Cole Bajema Commits To Michigan Comment Count

Brian

In news that could have been slightly more spread out, basketball has grabbed a commitment from WA SG Cole Bajema. Like Quintel Kent, who just committed to football, Bajema can be fairly called a sleeper. Unlike Kent there's a lot of reasons to believe he won't be called one for much longer.

Michigan's interest was piqued after Bajema attended their elite camp because he's a guy who went from a 6'1" guard to a 6'7" guard in an improbably short period of time, and from there word spread and hounds started, uh, hounding:

Beilein told Brady he liked what he saw. Bajema, a 6-foot-7 guard, capitalized on the early interest and excelled at Michigan’s elite camp. The Wolverines kept track of him during the first two evaluation periods of July — and they were the only high-major on his trail.

Last week in Las Vegas, Washington, Washington State, Utah, Virginia, Minnesota, Xavier, Northwestern, Virginia and Oregon State joined U-M in the bleachers for Bajema’s games. And Washington, Xavier, Oregon State and Virginia offered.

That's two one seeds from the most recent tournament if you're counting. Rivals's Corey Evans:

Despite Bajema's size it seems like he's taking the combo guard slot in the class:

“If he’s a 6-7 wing with his weight, he’s maybe not quite a high-major player. But as a combo guard at 6-7 — with the way he shoots it, the way he handles it, the way he passes it — all of a sudden that became very interesting to (schools),” Brady said. “I think people are starting to see what he is as a basketball player — that he can be a combo guard, he can be a 6-7 creator. He’s not a wing; he’s a guy where you put the ball in his hands and he makes plays for people.”

That likely means that Joe Girard and Rocket Watts will be looking elsewhere. So too might everyone else. Bajema's commitment puts Michigan one over in 2019. Charles Matthews's probably-inevitable exit for the pros after four years of college should solve that problem, leaving Michigan with a decision about whether to push it one slot further. It seems likely someone will either end up with a long road to playing time or blow up and head to the draft but Beilein might want to wait until that's clearer before taking a third player in the class. They do have some feelers out to touted guys who plan on deciding late.

Full hello on Monday.

Comments

The Fugitive

August 4th, 2018 at 5:37 PM ^

Perhaps I'm mistaking this youngster for someone else, but I believe Sam Webb had a recruiting roundup about him earlier this week.  His family is from West Michigan and his pops is a huge Michigan fan.  Pretty exciting for the whole crew! Welcome and Go Blue!

robpollard

August 4th, 2018 at 10:13 PM ^

Yes, this commit won't waiver. UM is his dream school.

"After writing this the information started to trickle out about how much Bajema coveted that Michigan offer. Before moving to Washington he grew up in Michigan and was raised rooting for the Wolverines. He also sent footage directly to John Beilein to get on their radar in the first place. Given all of that it quickly became evident that Michigan would be the the team to be beat if they offered. The term dream school gets overused but it seems evident that Michigan most certainly is that for Bajema."

 

https://www.uwdawgpound.com/2018/7/30/17626436/basketball-recruiting-update-end-of-july-evaluation-period-uw-washington-huskies

DeepBlueC

August 5th, 2018 at 9:24 AM ^

Glad to see us land a potential 2 guard with some size.  We've been short on that since Caris left.  With a year to beef up, this guy will be a great fit in a Beilein offense.

A2toGVSU

August 5th, 2018 at 10:31 AM ^

The late growth spurt made me think of Caris LeVert before I even watched the highlights. Now I see this dude has the same quickness, the same weird herky-jerky handle, and the same release on his jumper as Caris. Cole is definitely a better shooter at this stage, though he probably wont ever be the rebounder that Caris was.