BBall recruiting-when do we get a big man?
So I haven't followed BBall at all until recently (yes, I'm a bandwagoner), but it's painfully obvious that we need an athletic big man to complete the team. Are there any on our radar in the near future? I'm not very familiar with BBall recruiting, much less UM's in particular...
January 19th, 2009 at 6:29 PM ^
umhoops.com
All you need to know is there.
January 19th, 2009 at 6:36 PM ^
then got lazy and asked here to see if someone had a quick answer.
I'll broaden the topic a bit - how do our recruiting classes look for the upcoming years? Are we pulling in higher level talent due to our (relative) recent success?
January 19th, 2009 at 6:49 PM ^
Yes. Lots better. Morris is a top PG and a lot of the other guys are "guys that are 4 yr startes at Butler"-Brian.
January 19th, 2009 at 6:52 PM ^
Found the recruiting board-looks like we need to land this Angus Bradt character. 6-10, 230, physical, and can move. Can haz?
January 19th, 2009 at 7:20 PM ^
To be fair, next year's class (Morris included) was done before the first game. So it's not really "due to our success". That said, we're getting:
6'10" Blake McLimans, who is supposed to be a "project" (he's only 210 pounds), but is supposed to have a nice shooting touch. He had offers to BC, Providence, and GT, so he is somewhat decently thought of.
6'8" Jordan Morgan, who is more of a banger power forward type. Probably the most lightly regarded of the group.
6'3" Darius Morris, who is the cream of the class, the #71 player in the nation (roughly on par w/ Manny). Highest ranked, but his offer list probably lags...
6'4" Matt Vogrich - who, while ranked lower than Morris has a better offer list: Notre Dame, Stanford, Wake Forest, Baylor, Colorado, Georgia Tech. Lots of guru types are absurdly high on Vogrich - he's supposed to be one of the best shooters in the entire class.
For 2011, you hear lots about Will Regan, a 6'8 3 star, and Trey Zeigler - a 4-star 6'6" small forward.
So next year, we'll have Gibson, plus 7'0" Ben Cronin, and possibly 6'11" McLimans, but it seems like he could redshirt.
January 19th, 2009 at 6:50 PM ^
Well, we are fairly small this year, mainly because our size consists exclusively of:
A. DeShawn Sims, who while pretty solid as an offensive post presence, thinks "defense" is the thing that surrounds your backyard.
B. Zack Gibson, who despite being 6'10" has the imposing presence of Gumby.
C. Eric Puls, who is a 6'10" *210-pound* redshirt freshman who has entered the game as a baffling 3-point specialist this season, shooting 100% from behind the arc. (Beware: small sample size)
The point here is that we have no big man in the middle to block shots and keep other teams from crashing the lane. Ekpe Udoh did that for us, but then he transferred to Baylor. I wasn't a huge fan, but in many games this season I've been wishing we had Udoh in at the 5. Guy could block shots.
Ben Cronin had the size, at 7'1" and 265, but he was a freshman, and a freshman with a hip-injury at that, and needs more coaching to play a little tougher down low anyway. So the redshirt was clearly a good idea.
Next year, hopefully Cronin will be healed and in better shape. He almost certainly won't be a monster, but he'll help. We do have two big men coming in as freshmen — Jordan Morgan and Blake McLimans. McLimans will probably be more like a 3-point-shooting Gibson than Cronin or Udoh, but Morgan could be another big body in the lane.
Really, let's hope Cronin works out. With Sims and Gibson graduating in 2010, it'll be a position of need. Between the new practice facility and the team's rising stock, I'm sure Beilein will manage to attract someone to play the post.
Sorry for the rambling everybody. Hopefully I saved Promote Richrod some time.
January 19th, 2009 at 6:55 PM ^
Sounds like Cronin should be our best option. Good to know we will have some size coming in. Just like we are supposed to have a functioning QB coming in...
January 19th, 2009 at 6:56 PM ^
Who is the guy from Germany that they got in last year's class but couldn't play because he signed too late.
January 19th, 2009 at 7:13 PM ^
Robin Benzing, but he's not gonna be here next year, or ever.
January 19th, 2009 at 7:21 PM ^
Played on a team with professionals, IIRC. He may not have been paid per se, but the NCAA said "nein."
January 20th, 2009 at 1:13 AM ^
A YMRMFSPA for next year's commits and Cronin:
Jordan Morgan=Graham Brown: Gives the team the banger and rebounder necessary to compete in the B10. First commit, so Beilen was on him early and really liked him. Will take Gibson's minutes, allow Sims to ocassionaly slide down to the 4.
Matt Vogrich=J.J. Reddick: Obviously won't be as good as J.J. but Vogrich was ranked the #1 shooter in his class by sportingnews. Unlike the hoosiers, he can put the ball on the floor. Is ranked around where LLP was coming out of high school. Will backup Manny instead of C.J. Lee.
Darius Morris=Derrick Rose: Big, strong, athletic PG who has a pretty good shot. 4*, highest ranked player Beilen has ever recruited himself (counting Manny and Sims as TA recruits). Take Merrit's minutes and probably split 20/20 with Grady at the PG spot.
Blake McMillans=Kyle Singler: PF who is more of a finesse player. Great shot for a big man. Playing at prep school this year. Still very raw. Probable redhsirt.
Ben Cronin=Aaron Gray: Very, very raw, but also very, very big. Will really benefit from a couple years in the S&C program. From the limited action I saw of him this year, he actually looks like he has a decent shot. His free-throw shooting looked great. Needs a couple years to develop, but I can see him being a legitimate NBA prospect in 3 years.
In conclusion, next year is the first time that I'll ever be able to say Michigan's backourt depth is sick, while their frontcourt depth will be improved. Add it all up, and next year's team is sweet 16 caliber assuming everyone stays.