Updated ESPN 2013 BBall rankings: Irvin #21, Walton #32, Donnal #97
It looks like ESPN updated their 2013 basketball recruiting rankings. All 3 Michigan guys make the list:
Zak Irvin-21 (3 away from 5 star status)
Derrick Walton-32
Mark Donnal-97
Both Irvin and Walton moved up, while Donnal took a fairly significant tumble. Michigan also has the top 2 commits in the big 10 at the moment (although people think MSU has a pretty good shot at #1 overall Jabari Parker). Another great year for Beilein in terms of talent evaluation.
http://espn.go.com/college-sports/basketball/recruiting/playerrankings/_/order/true
August 8th, 2012 at 11:37 AM ^
What's the deal with the kid from Troy who is top 5 or so on the list? Any idea which schools really interest him?
August 8th, 2012 at 11:39 AM ^
a lot.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:03 PM ^
This is why both Michigan and MSU are not pushing for him at the moment. Does sound like a good fit at KY..rig grades then one-and-done. (allegedly)
August 8th, 2012 at 12:35 PM ^
August 8th, 2012 at 12:44 PM ^
What about Maceo Baston Jr.? I know he's not a senior, but is he looking at Michigan?
Top 2 of Michigan State and Kentucky. But its really
Kentucky
Michigan State
August 8th, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^
Donnal has been noticably improving his game each time I see him. How he drops that much is beyond me. While I don't think he is a top 50 player, he definitely belongs in the 60-70 range
August 8th, 2012 at 11:59 AM ^
It is either everyone was lying about him performing well over the summer or ESPN is being stupid here.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:28 PM ^
August 8th, 2012 at 12:58 PM ^
I think it has more about people rising than him falling. Take for example Irvin....He has risen a lot and in the process has bumped people down in rankings. Being top 100 is nothing to be mad about either, it is extremely respectable.
August 8th, 2012 at 11:38 AM ^
Remember when everyone said Beilein couldn't recruit?
August 8th, 2012 at 11:40 AM ^
man Coach Beilein is proving year in year out that he's a great judge of talent evaluation... and with his ability to coach/develop players the future looks bright for M basketball!
August 8th, 2012 at 11:57 AM ^
Donnal in Beilein's offense is going to be really valuable. I'm not at all concerned about his ranking.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:01 PM ^
that if you told Michigan fans 4 years ago that they'd have to decide whether or not they were "concerned" over having a basketball recruit ranked 97, they would have laughed in your face.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:03 PM ^
Is he coming in at the 4?
August 8th, 2012 at 12:17 PM ^
Most likely 5 in the current Beilein offensive scheme. He's a pretty solid 6'9 and a decent athlete, so I wouldn't be worried about losing a lot defensively as long as he can be a consistent rebounder.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:54 PM ^
To compare him to Smotrycz, he looks like he's not as good a shooter (while still being skilled from the outside) but like he's more athletic and a tougher rebounder. He reminds me of former Wisconsin F Jon Leuer, who would have been perfect for Michigan.
Donnal is the next Maurice Taylor and McGary is the next Robert Traylor.
I don't like to see anyone compared to Mo Taylor. That guy did not get the most out of his ability.
He had a nice long NBA career for a guy who didn't get the most out of his ability.
I don't think Mo Taylor was a great talent anyway. very good but not great and then I thought the coaches played him out of position at M. Taylor could leap well but his lateral movement was poor and he was not a fluid athlete, but he had a beautiful shot. Also, the coaches tried to post him on the low blocks to often, when I thought Taylor's best spot was in the high post or out 10-15 feet out on the wing, facing up, taking advantage of his sweet stroke from mid-range. This would have also allowed the Tractor to get the majority of the touches on the low block, making that M hoops squad a better team.
I don't really care what he did in the NBA. At Michigan, the guy flat-out loafed on a regular basis. He was 6'9", 250, and a three-year starter, and he could average only six boards a game in his career? (To say nothing of the Ed Martin situation...)
August 8th, 2012 at 12:26 PM ^
Those #21 and #32 spots, if they're accurate, are about as good as it gets in college basketball. Too much higher (closer to #1) and you're talking very likely one-and-done territory. The sweet spot is where you find those really good players who are likely to stick around for a few years.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:28 PM ^
Also known as "the Izzo." He's had an uncanny knack for those guys over his career.
August 8th, 2012 at 12:57 PM ^
It's weird that Irvin is #21 here and #62 in Scout's ranking. That's a pretty broad split there. ESPN is saying that he's a potential McDonald's All American and Scout doesn't have him in the top half of the 100.
Interesting to see Demetrius Jackson up there at #18. IIRC, at one point it was anyone's guess as to whether he, Walton, or Monte Morris would be the first PG to pull the trigger for Michigan. Definitely happy that Walton got there first, but still pretty great to know that we had three top 100 point guards (two of them top 40) vying for that spot.
Potential future lineup: (assuming Burke leaves and GRIII, Tim, and McGary stay)
PG: Walton
SG: Tim
SF: GRIII
PF: Donnal (would he start immidiatly?)
C: McGary
Or a lineup like they did last year with a bunch of guards and not so many post players could look like:
PG: Walton
SG: Tim
SF: Irvin
PF: GRIII
C: McGary
Could see as many as 4 declaring early for the draft.
Five star cruit who hasn't gotten ANY love from the instate schools. Don't know if its attiude or his desire not to stay instate...but no one has been on his radar.
A sidenote...I don't want Izzo anywhere near Parker.
August 8th, 2012 at 10:35 PM ^
I know this will change drastically by signing day, but we'll still be Top 10.
Think Izzo is getting nervous yet?
It's just too bad Beilein can't recruit Detroit.