MBB Hello: Austin Hatch(2013) and Mark Donnal(2013)
According to today's UMHoops twitter feed, 2013 SG Austin Hatch has committed to play his college basketball at the University of Michigan. UMHoops also provides a very brief bio of Hatch on their website. Rivals lists Hatch as a 3-star player, but as we have seen with previous Beilein recruits, that may not mean much. I'm sure UMHoops will have a full commitment post up later today, so check their site for an update.
EDIT
For now, this has only been reported by fellow Michigan recruit Monte Morris per Twitter. UMHoops trying to confirm. Sorry for jumping the gun.
DOUBLE EDIT
It has been confirmed by UMHoops that Austin Hatch is the first commitment for John Beilein's 2013 class.
TRIPLE EDIT
UMHoops also reporting, as suggested in the comments below by wlubd, that Michigan received a commitment from 2013 PF Mark Donnal. UMHoops provides their scouting report of him here.
Hatch is a 2 guard from indiana.
Isn't Hatch more of a wing? This Fort-Wayne News-Sentinel article from April, which provides a good profile of him, says he's grown to 6-foot-6, 214.
Yeah, wing/forward is how UMHoops referred to him in their introduction post.
i stand corrected. there was an older post on UMHoops that listed im at 6'4", but it seems like he's grown to 6'6". though it seems like scounts differ on whether he's a 2, 3 or a 2/3 combo.
Also sounds like PF Mark Donnal committed. Looking for non-paywalled confirmation.
Haven't seen any mention of it on the twitter feed, but Dylan at UMHoops did say earlier today that he would likely jump on an offer if he saw one.
Where did you hear about Mark Donnal? I dont think it's on the UMHoops page either, thanks.
From 3rd party I've never heard of before...
Mark Donnal Anthony Wayne OH committed to Michigan, Per Source.
Another source. Dakich adds some name credibility to it.
Here's what I think about 2 simultaneous commitments
Brady Hoke approach to commitments?
We are trying to confirm Hatch's commitment, as tweeted by Monte Morris, stay tuned. by Dylan Burkhardt at 2:25 PM
EDIT: Beaten to the punch by MGoChippewa
SECOND EDIT: Michigan Hoops taking a page out of football's playbook for recruiting in pairs.
Do we know how many scholarships Michigan has for 2013 (assuming no attrition or further use of a 2012 scholarship)?
Edit: It looks like two for 2013 if there is no attrition and no further 2012 scholarships:
http://www.umhoops.com/2011/06/15/austin-hatch-to-michigan/#more-17867
Assuming no attrition, there are only 2 open spots for the Class of '13. Scholarship breakdown can be found here... http://www.umhoops.com/recruiting/scholarship-breakdown/
The class of 2013 is sure to be larger than just two in the end.
If the first two in that class are Hatch and Donnal, that would be an interesting turn of events, given how many top-flight point guards from that class have shown interest in Michigan--and that Beilein has been pursuing.
I agree, a third spot could be made by not asking Blake McLimans back for a 5th year, Also, Hardaway is an early-entry candidate with a couple good years. Also, transfers are a possibility.
It's really not cool to speculate which specific players are going to become "attrition." If someone is giving his all for the team, and really wants to be here, it would suck to either read or hear from someone that a poster on a blog is projecting that player to be told he is no longer welcome.
Just my .02.
Coming from the dude who consistently stated that Steven Threet should transfer to Adrian because he couldn't hack it at a D1 school.
I've never been very cool so you could've saved the lecture.
Im curious...what is the interesting turn of events? what do these 2 commitments mean for the rest of the class?
Perhaps turn of events is the wrong phrase, but Sam Webb has been raving about the point guards in the 2013 class for so long that I expected one of the first commitments from that class to be a point guard--especially because Michigan needs one in that class and because of the limited number of scholarships available.
Not sure they need a PG in that class, although it looks like Beilein's going hard after one. Burke is a legit PG and Brundidge appears to be a capable 2nd option.
From what I've heard, Beilein likes to sign a point guard every other class. So: 2009: Darius Morris; 2011: Burke; 2013: Monte Morris or someone else.
You can't count on the players being there for four years--or even three--and it's best to not have to start freshmen point guards.
I'll be shocked if there's no point guard in the 2013 class.
So will I, but I don't think it's a crisis if they don't get one. I think the push for a PG in this class is driven more by the depth at PG in Michigan's recruiting region in 2013.
I agree it wouldn't be a crisis, but it would clearly be a missed opportunity.
Who thought we need a point guard this year with Darius? You never know, and don't want to be caught with out one. But your point is spot on...if you have incredible depth of big time talent at the most important position in your backyard, and don't get any of them (when you could be possibly landing Mr. Basketball material) it's definitely a missed opportunity.
with 4 quality prospects who has interest in Michigan. Monte Morris, Demetrius Jackson, Derrick Walton and Jalen James. JB could have his picking of one of the four PG above that he'll probably take the first one who commits though Monte Morris is most likely the #1 target based on his camp performance.
It seems like THJ will go to a similar route as Morris. Stay for 3 years then bolt for NBA. As long as THJ get better and he should, there's no reason for me to think that he'll stay for soph/jr year. That will free up a scholarship for '12 wing or '13 PG. There is a possibility that Blake McLimans won't get his 5th year renewed that could also free up scholarship for '13 PG.
They have a nice live feed of June 15 recruiting coverage at UMHoops. Kind of a football NSD vibe going on right now, only we're talking about 2013 hoops recruits! Monte Morris seems excited about Hatch...future teammates, perhaps? I'll take another rangy guard with a last name of "Morris". (And, no, I'm not talking abot K'len Morris).
I love his last name. I expect big things from him.
I've never followed Basketball recruiting, but if we have two open spots, and Donnal and Hatch just commited, are we already done with 2013 recruiting..? What about Morris?
No way McLimans gets a 5th year. They will take at least one more.
And I would be amazed if THJ is here after next year. He's got NBA written all over him. If he is, I'm not worried about available scholarships and just thrilled he stuck around for three years. We'll have at least four schollies for 2013
There's definitely going to be a PG in the class, Dylan from UMhoops said that he expects Beilein to take 3 or 4 guys in the 2013 class.
Donnal has been confirmed on UMhoops also
...that includes a phone interview.
Beilein took a page out of Hokes book 2 is better then 1.
yeah someone has to lose their 5th year...(i'm looking at you McLimans), Morgan will be here.
No specific reason to believe this, but maybe we'll see Monte Morris jump on his offer today too.
Are you basing that on this UMHoops tweet?
Monte Morris is headed to work out but plans to chat with the Michigan coaches at 6:30 tonight.
Perhaps an unprecedented triple-commitment day? Michigan has also offered Zak Irvin, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard/wing from Indiana.
No, didn't see that tweet until after I commented. I suppose a triple commitment isn't out of the realm of possibility. Irvin joining the class today would shock me though.
I meant Monte Morris being the third one (given his planned talk with Beilein), not Irvin.
Yeah, I got what you meant. I was just saying that a quadruple commitment isn't happening. I am starting to think that by the time I'm done with my beer league softball game tonight, Monte Morris will be a part of the class. Got a good feeling, even if it is just a feeling.
This pair of commits basically feels like replacements for Vogrich and Smotrycz.
Good pickups, but we've gotta keep gunning for the big stars.
I think Beilein does just fine making his own evaluations of players, rather than fixating on the "big stars" as most rankings-obsessed fans do. Full rankings for the class of 2013 aren't even out yet, so have all the "big stars" even been identified?
- Vogrich is a 6-4 SG shooter
- Smotz is a 6-9 faceup PF, not strong enough to beat out a 6-4 SG for the starting PF spot
The new guys, HS Sophomores that are likely still growing:
- Hatch is a 6-6 SG/SF shooter active on the boards
- Donnal is a 6-9 PF who can faceup but actually plays on the block
So yeah, if by "replacement" you mean upgrade... then I agree completely.
You're making the mistake of trying to compare present-day Vog/Smot with future Hatch/Donnal. I find it hard to believe that as incoming freshmen, those guys will be able contribute more than what a senior Vogrich and a junior Smotrycz would have put in the previous year.
There's a lot to be decided in the next two years, but if you look at it as an issue of bodies and roles, that's kinda how it shakes out. We're getting a lights-out shooter who has to develop the rest of his game, and a tall, under-weight power forward who can shoot the ball. Don't assume that Donnal's game will translate directly over to the Big Ten. He'll need to put on a LOT of beef in order bang with the big boys. And while I'm confident he'll get there, I don't think he'll arrive in Ann Arbor in that kind of shape. It'll take a year or two (like we're seeing with Smot/McLimans/Morgan) to get him to that level physically.
And the fact that Novak is getting time at the 4 shouldn't be an indictment on Smotrycz, but rather epic kudos for Novak.
Also, regarding my comment about big stars - we need a few players like that on the roster who can create for themselves. I'm not saying Coach B should just go and run after 5-stars exclusively, but we need one or two of those highly talented, highly athletic guys in each class, because you need those kinds of players when tournament time comes around. It just so happens that those guys often tend to be ranked highly by recruiting services.
is only going to be a JR next school year so he has time to get bigger and stronger. I would expect him to bulk up to 210-220 by SR year. Once he graduate, I would think that he'll be about 230-240 when all is said and done. That's a realistic bulk unless he continues to grow an inch or two.
On your point about comparing a present day collegian to a current high schooler's projection as a collegian, I'm pretty sure I describe the high school guy's current games. While I do expect both to be bigger by the time they get to campus, that was not central to my point. Making the mistake of projecting though...
Honestly, Smotz is a better shooter than Donnal could ever hope to be. My 'expectation' is that Donnal is much more likely to be 15 foot and in player that will probably struggle to handle larger players down low and athletic players on the drive. I believe his strengths will be as a lane clogging rebounder and high post passer.
As for Vogrich/Hatch, I guess I struggle to see the replacement factor there, as Hatch is already taller and heavier than Vogrich. He is much more likely to be a SF that can shoot the rock and rebound the ball, than a 'gritty' SG who after 2 years is still just a shooter.
In all though, I understand and don't disagree with much of your point. Just playing a little Devil's advocate.
While I would love to get a more athletic version of either recruit, I'd venture a guess that Michigan isn't considered by many of the top athletes because they are not a run and gun/isolation team (a la Kentucky/Memphis/UNC) and are more of a system team (a la Duke). You never see the best athlete go to Duke, you see the most skilled guy go there. As UM Hoops continue to improve, I believe we will begin to compete for the Duke caliber guy, just not the Memphis caliber guy. I could see an Austin Rivers type player at UM, not a Brandon Knight/Derrick Rose type player. Just my perspective.
Geeze, slow down Beilein. Only 12 hours after the official start of recruiting period and you have filled up your roster?!