donovan clingan

With Hunter Dickinson likely gone in 2022 after a lengthy flirtation with professional options and Moussa Diabate having one-and-done potential, Michigan is absolutely taking a true center in the 2022 class. The Wolverines' options are running thin, as the staff will likely identify new targets starting with this week's live evaluation period. The full rundown at the center position below.

The New Plan A

After Donovan Clingan pledged to UConn and Jalen Duren eliminated Michigan, 4-star Tarris Reed has functionally shot to the top of the board at the center position. The St. Louis native made his way to Ann Arbor last week for an official visit and 247's Sam Webb has sources that believe Michigan did well enough on the OV to be a viable threat. Tarris himself said that player development will be key to his decision-making process in an interview last weekend. Nearly every prospect in the country drops the obligatory player development line, but if that truly is the criteria then Juwan Howard is a very attractive option given his own personal experience in tandem with the absolute beast that is Hunter Dickinson.

On my end I was told that Ohio State was the clear leader after a strong official to Columbus a few weeks back. Fast forward to now and Reed doesn't seem to be in any rush in terms of a timeline per the linked interview above, so this may give Juwan Howard and staff the requisite time to make up ground here, if they haven't already. For what it's worth, Oklahoma was making a strong push to get Tarris on campus for an OV, but they are now out of the picture per a source. Reading between the lines, this seems to be a case where Tarris knows his best fit is the B10, with Michigan battling Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue. 

Still Alive

Top-10 prospect Dereck Lively has Michigan in a final 7, but it feels as though the Wolverines are really in the back-end of that group. Lively completed his blueblood tour fresh off an official visit with Duke after completing an OV with Kentucky a few weeks ago.

As if the competition wasn't already stiff enough, Lively is now openly entertaining the professional route per this interview with Pro Insight:

"It's definitely something I'm open to, but it's just going to take a while for me to figure out if I'm going to take the college route or the G-League/Overtime route. I'm not sure what I'm going to do yet so I still have time."

When it comes to Michigan, the primary appeal is Juwan Howard per the aforementioned interview.

"When it comes to other schools like Michigan, I would be working with Juwan Howard himself and throughout my training."

Dereck using the term "other" when speaking of schools exclusive of Kentucky, Duke and UNC is telling in my opinion. And that has a correlation with my information that Kentucky is the team to beat here. This recruitment feels like Michigan is trying to hold-on to something that is likely slipping away, particularly with the pro-option now in play.

[Hit THE JUMP for Flip and the Wait-And-See Options]

With Hunter Dickinson already testing the draft waters and Moussa Diabate having one-and-done potential, Michigan is absolutely taking a true center in the 2022 class. The Wolverines are firmly in the mix for a few elite bigs and starting to explore other options with new offers and interest in recent days. The full rundown at the center position below.

The Latest on Lively

We're at the time of year where actions carry more weight then words when programs have limited time/resources with multiple events going on simultaneously. Juwan Howard made his first stop of last weekend's live evaluation period in New Jersey to see 5-star Dereck Lively. That said, Dereck Lively is a clear priority at the center position.

Lively dropped his final seven on Friday that consists of Michigan along with Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Penn State, USC and Florida State. Lively hasn't been subtle about Kentucky being a coveted offer and furthered that sentiment with these comments yesterday to Zag's Blog:

“It was a great experience to receive that offer. It was good to finally have that offer so I could release my top 7 and cut down my list.”

Per the same article, Dereck is visiting Duke tomorrow and plans to visit Michigan, USC and Florida State in the fall but I don't necessarily buy it. When a prospect is literally waiting on a single offer to release a final seven, that says a lot. Again, actions>words.

Further, I did my own digging this weekend and word has it that Kentucky feels very strong about their standing in the aftermath of Lively's official visit to Lexington. This one is fading fast, and unless Michigan is able to get Dereck on campus so Juwan Howard can work his magic, the Wolverines are on the outside looking in. 

Still In The Hunt

4-star Donovan Clingan was on campus in Columbus over the weekend for an official visit with Ohio State. He's also completed OVs with Michigan and Syracuse. Last Thursday Rivals had a reaction piece with with Poppa Clingan conerning his trip to Ann Arbor and Dad continued to play things close to the vest and may have come off a bit lukewarm:

"Donovan seemed to like it, but if you think he's tight-lipped with you (in the media), he's even more so with me. But it’s only one visit. He has to go to a few, take a look at everything. I feel bad for him, because the poor kid is going to have to tell some people 'no,' and he's built a lot of great relationships. He's such a nice kid."

And while Clingan has already taken an unofficial visit with UConn, he's going to see the hometown school in an official capacity this week. I checked in on things over the weekend, and UConn feels good about their standing here heading into the visit.

The Clingans have played things close throughout the process, so it's hard to get a proper feel for where things are at. Again though, the actions. UConn getting two visits, and the final visit prior to the live evaluation period has to mean something. This is probably a heart versus mind tug-of-war and it still appears to be a 50/50 battle between Michigan and UConn, with Syracuse probably running third. 

[Hit THE JUMP for Reed, Flip and Dom]

Last Friday marked the first time in nearly two years that college coaches were able to evaluate HS prospects in person due to the health crisis. The Wolverine staff dispersed to various locations throughout the country to view several offers/targets and undoubtedly identify new talent. As such, I made stops in the DMV-area and New Jersey to get updated evals and the latest intel.

Guards

2022 Dug McDaniel won the race to commit when he verbally committed to Michigan on his official visit last week. And with that, the pursuit of 2022 guards has effectively ended with Jett Howard a lock to be his backcourt mate in the class. 

I was excited to see McDaniel in action for an updated look against legit competition when Paul VI Catholic squared off against a loaded DeMatha Catholic team (although not quite as potent as usual) in the marquee game on Friday night. I'm generally big on evaluating prospects against high-end competition (oversimplified translation = legit size + length + athleticism), because those settings most closely replicate a college basketball environment. 

I'll go more in-depth in the upcoming Hello Post, but it was a mixed bag for the most part. Let's start with the good. Dug looked great as a playmaker for others that created easy looks in ballscreen action and with dribble penetration as seen below.

[Hit THE JUMP for more on Dug + updates by position]