Why is Ibi Watson still ranked so low?

Submitted by CaliUMfan on

I was looking to see if there has been any movement in the rankings of next years basketabll recruits and I stumbled upon this article about Ibi Watson. I searched but did not see it on the site anywhere but SIAP anyway. 

http://247sports.com/Article/Ibi-Watson-Michigan-Wolverines-43224599

 

I have watched a lot of Watson's highlights and I cannot understand why he has not been climbing in the rankings (ranked 216 in 247 composite). I am a high school basketball coach so I am not a completely untrained eye but I definitely could be missing something. Does anyone have any insights as to why none of the recruiting sites have bumped him up at all?

CorkyCole

February 8th, 2016 at 12:00 PM ^

Not 100% sure, but I am guessing that the focus has been on football recruiting. Now that the hoops season is closing out and the 2016 football class is signed, I have a feeling we will be hearing about more ranking shifts. This is just my theory though.

TheHarbaughEffect

February 8th, 2016 at 12:01 PM ^

I'm going to check him out on Friday. His pickerington central team plays Nick Ward's (msu commit) Gahanna team. Should be a good one. Ibi is averaging upwards of 25 points a game in hearing. Should be a good one

Matt EM

February 8th, 2016 at 12:09 PM ^

Generally speaking, wings with below average handles and average shooting (such as Watson) are not 4star/top 100 players absent elite athleticism.....which Watson does not currently possess, although he is an above average/good athlete.

Watson certainly has some potential in a few years, but he is a developmental project to the extent that he does not possess a tight enough handle to face pressure defense in a half court set, and while his shot is improved, he's an average shooter. He is not a creator at this stage in his development, and is at his best in transition/open floor where he can use his verticality to finish.

Watson may very well end up being an impact player as an upperclassmen, but I don't have any beef with him not being a top 100 player, as his skillset isn't really refined enough to warrant it, and his motor does not compensate either. He's a good looking prospect, but will need some development.

Raoul

February 8th, 2016 at 12:28 PM ^

In December, UMHoops posted a Q&A with Zach Fleer, who provided a much more positive assessment of Watson than yours. Some of your points are perhaps outdated, for example:

There were times early on in Watson’s career that his motor was questioned by scouts, how has he improved in that department?

Tremendously. I haven’t seen any issues with Ibi’s motor dating back to the summer. He’s been a different player in that regard this year.

Matt EM

February 8th, 2016 at 12:34 PM ^

The context of the full interview more or less indicated that motor translated to going to the rack more, as opposed to motor in the context of playing defense and rebounding..........which are the two attributes most commonly associated with the term motor. From what I've seen, Ibi has been more agressive going to the rack, but his handle is not tight enough to translate at the college level, and he doesn't rebound the ball particularly well. That being said, he does have some potential and upside because of above average athleticism, but he certainly needs development.

 

 

Raoul

February 8th, 2016 at 12:43 PM ^

You're welcome to your reading of the interview, but I don't see that context regarding motor at all. What I took away from the interview (and from comments elsewhere) is that Watson has already improved significantly since his commitment, and at least so far the rankings don't seem to reflect that improvement.

Matt EM

February 8th, 2016 at 12:50 PM ^

I guess it just depends on what your standard is for improving.........I guess I'm examining skills/traits that will impact his production in college at UM. Its very obvious that he will be a wing/3 at UM.............and unless you have good/great ballhandling and/or passing skills, the SF spot is pretty much stand in a corner and wait if we're being brutally honest. So the question begs, is he a good enough shooter to truly make a difference without development? Is his defensive presence/rebounding good enough to make a difference without significant improvement? So while I openly acknowledge Watson has improved as a shooter, and has been more agressive going to the rack, I would say no, he has not improved significantly in areas where he will be utilzed in college, and hence the lack of ranking upgrade.

goblue16

February 8th, 2016 at 12:29 PM ^

next year should be a much deeper team with more experience.Levert has missed the entire big ten season and we are 6-4 wihout him which isnt too bad. i think a fair judgement for Beilein is the next 2 seasons. in 2 years depending on where the program is i think its fair to say whether beilein should stay or go

osufancomesinpeace

February 8th, 2016 at 12:39 PM ^

I've watched him play a couple times this year against some excellent competition. Dude is good. He's got a smooth game. 

He squares off against Nick Ward (MSU commit and top player in Ohio) this Friday. I might go.

ak47

February 8th, 2016 at 1:12 PM ^

Scouts think the guys ranked above him will be better in college?  I mean most d1 players are going to look good in high school so its about projecting beyond that. His handles might be good enough to beat hs players off the dribble but not college.  Same goes for athletecism.  Couple that with the fact that he isn't a great shooter and you get the ranking.

Buckeye lake m…

February 8th, 2016 at 4:24 PM ^

*First post...sorry so long.

Both of my sons have competed against the Pickerington athletes. Older son played against Butt and LeVert, younger son has competed against Ibi. I am also a coach so here is my take:

Jake Butt would help the Men's Basketball team in the post RIGHT NOW! He was a tenacious competitor with a bevy of post moves to get his shot off. (What the heck is a "bevy", anyway?) He would be undersized to play in the Big Ten, but I seriously think he could help the team, given the way our post play has looked recently. Ok, so this isn't happening, as everyone knows, but we all know he would compete like crazy! 

Caris was very lean in H.S. and was not nearly as athletic or explosive as Ibi is now. I was surprised when Caris committed to UM. I didn't see him as that caliber of athlete. Of course, he has grown in stature and in skills since H.S. senior year. Ibi is a more impressive athlete right now (as a senior in H.S.) I would call him explosive as an athlete. However, in the games I have seen, he doesn't assert himself into the game on a consistent basis like Caris did. I agree that his handle is average for a college bound swing man. His perimeter shot is above average. In transition he is a beast. I am not surprised that UM recruited Ibi from a standpoint of potential development. He could be very good with superior coaching and the challenge of competing against better athletes on a regular basis. Of course, there is no way to know whether he will grow physically the way Caris did...that was kind of freakish.

One other matter, Caris lifted and carried his team to a state championship his senior year. Big school competition in Ohio is outstanding and especially in central Ohio. I started my career in Indianapolis and for years thought that HS hoops in Indy was elite. I also coached in the Detroit area for years and we all know that it is elite in terms of talent and competition. Columbus doesn't have the volume and depth of talent as Detroit, (smaller metro area) but I think it compares favorably to Indianapolis, and Indiana in general. So within that context, Ibi is a very good athlete and is potentially a very good basketball player on the next level at UM. I will be watching (probably in person) what Ibi does to lead his team in the state tournament this year.  I would guess he won't play for 2 years at UM, for what my opinion is worth. 

The MSU commit at Gahanna (Nick Ward) has not impressed me favorably. I saw Robert Traylor play in HS. There is no comparison. I saw Chris Webber play. No comparison, and a different kind of player. I saw (and coached) Alan Henderson in HS. Same comparison as Webber. I would call him rough and unpolished. He is not fundamentally sound. He does appear to have a significant upside with some superior coaching (is Izzo known for that?)  In fact, Javon Bess was more impressive as a HS athlete (to me, anyway)

Again, sorry so long. Maybe the information will be helpful to some. 

 

Buckeye lake m…

February 9th, 2016 at 9:57 AM ^

He would definitely help us. He would be a bit of a project, but like I suggested earlier, he has a much better upside than anyone I see on the roster at the moment. He plays with some grit and has a feistiness about him...he got a technical in one of the games I attended. He got tired of being bumped around by smaller athletes who had no other choice than to "hack a Ward". lol. I didn't mean to be critical of him at all. I would definitely take him on my roster.