MBB Recruiting: 2017 F Jamal Cain (Detroit)
Beilein dropped in to watch '17 forward Jamal Cain play yesterday. Cain is a 6'7" forward out of Cornerstone Health and Tech in Detroit. He wasn't on the radar of most recruiting services last year, but has shot up the Rivals rankings to #70 now. He's had a few monsters games this year, but Cornerstone (IIRC) is Class D so the competition isn't as tough.
This is a recruitment that has the potential to heat up quickly. Notable offers are from Xavier, Wash St, and Georgia. The Xavier offer is particularly notable since they've pulled a few underrated players out of Michigan in recent years who are thriving there (Jalen Reynolds and Edmond Sumner).
Seems like a good athlete, nice looking jumpshot for a tall wing. Don't see him attacking the basket much in highlights so it's tough to get a sense for his ball-handling ability. Two question marks there. Kid looks like he may have a few more inches to grow, too, and definitely will fill out a bit more.
According to one message board poster, there were a few snickers in the crowd about Beilein's presence at the game and his lack of thereof in the recent past.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:24 AM ^
Can't embed from this computer:
https://youtu.be/q9pLravgqJMFebruary 19th, 2016 at 11:25 AM ^
It's seemed like Jordan Poole committed and then nothing.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:34 AM ^
of Antonio Poole
/s
February 19th, 2016 at 12:01 PM ^
You might be.
He's thinking of UM's only 2017 Commit:
February 19th, 2016 at 6:11 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
February 19th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
One thing that's clear is we need to start getting better talent everywhere. We might not be getting the # 1 guy in the class with this staff but we need to start getting top 50 and top 100 guys.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:56 AM ^
In Beilein's defense (shocker to see those words next to each other), Walton and Irvin were both top 50 guys or thereabouts (Irvin near 5* status) and Donnal was right around 100. Add LeVert to that mix and on paper you've got a solid team. Just hasn't panned out as expected.
Plus, it's the 2014 class that killed us. The best player so far was a 2* that didn't even have any MAC offers.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:18 PM ^
I don't want to knock any particular guy, but the 2014 class has produced very little. And that's a particularly bad thing given how big it was. Missing out on Blackmon, Booker, Tate, Bates-Diop, and others were real killers that year.
February 19th, 2016 at 1:18 PM ^
Yeah. When you have 6 guys and maybe 2 of them are producing at even an average level for you, that's not a good sign.
I like Wagner with another year (he's obviously a talented shooter; just needs to get bigger and more comfortable with the offense), and Robinson has had some good moments and should be better with another year of conditioning and strength training.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:27 PM ^
The 2016 class looks barely better than this year's. Everybody always talks up the players no matter who we get but we'll see next year.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:32 PM ^
Simpson looks pretty promising. Watson seems to have improved a good bit. And Davis's major weight loss is a good development.
The class is also smaller, so a 50% success rate (for example) isn't as big of a deal as it would be for the 2014 class.
February 19th, 2016 at 1:20 PM ^
I also think that the 2016 class looks like kids that will stick around and Beilein can build up a bit, which is sort of what killed him with the other classes having guys that pretty quickly made the jump to the league. Again, when I hear announcers talk about Costello and Valentine as these elite players Izzo molded, I remember they are both from the same class as Mitch, Nik, and GR III.
February 19th, 2016 at 2:05 PM ^
And on a related note: how good were Costello and Valentine their freshman and sophomore years? Costello averaged 1.5 and 4.0 PPG those years, Valentine 5.0 and 8.0 PPG. So the jury is still out on Michigan's 2014 class.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:36 AM ^
Good player. I wish Michigan would recruit more top Michigan guys like in the past.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:37 AM ^
Although Beilein doesn't recruit many players out of the city of Detroit, lets not pretend he didn't chase Winston around for 2+ years either. I have seen him around watching the Detroit kids. He doesn't end up fully engaging a lot of the City of Detroit kids, but he has an unfair stigma attached to him that he is NEVER around the city.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
Yep, and to be honest, Detroit isn't a hotbed of talent anymore. Walton and Monte Morris were highly ranked guys. Jaylen Johnson and Jaylen Reynolds were both well regarded. But that was two years ago. I don't think there were any guys in the top 150 in Detroit last year. Sumner was just a 3* and has simply outperformed his ranking (still bummed we didn't go after him...kid was/is really good and it seemed the only real knock on him was that he was super skinny).
February 19th, 2016 at 12:49 PM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 11:40 AM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 12:21 PM ^
Well we have gotten guys from the city like Walton, Manny Harris, Jordan Morgan etc. before but no really big names. I'm not sure why we didn't go after Josh Jackson especially if he ends up at State.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:23 PM ^
My vague sense - and it's just that - is that Jackson may bring NCAA violations with him wherever he goes.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:29 PM ^
It just seems like if he's going to Michigan State that he's good enough for Michigan. Does Arizona cheat too?
February 19th, 2016 at 1:10 PM ^
Everyone cheats but Michigan.
Michigan just gets caught when it cheats.
lol.
/s
In all seriousness, I'm surprised we're not even in a top 5 position with Jackson. Sigh.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:40 AM ^
Kid has a wonky looking release.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:53 AM ^
Is it a down year for Michigan in the 2017 class? I only see two players listed in the 247 composite.
February 19th, 2016 at 11:57 AM ^
It's going to be another small class. Better hope for significant attrition from the 2014 class, which has been underwhelming so far to say the least.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:23 PM ^
I know it's bad to hope for people to transfer but we have a lot of small use players on our team and them transferring could open up a spot for Spike and new recruits who could turn this program around.
February 19th, 2016 at 12:02 PM ^
According to one message board poster, there were a few snickers in the crowd about Beilein's presence at the game and his lack of thereof in the recent past.as in someone here?
February 19th, 2016 at 12:10 PM ^
Theres a kid by the name of Demetrius Lake (Holland) that is really good! I've been keeping an eye on his box scores since the game I saw him play, in which he dropped 50 points in
February 19th, 2016 at 2:27 PM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 2:40 PM ^
5'10" from Holland sounds like a soccer recruit-- not a Division 1 basketball player. There's a 6'0" kid from Williamston (Ryan Lewis) who puts up even bigger numbers and he just committed (coincidentally) to Hope. And having watched him, that is the level he belongs at.
February 19th, 2016 at 4:28 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
February 19th, 2016 at 12:49 PM ^
Cornerstone is a Class C school, not D.
February 19th, 2016 at 1:18 PM ^
February 19th, 2016 at 1:43 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
February 19th, 2016 at 2:03 PM ^
Sounds like he is a physical defender and good rebounder. We don't want. That is not John Beilein's type. *ducks*
February 19th, 2016 at 4:43 PM ^
I really hope we get him. Our recruiting classes haven't been to good as of late.