With Hunter Dickinson likely gone in 2022 after a lengthy flirtation with professional options and Moussa Diabate having one-and-done potential, Michigan is absolutely taking a true center in the 2022 class. The Wolverine board has expanded quickly after the staff identified new prospects during the live evaluation period.

I hit the road over the weekend, making stops in Atlanta and Birmingham for the Under Armour and Adidas shoe-circuit events. I now have a firm grip on pecking order with the bigs after gathering the latest intel and will cover each option in order of staff preference (as opposed to most likely).

**Note - a very reliable source tells me that Michigan is dealing with four open scholarships for 2022 as of right now, and that includes a spot for Jett Howard. Functionally, the Wolverines have two open spots as of now.**

This Is Number One

5-star Dereck Lively (Pennsylvania/Team Final Nike EYBL) is the number one option on the board and it's hard to disagree with that. With NBA size/length and athleticism, he's an elite defender that is extremely disruptive to the opposition. Offensively his game is expanding rapidly, as he's now hitting triples routinely and is flashing a back-to-the-basket scoring package to compliment his explosive finishing at the rim.

Although Michigan is in a public final 7, it feels like the Wolverines are on the outside looking in after Dereck took an official visit with Duke after completing an OV with Kentucky a few weeks ago. In an interview with 247 from yesterday, Lively made no mention of Michigan while saying this about Kentucky:

"Everything there just blew my mind, even just being around the team and coaching staff, being around all that talent and coaching staff was amazing. I was able to play with them. It felt great. I fit in perfectly and I feel like that's a place I can see myself in. Coach Cal is coming tonight so I’m going to be able to show off infront of him."

It's hard to read those quotes and believe he doesn't up in Lexington if he plays college basketball. This one looks like a longshot and I'm told he hasn't locked in a visit to Ann Arbor and hasn't really had serious discussions with the staff regarding the same.

Second Option

5-star (for me) Kyle Filipowski (New York/NY Rens Nike EYBL) is perhaps the most offensively skilled big on the board. With a potent perimeter shot, the ability to put the ball on the floor and vision to create shots for teammates. Juwan Howard extended an offer three weeks ago after watching him during the live evaluation period and has been in hot pursuit since. Coach Howard has now taken the lead in this recruitment and a visit has at least been discussed per a 247 article from the weekend:

"Coach Howard loves my game style and the person I am. Academics is important to me as well and they have a really good academic program so I like everything they have to offer. I would potentially like to visit there in the future."

I'll reiterate that Filipowski plays travel-ball for the nephew of Duke leading man Mike Krzyzewski. Kyle was on campus at Duke for an official visit two weeks ago and picked up four crystal balls in favor of the Blue Devils in the immediate aftermath. I don't think you need me to tell you how this one is likely to end. But just to be thorough, I checked on where things stand once again this weekend, and it would be near shocking if Flip plays his college ball anywhere other than Durham.

[Hit THE JUMP for a new offer and more realistic options]

The Third Time Is The Charm

Top-100 big man Tarris Reed (Missouri/Mokan Elite Nike EYBL) has the quintessential B10 body at a legit 6'10 and tree trunks for legs. While I haven't seen him live, he appears to do a good job of controlling the paint as a finisher and rebounder. The film displays a prospect that flashes some ball-skills on the perimeter and the ability to hit jumpers.

Although he nearly committed to Ohio State during his June official visit to Columbus, Michigan is a major player here. Things went extremely well during Tarris' OV to Michigan two weeks ago and Reed's AAU coach didn't mince words with Sam Webb of 247 when speaking about it:

"It really moved Michigan up on his list. The strength and conditioning coach that they have there is off the chain. It’s to where his player development part that he has with the players, as far as strength and conditioning goes, is the best that he's seen. Obviously, he liked the coaching staff and the players. He felt like Michigan could end up being a place where he could be comfortable if he chooses to go to Michigan"

Juwan Howard was front and center for two of Reed's games on Saturday. With limited resources in terms of time and staff availability for the live evaluation periods, this is absolutely indicative of the serious mutual interest.

On my end, I received word from multiple sources over the weekend that the Wolverines may very well lead here. I would be close to putting in a low-confidence crystal ball at this point if I had the ability to do so. The primary competition is Ohio State, but momentum seems to be in Michigan's favor with the most recent visit to Ann Arbor. Purdue is still involved and pursuing diligently, with Michigan State still in it as well. I get the vibe the Spartans may be fading here, as Tarris couldn't even recall taking a visit to East Lansing when asked about recruiting during this interview (2:45 mark) on Friday.

New Offer

Fast-rising 4-star Ernest Udeh (Florida/Southeast Elite Adidas) received an offer on Saturday. His recruitment has surged in recent months with Baylor, Kansas, Stanford, Indiana, Florida, Alabama, Miami, and Illinois all offering over the last month.

I've been high on Udeh since seeing him last year at the Showtime Roundup in Orlando and again in April at the OTR Sweet 16 (film above). He's not a legit 7-footer, but he is an imposing physical presence with a great motor that finishes with authority on lobs/dumpoffs and protects the rim at a high level. He's also a great student in the classroom and would be a great fit in Ann Arbor off the court.

I'm reasonably close to the Udeh situation and right now Stanford and Tennessee are the schools tentatively slated to get visits. The offer from Coach Howard is too fresh to properly assess where Michigan stands as of right now, but Michigan would appear to check a lot of boxes for Ernest. The question is whether those around him feel that way.

Fifth, But Probably Not For Long

Friday was my first time viewing 4-star Yohan Traore (California/Dream Vision Adidas) and it was unquestionably one of the best performances I've seen this year, particularly considering the competition level. Traore absolutely destroyed 5-star Kijani Wright in every imaginable way. Yohan buried multiple triples, connected on step-back jumpers from midrange, looked great facing-up off the bounce from the perimeter and finished with authority as a dump-off option/roll-man. While the old film above is impressive, it is not at all representative of what Yohan displayed over the weekend. I immediately bumped him to 5-star status in the aftermath.

The performance was so impressive that Juwan Howard made his way to Birmingham on Saturday to see what all the buzz was about. Traore produced at a high level against Wildcat Select and I'd estimate he finished with around 20 points, 10 rebounds and 2 blocks. Coach Howard was definitely impressed, but Yohan didn't get to display the full arsenal as Wildcat utilized a zone defense to mitigate his individual talent. That said, he made enough of an impression to warrant serious offer consideration and I'd anticipate Coach Howard seeing him this weekend in Council Bluffs, Iowa for the next live evaluation period.

I'm reasonably plugged-in on Traore and I'm fairly certain he won't be back at Prolific Prep for his senior year. He didn't play all that much last season and that is baffling after what I witnessed this weekend. I'm told that Oak Hill Academy (Virginia) and IMG Academy (Florida) are possible landing spots. Either way, those are more favorable for Michigan from a geographical standpoint. If IMG is where Yohan enrolls, there are tons of advantages for Michigan that don't need further explanation.

This is definitely a recruitment to monitor over the next month, as some staff members are so enamored with his game that there has been talk of Traore being a take as more of a PF to pair with a true big. I agree with that assessment.

Sitting In Sixth

Top-70 big Isaac Traudt looked very good over the weekend in my first live viewing of him. He can handle the ball fairly well for a big and is comfortable changing direction/speed with a live dribble. He's lethal as a perimeter shotmaker that can bury jumpers off the catch or the dribble. While he's not overly athletic, he did embrace contact as a finisher and convert through contact at the rim on a few occasions. The issue is that he's only a legit 6'8 - 6'9 and may not necessarily have the requisite combo of size/length/athleticism to man the center spot on defense in the B10. He reminds me a bit of a more skilled Joey Hauser at the same stage.

Traudt is considered a Virgina lean at this point in his recruitment, and Juwan Howard never made his way to metro-Atlanta to see him. Taking that into account, this is probably more of a wait-and-see recruitment as opposed to something you should be monitoring seriously. At least for now.

Not Happening

The most important voice in the room wasn't enamored with Christ Essandoko or Dominick Campbell, so those two names can functionally be taken off the board for the time being.

Freshman Tidbits

Sources tell me that freshman Moussa Diabate is the best natural defender on the team "by far" during early workouts/scrimmages. Don't worry about positional designations, "he will play". Apparently his level of disruption has been absurd and he doesn't even really know what he's doing yet in terms of scheme.

Will Tschetter has impressed with his inclination to be physical and figures to eventually be a rotational player down the road based on how he's looked early on.