6-6 2016 wing Harold Baruti taking OV to Michigan
Per his high school team, 6-6 wing Harold Baruti, an unsigned senior out of Mountain Mission HS (Grundy, VA), is headed to Michigan today for an official visit. Rivals has him as a three star with offers from SMU and UNC-Wilmington. Highlight reel below.
EDIT: Also picked up offers from Tennessee Tech and Utah State in late April. And Texas Tech and Utah are also now in the mix.
but his high school stats are less than impressive:
FG: 41% overall consisting of 25% from 3 and 48% from 2
FT: 58%
Do like his energy though.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
So his playing time would probably come down to his ability to fix that shot (if he is to get minutes at the 3).
Although...if he can play the 4 and be an asset on defense, finishing, rebounding (more like GR3 than DR), then he could still get minutes even without a 3 shot.
With the lack of athleticism and physicality at the 3 and 5, plus Irvin's versatility, there is room for a different kind of wing than we've typically seen Beilein play.
I looked up his stats on Maxpreps for last year
PPG 11.6
Reb 7.0
Assists 1.6
Shooting % 41-25-58
So it appears he's not a very good shooter, but GRIII wasn't either. Not quite as athletic as GRIII but has a better handle.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Quick update on the 2016 class at Mountain Mission. Still available: Harold Baruti, Diogo Brito & Szymon Walczak pic.twitter.com/uiCnnlyazw
— Adam Ayalew (@Akayalew) May 3, 2016
High school stats are often misleading for numerous reasons.
He was second on the team in scoring in the game where they took Oak Hill to OT. I don't think he was riding coattails, but he probably wasn't getting double-teamed either. (Not that it matters for his potential fit for '16-17 Michigan).
That whole roster is a NOTY candidate
I would LOVE to see this kid in blue. Things to be excited about:
- Athleticism & Size (6'5/210 is great for a freshman).
- Defensive potential (SMU wants kids who are athletic and can defend).
- Ready to contribute given that his HS seemed to play a high level of competition (e.g., http://www.bdtonline.com/sports/oak-hill-survives-ot-scare-from-challen…) and he looks physically developed already.
- Shows a good range of skills (some ability to handle, good form on his jumper)
- High upside given that he's only played organized ball for 2 years (per UMhoops)
- Awesome fit potential*
As with Caris Levert, you kind of wonder why this kid is still available. With Caris it was late physical development, perhaps here it's late skills development. It's hard to get too excited about a kid with only mid-major offers this late in the cycle, but there's a lot of things to like here. Seems like he could be Beilein's next late-spring find.
I've long argued that Beilein needs to find 3's that can play 4 rather than "prototypical 4s", who usually just end up as undersized 5s anyway. More athletic 4s like GR3, Novak, Irvin are what works for Beilein, not the 'skilled' 4s like Bielfeldt, Wilson, Donnal, Smotrycz. Stop trying to find guys who can hit an 18 foot jumper and find the ones who will grab a rebound in traffic and throw it down in transition. Baruti fits.
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
Have done a very good job for Michigan and we won a Big Ten title with Novak at the 4.
I'm not saying we have to recruit Novak types to be PFs, but I am saying that Beilein's system calls for wing athletes not 6'8 shooters in this role. (Especially since he tends to want less athletic shooters at the 3 and bangers at the 5.)
I don't agree about Layman and Jenkins at all. I'll take a Robinson or Irvin any day because whatever we give up on one end we get back on the other end. I think Beilein has figured this out about himself.
...or just quit playing 3's at the 4, and 4's at the 5.
go against the grain relative to the evolution of modern basketball?
It seems to be working OK for Golden State and most every other recent NBA champion.
I do agree that Beilein needs to stop playing failed 4s at the 5. At least Teske and Davis look like legitimate centers. But 3s at the 4 is part of his system and it should stay that way unless he can find blue chip talent who has both the skill of a 3 and the size of a 4 (which everyone in the country would love)
"It seems to be working OK for Golden State"
Golden State doesn't play a 3 at the 4 and a 4 at the 5.
Golden State plays a 4 at the 4 and a 5 at the 5. Yes - they are skilled shooting 4/5s, but they are not playing massively out of position.
They play Andrew Bogut at 5, and Draymond Green at the 4.
"unless he can find blue chip talent who has both the skill of a 3 and the size of a 4 (which everyone in the country would love)"
...which is exactly what the Golden State is doing, and is the trend in the NBA.
- Barnes or Iguadala at the 4 and Green at the 5 is their go-to lineup.
- Bogut played 20 mpg in the regular season and is down to 19 in playoffs (despite Curry missing from the rotation and playing teams that utilize true centers).
- Bogut is not a skilled shooter. You are arguing out of both sides of your mouth.
- If you are referring to Dray Green as a blue-chip talent you should remember that he was a 2nd round pick, the functional equivalent of a 3-star recruit.
- Dray Green is under 6'6, versatile, and physical. Beilein should be recruiting 4s like him, not guys who are skinny, 6'8 or 6'9, with feathery jumpers (e.g., Donnal, Wilson, Smotrycz)
reminded me of this rhyme:
Solomon Grundy,
Born on a Monday,
Christened on Tuesday,
Married on Wednesday,
Took ill on Thursday,
Grew worse on Friday,
Died on Saturday,
Buried on Sunday,
That was the end,
Of Solomon Grundy.
and the fact that when I was a little kid, "grundies" was a term used for poo.
Michigan is historically a top 15 program that has landed plenty of top 100 players and produced it's fair share of NBA talent.
The last minute spots are available because of attrition - that's the nature of basketball and having a dozen or so scholarships instead of 80-some. Economies of scale let you take a few extra players in football, but you can't do that in bball without being a total jerk.
Also, bball has been to 4 national title games in the last 30 years, while M football has only sniffed those heights once. Depending on your recency bias, you can argue M football has not performed as well as M basketball though Harbaugh may well change that.
I dont get how so many of you guys are willing to settle for mediocrity.
I think we should recruit all of the 5-star rated prospects that are still available instead.
...
Great, now that we have done that, we can all move on.
It would be one thing if we were the ones giving out scholis but we aren't. Beilein and his one assistant coach are the ones doing it so it is a bit disingenuous to claim anyone on here is settling.
Michigan isn't the only high-major getting involved late with 2016 wing Harold Baruti. Utah and Texas Tech also in the mix, per his coach.
— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) May 4, 2016
but I'm going to hope his visit to AA is the last recruiting trip he takes.
He looks very athletic and powerful. A dunker and rebounder...? Maybe JB is looking at him to keep a seat on the bench warm while an oafy, soft dude with wet hands gets all the minutes (and loses all the rebounds/misses layups that should be dunks).
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad