Hoops Recruiting Has Intel From D.C.
I made the trip to the DMV area last weekend for the National High School Hoops Festival hosted by DeMatha Catholic. One of the most talent-laden High School events in the country, 2020 commit Isaiah Todd and 2020 priority offer Hunter Dickinson both took the court. These settings are great not only for evaluation purposes, but also getting the latest information from sources on the ground floor. The most recent intel on Todd, Dickinson and a familiar name below.
Transparent Todd
Isaiah certainly solidified his reputation as a prospect with an extremely high ceiling that goes through the motions at times. He scored exactly 1 point during the first half of his Saturday afternoon game and wasn’t dialed in the way he’s capable of. Some “over-rated” heckling from a front-row spectator early in the second half saw Todd unleash this level of play:
Needless to say, when Isaiah is locked-in he is one of the very best prospects in the country that is capable of doing things on a basketball court that a 6’10 human being should not be able to do.
With respect to the college/overseas quandary, I spoke with multiple sources close to the situation and things are fluid. It appears that Todd himself may be leaning toward heading to Ann Arbor, while Mom may be more inclined to take the overseas route.
You have to respect the kid for being candid about the situation. In an interview with Rivals, Isiah expressly acknowledges the overseas option is still a consideration.
“I don’t know, my mom would probably have to be the one to persuade me. I really do want to go to college but also really want to make the best decision. Like I said, right now, I am just focused on the high school season.”
With Todd’s on-record quotes essentially mirroring everything I’ve been able to gather, this certainly has the feel of something that drags out for a bit before a final decision in March/April.
While I’m not confident enough to make a projection either way, I genuinely believe Todd likes the Michigan option with Juwan Howard leading the charge. His behavior in D.C. seems to lend credence to my thoughts.
Amidst all the overseas rumors, Isaiah Todd appears just fine with calling Ann Arbor home next year.
— Endless Motor Sports (@endless_motor) December 8, 2019
The first person he seeks after the post-game talk? Juwan Howard pic.twitter.com/UrcYZaOROg
[Hit THE JUMP as we go back to the future.]
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Still Hunting for Hunter
Top-40 center Hunter Dickinson is still very much a priority for the Wolverine staff. Originally expected to commit in November but hold off on putting pen to paper, the DeMatha Catholic senior now appears ready to pull the trigger in the near future via his quotes to Corey Evans.
“The reason why I didn’t sign early is because, if I did sign, it would have been a rush. I think giving it another few weeks was really beneficial for me and now I feel like I am pretty close to a decision,” Dickinson said before plotting a timetable for his commitment. “I am hoping within the month.”
One can’t help but to see Dickinson’s response concerning Michigan in that piece as favorable. My sources tell me this is still a Michigan/Florida State battle and the Wolverines are on solid ground. The Crystal Ball and Future Forecast still heavily favor Michigan for what its worth.
I did find one item a bit perplexing while attending the Hoops Festival. Michigan head coach Juwan Howard and assistant Phil Martelli departed DeMatha Catholic immediately after Isaiah Todd’s final game Sunday evening, bypassing the opportunity to get a live glimpse of Hunter and DeMatha Catholic.
While that decision may lead to some concern on our standing with Dickinson, further explanation below likely clears things up.
Things Heating Up for Terrance Williams
Four-star combo-forward Terrance Williams tells me that he’ll visit Michigan soon.
“I’m in the process of setting up a visit to Michigan and UCLA, but I don’t have confirmed dates yet.”
Williams decommitted from Georgetown last week amidst many bad things with multiple players being ousted by Patrick Ewing.
Michigan made the initial final 3 for Terrance along with Georgetown and Notre Dame, and I’m told Juwan Howard and crew are definitely strong here.
Perhaps more intriguing is that I’m also told Williams is very close with Hunter Dickinson. Both prospects play for Nike-sponsored Team Takeover on the EYBL circuit during the Summer.
I mentioned above that Howard and Martelli ditching DeMatha prior to Dickinson’s game felt a bit odd at the time. Fast forward a day and it seems like a good development.
Rivals’ Corey Evans speculates that Howard went in-home with Terrance on Sunday evening, the precise time of Dickinson’s game. Evans also put in a Future Forecast prediction for Michigan yesterday.
The timing of these events in tandem seem too much for simple coincidence. Williams decommits, Michigan goes in-home with a visit in the works and his AAU teammate and close friend Hunter Dickinson is now suddenly ready to make a decision.
If Hunter does make the call for the good guys, that bodes well for Michigan’s chances with Williams. Hopefully things wrap up quickly.
Here and There
Michigan looks to be in the functional top group for 2021 wing Quincy Allen. Allen tells Rivals that he’s been in contact with Juwan Howard and the Wolverines are in strong consideration to get his first official visit.
Juwan Howard extended an offer to top-50 guard/wing Trevor Keels. The 2021 Paul XI junior put on a scoring clinic at DeMatha.
With Phil Martelli having strong connections to the East Coast/Mid-Atlantic region, you can expect Michigan to have a strong presence in the DMV area moving forward.
2022 wing Eric Dailey received an offer on Saturday after a strong performance for IMG Academy in front of Juwan Howard.
December 11th, 2019 at 9:20 AM ^
I'm holding out hope Todd signs with Michigan, but I get the feeling he is dragging this out while overseas teams continue to offer more and more money.
December 11th, 2019 at 11:55 AM ^
Would be nice if we could offer him NIL rights at least
December 11th, 2019 at 1:31 PM ^
If Michigan passes the proposed bill it takes affect in June of July 2020 I believe. Would potentially be leg up.
December 11th, 2019 at 12:01 PM ^
I feel the same sense of dread. Isaiah Todd just looks so amazing as a player. It's hard to not to get excited thinking about him playing for Juwan. He could be the piece that takes us from an Elite 8 to a national championship.
Just give us one year Isaiah! :)
December 11th, 2019 at 9:21 AM ^
Is this the 1st time the mom doesn't want the kid to go to college, while the kid wants to go to college? I've only heard of the opposite.
December 11th, 2019 at 9:25 AM ^
I think the mom knows that he will be drafted next year no matter what. So her thought process is probably to get her son paid as soon as he can.
The thing is, he could get paid going to college too. He just chose the wrong college for that.
December 11th, 2019 at 11:04 AM ^
Did he? I mean, it was down to Kansas and Michigan. He's looking to potentially go overseas as well. This ain't John Beilein anymore, would not shock me in the least if Juwan wanted to jump in the mud and fuck around a bit.
December 11th, 2019 at 11:35 AM ^
You do realize Juwan’s legacy at Michigan was somewhat tarnished by his association with Webber. The Fab 5’s banners are not hanging. He is the last person I would suspect of wanting to jump in the mud. His selling points are Michigan and his ~2 decades of NBA experience. Leave that illegal stuff to the 5’ 11” wannabes who were never good enough to make it as a player and see cheating as their shortcut to success and admiration. Juwan has been a success at every level so far through hard work, talent, charisma and a desire to improve.
December 11th, 2019 at 11:45 AM ^
Or he see's that he, Rose and Webber were all on the same team and all made over a hundred million dollars in the NBA and that it doesnt actually matter at all. Why do we automatically think that Michigan would never break a rule ever? We were lucky to have Beilein, but literally almost every other coach cheats in college basketball, why do we think Howard is different?
December 11th, 2019 at 10:01 AM ^
That was my 1st thought. One year of college life would seem to be something a Mom would want for her kid vs heading overseas. The payday is coming soon enough.
Holy shit is he good.
December 11th, 2019 at 10:25 AM ^
I had a similar thought, but I guess not all parents are the same.
December 11th, 2019 at 9:27 AM ^
Even hoops recruiting is picking the fanbase off the floor from football recruiting. What times we live in.
December 11th, 2019 at 9:30 AM ^
An extremely talented kid who needs heckling to get his motor started is a recipe for frustration.
December 11th, 2019 at 9:36 AM ^
Maybe for a coach like Beilein. Howard seems to have a different approach.
December 11th, 2019 at 10:07 AM ^
Don, this can be 100% true or, with the right coach, the proverbial "light" can turn on and the player can realize that he needs to give 110% all the time and develop into a monster. No way to predict which way it goes with any given kid.
If he comes to M, hoping for the latter. I do feel that Howard seems to have a unique ability to connect with kids, so his chances seem better than most of maximizing each kids' motivation / effort.
December 11th, 2019 at 10:08 AM ^
Juwan was the heckler.
/s
December 11th, 2019 at 10:30 AM ^
That would be hilarious!
December 11th, 2019 at 10:16 AM ^
I imagine it can get pretty boring playing against inferior competition constantly. Maybe once he hits the next level he'll figure out he needs to play hard all the time.
On the other hand, I found high school classes boringly easy (actually all the through my freshman and sophomore years of college too) so by the time I hit hard classes in college, I hadn't developed any work ethic or sense of responsibility and couldn't keep up. I'm still working on developing those things 3 years later.
It's difficult to know how someone's going to respond to the next level until they hit it.
December 11th, 2019 at 11:41 AM ^
Your username reminds me of a cheer my calculus teacher told my class 35 years ago. It went something like this:
E to the X, dx, dy
Tangent, secant, cosine, pi
Three point one four, one five nine
December 11th, 2019 at 1:36 PM ^
This is a similar one:
E to the U, dU, dX
E to the X, dX
Secant, cosine, tangent, sine
3 point one four, one five nine
Go..... whomever.
December 11th, 2019 at 10:18 AM ^
I agree it's a concern. I don't think it spells doom; as others have pointed out, it can change or a coach can manage it and motivate him. But if you gave me two players and said they are exactly the same except one is uber-competitive and always gives effort and self-motivates and one is sometimes going to go through the motions unless you can figure out how to crack the code to motivate him...okay, well, I think we all know who we would take first.
I hope whatever decision Todd makes, it will be what is best for him.
December 11th, 2019 at 9:35 AM ^
I am always leary of parents who want their kid to go make money right away and forgo any type of education..but I guess money rules the world so....hopefully hes not getting bad advice..
December 11th, 2019 at 9:42 AM ^
Is one semester of college really any education of value? He probably wants to go to college because it will be more fun to be with other 18-22 year olds on a college campus than being with a bunch of 30 year old teammates in Slovenia or some shit, not because of the education he will get from one semester.
December 11th, 2019 at 10:04 AM ^
In one semester of college, he'll learn more about basketball with Juwan Howard that he will in an entire year of playing with 30 yr old Slovenian wannabe's... And he'll be front and center in the NBA's spotlight. The only benefit he'd get from Europe is a paycheck, and perhaps the ability to teach himself some new tricks without college time limits.
December 11th, 2019 at 11:10 AM ^
Sorry but that is just wrong. Not knocking what he can / cannot learn with Howard at UM - but the other option, where basketball becomes literally his job and the only thing he needs to worry about offers more upside from a purely basketball standpoint. In addition, his HC may not be able to match Howard's playing experience (a statement true for 99.99% of coaches) - they may be darn qualified coaches and bring significantly more experience from that perspective. Lastly, I think you are discounting the benefit of all of your teammates being other professional basketball players (including some with NBA and big time college basketball experience). While I hope he decides to come to UM - if his family is viewing this as simply a 1 year to play college ball vs. 1 year of professional basketball - I think it's a much trickier decision to make.
December 11th, 2019 at 11:05 AM ^
One semester? Do you know how the college basketball season works? It starts late in the first semester and goes basically to the end of the second semester. So that's basically a full year with Juwan...
December 11th, 2019 at 12:30 PM ^
You declare for the NBA before the second semester ends. If you know you are going to declare second semester means nothing. Its not about length of time with Juwan, it was a comment on the academics being a draw over playing internationally. The academics of one year at Michigan mean nothing in this decision.
Also he might get a year with Howard but its for a maximum of like 20 hours per week so he would get significantly more coaching and basketball in if he played internationally. I think college basketball is more fun and a great run is more likely to get you a top 5-10 pick and larger initial endorsement if you blow up. But from a basketball standpoint you will probably get better during the year overseas plus you also get paid in that year.
December 11th, 2019 at 12:46 PM ^
OK, I'll bite ak - Yes, a year (or semester if you like) at Michigan is of value! High value!
In fact, far more in the end than whatever he pulls down hanging out with "30 year old Slovenians" who probably smoke in the locker room, and juggle their wives, kids & side pieces.
The contacts & camaraderie he'd gain playing even 1 season at Michigan would outweigh that many fold!
And unless there's a dire financial need for $ NOW in his family, it's kinda sad his mother can't see that!
December 11th, 2019 at 12:46 PM ^
edit: this point was so strong the blog decided to put it on repeat! jus sayin...
OK, I'll bite ak - Yes, a year (or semester if you like) at Michigan is of value! High value!
In fact, far more in the end than whatever he pulls down hanging out with "30 year old Slovenians" who probably smoke in the locker room, and juggle their wives, kids & side pieces.
The contacts & camaraderie he'd gain playing even 1 season at Michigan would outweigh that many fold!
And unless there's a dire financial need for $ NOW in his family, it's kinda sad his mother can't see that!
December 11th, 2019 at 9:38 AM ^
Matt, do we have any actual chance with Josh Christopher? His film...omg... Also he seems to come from a very well off family. He is sporting off white and supreme stuff all the time, so I'm guessing the bagmen aren't as big of an influence
December 11th, 2019 at 9:45 AM ^
Looks like the Bigs are going to be good.
I don't follow as closely as others, what does the point guard position look like for the future?
December 11th, 2019 at 10:07 AM ^
They have Zeb Jackson coming in next year and with Dejulius and Brooks back, that looks like a good backcourt for the future.
As for 2021, I believe they are going after 5-star #1 PG for 2021 Khristian Lander. If they can land him, then their guard situation would be:
2020: Dejulius, Brooks, Jackson
2021: Dejulius, Jackson, Lander
2022: Jackson, Lander
December 11th, 2019 at 12:03 PM ^
Great information. Seems like the starters are really good, just worried that it seems the bench needs more.
December 11th, 2019 at 10:10 AM ^
2019 - Simpson/Brooks/DDJ
2020 - Brooks/DDJ/Todd
2021 - DDJ/Zeb Jackson?/2021 Prospect?
2022 - ????
December 11th, 2019 at 10:21 AM ^
They're going after Lander in the class of 2021. Todd is 6'10, not a PG. I know he can move and play like a guard, but he is not one.
December 11th, 2019 at 10:31 AM ^
Does not listen to MgoPodcasts ↑
December 11th, 2019 at 10:18 AM ^
Would you rather spend time with and get coached by Juwann Howard or Tom Izzo? I really like where this is going.
December 11th, 2019 at 10:23 AM ^
Good stuff. Love the way Todd looks the defender off at the 23-second mark--accomplished stuff.
December 11th, 2019 at 10:42 AM ^
Is Terrance Williams related to Grant Williams from Tennessee? They play a similar style game - which if we land him is a great thing in my opinion.
December 11th, 2019 at 11:07 AM ^
I don't think so but they do seem like very similar players
December 11th, 2019 at 10:44 AM ^
Sounds like Todd's mother wants that cash.
I'm planning on him not being in the class until he is actually in a UM uniform.
December 11th, 2019 at 10:52 AM ^
In case anyone is wondering, DMV = District/Maryland/Virginia in this context. Although maybe everyone is visiting the DMV to get a Real ID.
December 11th, 2019 at 11:10 AM ^
And EM = Eastern Motors
December 11th, 2019 at 1:23 PM ^
your job's your credit
December 11th, 2019 at 12:56 PM ^
Done! I got Real
December 11th, 2019 at 11:01 AM ^
I always thought that Todd's mother was one of the bigger advocates of Todd going to college. The fact that she is actually advocating overseas is concerning. I am, however, excited about the Williams and Dickinson development
December 11th, 2019 at 11:15 AM ^
Hope Todd ends up at Michigan, but even without him, a class of Jackson, Dickinson, Williams and Howard would be outstanding. Probably room to add one or two more.
December 11th, 2019 at 12:27 PM ^
i have never seen anything close to a guy with that size and that handle at michigan. hope he comes for at least one year.
December 11th, 2019 at 1:43 PM ^
My 2 cents -
I often see people talk about the advantages of playing overseas because you can "concentrate full-time on basketball", but I think that is overblown. For one, you can only play basketball so many hours per day before it physically wears your body down more than it is helping. While he probably will have more than 20 hours per week to dedicate to basketball, I don't think it would be more than say 30 hours weekly, at least not regularly over the course of a year.
Secondly, as someone who works in international education (at UM actually), we often downplay the socio-emotional fatigue that people, or in this case a teenager, faces in moving to a completely different culture, and having to navigate that while simultaneously missing out on the things their other peers are doing back home. That unfamiliarity in and of itself has massive costs in fatigue as well as stress, and in my estimation would largely offset any extra skill development he might get from spending 1 hour more per day on basketball (with likely lesser facilities and technology than UMich - not being ethnocentrist here that's just the truth)
So yes in my estimation ... for Todd, going overseas' only benefit is going to be that check .. The skill development piece is overblown, the transition costs are under-emphasized, and the exposure likely will be lesser as well ...
December 11th, 2019 at 2:12 PM ^
If your child was one of the world’s best video gamers, and he or she could either got to MIT for free for a year, developing advanced gaming technique but making no $, OR create a YouTube channel that drew millions of views and $200k per year for a year, and then could become a lead director for Epic Games or EA Sports, which would you want for your child?
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