Small Update on 5* Nimari Burnett
I’ve had a ton of people inquiring as to whether Michigan offered EM 5* Guard Nimari Burnett yesterday on his unofficial visit.
I spoke with Burnett late last night and he informed me that his visit with Michigan will continue in more depth today.
The most likely scenario is that Nimari gets the full campus/academic tour today with an offer extended at the conclusion.
February 25th, 2019 at 6:41 AM ^
So, we aren't supposed to tweet at recruits, just call them up. Got it! I can hit him up tomorrow if you want.
February 25th, 2019 at 6:50 AM ^
Are you new here?
February 25th, 2019 at 7:51 AM ^
Newer than you!
Edit: Looking at the time I joined... man it's almost been 11 years. That's crazy
February 25th, 2019 at 3:07 PM ^
You have me beat...
February 25th, 2019 at 8:46 AM ^
He didn't call him up. He waited outside Crisler and tackled him down to the snowy ground and demanded he answers his questions.
February 25th, 2019 at 2:45 PM ^
You don't tweet at recruits. You tweet at their parents. Its called a loophole
February 25th, 2019 at 8:02 AM ^
Thanks Matt. Keep up the good work. Sorry I couldnt get in before the sarcastic passive aggressive crowd.
February 25th, 2019 at 9:14 AM ^
Matt, who will we finish second to in this recruitment?
February 25th, 2019 at 9:34 AM ^
I get the sentiment coming off a tough loss where the coaching left a bit to be desired, but not every 5* recruitment is the same. At some point, the intersection of available playing time, success of the program and NBA placement will lead to us landing an elite talent. Burnett is going to be a 5* in my initial 2020 rankings, but he's not a one-and-done type in my opinion.
February 25th, 2019 at 9:51 AM ^
Most of us appreciate the updates and can see the larger picture here, rather than zeroing in on one tough loss.
I, for one, enjoy these types of updates. Not many places on the interwebs where this type of info can be had without a paywall. Thank you for what you do!
February 25th, 2019 at 10:20 AM ^
Thanks Matt. I have not watched any clips of the kid yet, so i don't have an opinion as of yet.
FWIW, landing a 5* due to your reasons should have already happened in previous seasons. JB has been having amazing success on the court, in developing players and Michigan has so much to offer outside of Basketball. I'm not sure what the reason i$ why we cannot land multiple 5 *'s in basketball, but if he has not done it by now......
February 25th, 2019 at 1:28 PM ^
You've probably been reading this blog long enough to understand why Beilein "cannot land multiple 5*'s". It's been discussed many times in detail. But let me summarize the 30,000 foot view of why: he isn't willing to drag himself or Michigan through the slime that surrounds most of these high level recruits. He doesn't make unrealistic promises for playing time, cut corners academically, or make any deals with sleazy hangers-on from the AAU world. And, he probably doesn't like investing a ton of time and money recruiting players who will only be here one year. It's his way and he's made it work well.
February 25th, 2019 at 10:27 AM ^
So...Kansas.
/s
February 25th, 2019 at 10:40 AM ^
the coaching left a bit to be desired
Can we stop dancing around the fact Beilein was horrible yesterday? Why wasn't Teske given the ball in the post when MSU was switching guards onto him? Where was the pick and pop? Why wasn't Iggy, Livers, and Matthews ever on the floor at the same time? Why did we jack up 7 straight threes directly after taking a 6 point lead and being in the bonus before the under 12 timeout? Why did we go TEN MINUTES without scoring a point? Why does Brooks continue to get minutes over DeJulius? Why does Jordan Poole continue to get away with taking long contested step back 3's? Michigan had everything lined up to win the conference this year and now we'll be lucky to get the double bye in the BTT. MSU was down two starters and that's the performance we had yesterday? I can only imagine the excuses here if we were missing two of our starters.
This is starting to feel like the football team where we waste an elite defense because our offense, Beilein's supposed speciality, is a smoldering dumpster fire.
February 25th, 2019 at 10:49 AM ^
I'm not dancing around it, just more diplomatic language. I agree, the coaching was not where it should've been yesterday. The failure to make any adjustment to the pick and roll coverage on the defensive end was very frustrating. Having Teske hedge + recover 20 feet out as Winston repeatedly zipped passes into the paint for easy layups was frustrating to say the least. Should have switched the coverage to simple switch or drop coverage.
I'm also on board with DeJulius over Brooks. After the first half stint, there is simply no way Brooks should've been in the rotation. To my surprise, DeJulius has been rather sound on defense. And if that's the case, there is zero reason to play Brooks.
That said, Coach Beilein has forgot more basketball than any of us will ever know.......on the aggregate. Yesterday certainly wasn't his best day, but let's reserve ultimate judgment until March/April.
February 25th, 2019 at 11:10 AM ^
The whole Brooks over DeJulius thing is a flaw that is just part of Beilein's MO. He played Jordan Morgan over Mitch McGary an entire year and did the same with Mark Donnal and Mo Wagner.
Brooks and Davis were huge recruiting missteps that are probably going to cost this team a B1G title and a trip to the final 4 because they have absolutely zero depth. Now he's trying to play the freshman some minutes that they should have been getting 3 months ago. Good luck with that.
February 25th, 2019 at 12:07 PM ^
It's tough to hit on every recruit. For every MAAR, there is an Eli Brooks. For every Jordan Morgan, there is an Austin Davis. Should the freshman have gotten more mins early in the season? 100%. Were we good enough to play them a lot when we were fighting against Air Force and Western Michigan? Maybe/Maybe not.
I think the Coaching Staff has done a masterful job with this team. They have maximized the ability of guys like Simpson and Teske. Look @ Teske from his freshman year to today, I never thought he'd be as impactful as he is now. I still think they are working with Poole and Iggy--there is room to grow in college for the both of them if they decide that's what they want.
It's easy to look @ the flaws, but we should not take it for granted what this coaching staff gets out of its players. A 5'10 PG, 2 star recruit from Pennsylvania, a D3 transfer, and a guy from Germany took us to the Championship Game last year. I'm excited to see what the coaching staff can do to finish this year and beyond!
February 25th, 2019 at 1:09 PM ^
It's tough to hit on every recruit. For every MAAR, there is an Eli Brooks. For every Jordan Morgan, there is an Austin Davis.
And that's the problem with recruiting those types of players. It puts incredible pressure on your evaluations and ability to develop talent. Obviously Beilein has hit on more than he's missed, but in terms of this years team it's really becoming a fatal flaw.
February 25th, 2019 at 2:18 PM ^
I don't disagree with that point, but its not for a lack of trying. Michigan went hard after Brad Davidson before signing Eli Brooks. I live 10 mins from Davidson's high school and Coach B was at several games of his. Brad coming off the bench instead of Eli would be huge for this game, but he fell in love with Madison instead.
Similar story in 2016, we all but had Tyus Battle before having to settle for Ibi Watson. Went hard after TJ Leaf before signing Austin Davis.
February 25th, 2019 at 1:52 PM ^
Just change your name to GarBageman! Do us just that one favor. At least your hot takes will at least smell like you.
February 25th, 2019 at 1:05 PM ^
Reply to Hei2man: I like reading your points just fine. There is no reason for your aggression. There is a difference between your analysis and your escalation of emotions. While the team is working on things to get ready to Nebraska, I would like to see some progress from you on your style.
February 25th, 2019 at 1:33 PM ^
Maizen don't play that.
February 25th, 2019 at 1:32 PM ^
Hi Shawn! You are STILL a LOSER!
February 25th, 2019 at 12:50 PM ^
On that note, did he mention how the visit was overall so far? Obviously sucks to witness a loss, but one game usually isn't the reason a recruit doesn't pick a school.
February 25th, 2019 at 1:02 PM ^
Visit has gone well so far
February 25th, 2019 at 10:33 AM ^
What is EM?
February 25th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
I'm pretty sure its erectile misfunction.
February 25th, 2019 at 11:16 AM ^
Endless Motor, Matt D’s website/recruiting blog. My outside impression—and Matt, correct me if I’m wrong—is that he scouts smaller numbers of prospects than the big sites, but he scouts them more thoroughly and develops closer relationships with them.
February 25th, 2019 at 11:23 AM ^
Objectively I'd say that I scout relatively the same number of prospects (in some cases more, ESPN) as the mainstream sites. We're all at the same events (shoe circuit and Vegas to end July). Individually, I'd say I attend just as many live events as anyone in the industry exclusive of Corey Evans.........that guy is everywhere. What the mainstream sites have over is me budget/resources. But I think I do a pretty good job of being ahead of the curve with my rankings/evaluations because I don't have to filter my rankings/evaluations through a committee of others. Of course, I have my whiffs like anyone else, as evaluations are an inexact science.
February 25th, 2019 at 11:21 AM ^
EM = Endless Motor. It's the basketball crootin' evaluation business that MGoBlogger 'matt d' owns/runs. Matt provides some great bball crootin' updates...
February 25th, 2019 at 11:40 AM ^
Thanks. How would you describe his game? From a lengthy (overly-zoomed-in) video of his game in January against LaMelo Ball's team, he looked very under control.
February 25th, 2019 at 11:49 AM ^
The comparison I like to use is Eric Gordon (Houston Rockets/Indiana) - much like Gordon, Burnett doesn't have great acceleration, but has some shot creation ability (Gordon was better at the same stage) and a good stroke from the perimeter. Nimari is more explosive at the same age in my opinion though.
February 25th, 2019 at 2:20 PM ^
In a somewhat surprising development, Nimari Burnett was not offered on his visit today, he just confirmed to me. I'll have a more detailed piece shortly.
February 25th, 2019 at 3:32 PM ^
So you're saying Beilein was informed that everyone on the team is coming back for the entire 4 years of eligibility?
February 25th, 2019 at 3:37 PM ^
burnett is 2020