothing to do with what credits (or how many) transfer in.
Admissions just decides if you get accepted or not. Each individual department decides what credits count.
September 18th, 2023 at 9:28 PM ^
Sucks it didn't get resolved; it was a late commitment so I'm not totally surprised that UM's process might rear its head. The fact he was apparently on campus and practicing/preparing with people related to the program is a good sign. I sort of doubted he'd make a huge difference early on so I guess wait until January.
EDIT: I am going to walk back the "he's on campus" part because that's a rumor I read on another message board and I have no additional evidence. He may be on campus, he may not be.
September 18th, 2023 at 9:31 PM ^
Wow, he has been? I hadn't heard or seen any of that.
Where do you hear that?
That is at least a good sign.
September 18th, 2023 at 9:44 PM ^
I saw someone post it on maybe 247 (I honestly don't remember, it could have been a screenshot), but there's a good chance it was misreading this earlier article because it name-dropped him but in the context of not being enrolled yet.
So yeah, I definitely don't have a super-reliable source on this. I'll update my comment because I realize I'm likely just repeating a rumor.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:02 PM ^
Yep. I don't think he's actually ever visited.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:49 PM ^
That wouldn't shock me.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:03 PM ^
When I was an admissions officer, I got students through the entire process (3 reviews and final decision) in a business day. They can speed up the process on demand if needed, particularly for athletics. Something else is holding up the line.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:29 PM ^
That probably means it is the TOEFL test.
That isn't negotiable.
You have to get a requisite score.
September 18th, 2023 at 10:53 PM ^
Or it could be something related to obtaining a student visa. I'm not sure how long those take or if he had one previously but even expedited it's probably in the order of months.
September 19th, 2023 at 10:13 PM ^
Could be multiple things. If its the test, I would imagine they would get him state side and enrolled in an English language program stat. If he didn't have the score in August, I'm skeptical he would be an outright take by the staff. If its an academic issue, I would lean more towards the staff not knowing some intricacies of the Argentine education system.
Visa is likely more possible as I can see that taking some time. Just the wait for an embassy appointment would be measured in weeks, likely months. This could only occur after being admitted and some initial screening by the State Dept.