2023 Basketball Recruiting Update?
Maybe it's me, but it feels like there's been radio silence on the basketball recruiting front. Haven't heard who we're recruiting, haven't really heard of any visitors, etc. We've offered the usually "swing for the fences" guys, but beyond that there hasn't really been any updates or new offers. Is it a small class so Juwan is waiting until the off season? Just feels weird we haven't heard much
February 18th, 2022 at 10:45 AM ^
I guess everyone is coming back next year.
February 18th, 2022 at 10:54 AM ^
Might be a couple of one and dones turning into two and dones. Although Moussa has been awesome lately.
I wonder too if there might be a chance Dickinson comes back.
February 18th, 2022 at 11:32 AM ^
I have to believe Dickinson is gone after this year. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong but I feel like I remember reading some thread here a while back that confirmed him even saying as much.
I just don't know what one more year will do as far as improving his overall draft stock.
February 18th, 2022 at 11:53 AM ^
Sure, Dickinson was definitely planning on this being his last season here. But plans can change.
When Dickinson enrolled, pro basketball was not only his goal, but the only way for him to make money from the game. With NIL and with his place on mock draft boards, (he's not on any I've seen), he may make quite a bit more by staying.
February 18th, 2022 at 12:45 PM ^
I actually am surprised how low Hunter’s draft stock is currently. Yes his agility makes him a liability to be a starter at the 5 in the modern NBA, but his back to the basket game, elite passing from the C position, and now a 35% 3pt shooter and solid mid-range shooter makes him a great option for 4-5 minute chunks vs the bench of the other opponent to get a few buckets and keep the offense flowing. That’s worth a late 1st round pick.
February 18th, 2022 at 2:45 PM ^
I'm not going to argue who will be a better pro, or whether Hunter's draft stock is fair or not.
But as far as his back to the basket game and 35% 3pt shooting being worth a late 1st...fwiw, Luka Garza's arguably more dominant back to the basket game and 44% 3pt shooting was only worth a late 2nd.
February 18th, 2022 at 2:57 PM ^
I think Hunter Dickinson could be the college player of the year next year. I also think he’ll have a very tough time fitting in the NBA. He plays the most important position in an NBA defense, but isn’t good at defense. A team could design a system to mitigate that, but it’s hard to justify designing a scheme around a late 1st/early 2nd rookie, and that ultimately means he’ll have a real problem becoming an NBA player. It’s why he’s not showing up on draft boards.
All that said, I’m not sure how much another season in college fixes that issue. He’s old for his class year, and while there are some technique issues that can be cleaned up, mostly it’s an issue of foot speed/lateral agility. Can he improve that if he stays another year? He’s got to be near his peak ability in terms of that. Best thing college does for him is cements his offense, so a few teams think his defense is worth the risk.
I’m guessing he goes pro, goes late 2nd or undrafted, hangs around on the back of a roster for a few years and then goes to Europe. He’ll still make more from the NBA than he would in NIL, and staying isn’t going to help. Best case scenario is he plays just good enough defense to get on the court and let his offense shine, such that a team does, in fact, want to design its defense around him. Small chance, but greater than 0.
February 18th, 2022 at 4:43 PM ^
Yea I think Hunter is gone. Little reason to come back. Really hoping Moussa stays or it will be a a really rough year.
February 18th, 2022 at 4:59 PM ^
If Moussa goes with Hunter and with Johns graduating, we wouldn’t have any bigs on our roster for next year other than Reed coming in. I’ve argued this point in other posts, I don’t know what is more of a pressing need for next year, another shooter or another big man down low. You essentially need three 6’9+ big men on the roster and those three could all be gone after this year. At least with soph’s Bufkin, Houstan and freshman Jett coming in you have some potential shooting from the 2/3.
February 18th, 2022 at 11:25 AM ^
Would be nice
February 18th, 2022 at 10:54 AM ^
We already have 4 commits for next season. It is also becoming pretty popular to fill out the rest a recruiting class with a high-level transfer.
February 18th, 2022 at 11:11 AM ^
why does it seem so much easier to do in bball than in football. we claim admissions, but i dont see the difference? We took a guy from coastal carolina and ok, columbia, but where did chaundee come from? I realize the volume of needed transfers in bball is far fewer, but the pool is also much smaller, so relatively speaking, why does basketball fill the need, and football fall far far short? is it because they are grad transfers and that requires no "credit" transfer?
February 18th, 2022 at 11:15 AM ^
Yeah I don't understand the whole process but I know that grad transfers are much easier to bring in that normal transfers. And I think in basketball it's just likely easier to find a grad transfer that can be impactful to your program than it is in football.
February 18th, 2022 at 11:56 AM ^
Chaundee came from Wake Forest, quite a good school. Yes, grad transfers are much easier to get through admissions. The last non-grad transfer in basketball, Nojel Eastern from Purdue, couldn't get his credits accepted and had to go somewhere else.
February 18th, 2022 at 12:02 PM ^
Chaundee came from Wake Forest, which is a really good academic school.
I'd also argue that football requires less of an IQ than basketball does, as a sport, because one has to play offense and defense and all the moving parts. It's a lot easier to get by in football on elite athleticism in HS than it is in basketball. AAU b-ball is bigger, too.
Lastly, you are talking about mostly grad transfers versus portal transfers, which are different things. Michigan has to accept the degree conferred is legit, so they are only concerned with admittance into a grad program. As a college professor, I can tell you that undergraduate credits but no degree--they likely are not getting all of those credits transferred--especially if a college is on semesters.
February 18th, 2022 at 2:20 PM ^
You say you're a professor and claim that BBall IQ is higher than Football IQ? What an asinine comment, football playbooks are thick as hell and complicated.
Give me a break!
February 18th, 2022 at 1:09 PM ^
Chaundee, Mike, and Devante were all grad transfers.....dont have to deal with credits transferring.
February 18th, 2022 at 2:53 PM ^
Mike Smith and Devante Jones were grad transfers. Which, has been mentioned in regards to football, UM can take much easier (see our new starting C Oluwatami)
Chaundee came from Wake Forest. Because of their academic prowess, its likely that those credits UM is willing/able to take as they match req's or pre-req's for majors.
Where UM has trouble with transfers seems to be Soph's and Juniors, since they are far enough along academically that not taking those credits becomes an issue as far as progress towards graduation. That's why UM isn't grabbing undergrad football transfers from less-strenuous academic institutions
February 18th, 2022 at 11:22 AM ^
I asked Matt about this a few weeks back; here's his response:
The lack of buzz is because the staff doesn't really know how many scholarships they're working with or for what positional groups. Lots to work out in terms of potential early entries, etc.
https://mgoblog.com/comment/244449345#comment-244449345
I am specifically curious about Elmarko Jackson, as he tumbled quite a bit in Rivals's most recent rankings
February 18th, 2022 at 11:31 AM ^
Its Rivals. Elmarko is legit and is being prioritized.
February 18th, 2022 at 12:12 PM ^
Seems a little strange for the 2023 class. You’d think you would have to have some idea of what your needs are. For example, we don’t need any more 3/4 tweeners, we are loaded with them. We are really short on elite shooting guards. Seems like we could land an elite two and a big and then let the rest sort itself out.
February 18th, 2022 at 12:40 PM ^
I agree, a true wing who can shoot and a center seem like pretty obvious needs
February 18th, 2022 at 12:46 PM ^
Seems like PG could also still be a priority. We lose Jones. I like Frankie's potential but he's definitely not a sure thing and I would not put Dug in the sure thing category either.
February 18th, 2022 at 2:00 PM ^
Dug is a sure thing. Put it in stone.
February 18th, 2022 at 2:02 PM ^
They have Frankie, Dug and a 2024 pg commit so I’m not of the opinion that pg is a necessity unless you are going to go after an elite one.
February 18th, 2022 at 11:09 PM ^
February 18th, 2022 at 3:43 PM ^
i get that we have a lot of bodies, but i dont equate that to "we are loaded". Loaded = Bama at DLine or osu at WR. We just have a lot of guys. The only 2 guys on this team that can come back next year (not eli) that i am confident in as a player or will grow are moussa and dickenson.
Nothing about Houstan tells me he's improving or finding his game. Same for Frankie.
Bufkin shows promise at times, but is lost others.
I know we have lots of freshman, and thats okay - just saying none of them, including Moussa, have been a steady force.
If there's a big wing or 3/4 type who can step in and deliver, then by all means, lets go. Yes, we need other stuff, but honestly the talent seems to need an upgrade overall. Not recruiting rankings, talent and production.
February 19th, 2022 at 10:30 AM ^
It does look like we will probably have holes to fill with a transfer or two. Dickinson should be gone. He's made great improvements and looks like a first round talent even if he goes later. Diabate seems likely to be back but is looking more like a possible one and done. If Diabate is gone, they'll need a transfer big. Otherwise, we might still have an issue at PG. Frankie is talented but needs to significantly improve his shooting. Maybe Dug can contribute a lot right away but doubtful. As for shooting, Houstan and Bufkin seem to be stepping up their games, likely ready to be major contributors next year.