Just for fun, how would you rank the 2018 class if you were ranking them one through five? No ties.
Johns
Iggy
Castleton
Dejulius
Nunez
Edit: As others have added about impact for next year I will add in that my own rankings were an overall assessment rather than immediate impact. If I was going immediate impact I would likely go…
Iggy
Johns
DeJulius
Castleton
Nunez
Nunez is the tough one though as I have seen the least from him but he might have the best opportunity out of all five of those guys to get immediate playing time. So as I put him here at 5 on this list I can actually see a possibility of him making as much of an impact as anyone on the list because of the need for someone to fill MAAR’s shoes.
Best overall career (viewing Michigan + pro career):
Castelton
Johns
Iggy
Nunez
Dejulius
I want to caveat my overall rankings with my opinion that I think each of these guys will have an impactful Michigan career. Some so much so that they leave early and taking pro potential into account
This would also be a really fun exercise to do with the entire team for next year. I think there’s a legitimate argument to be made that 5 or 6 different guys could be our best player.
I’ve gone back and forth on this and I almost feel like I’m rating my siblings haha. But I’ll go with this with the asterisk that I can see arguments for several different orders.
Best college player:
Iggy
Johns
Castleton
Dejulius
Nunez
Best instant impact:
Iggy
Johns
Dejulius
Nunez
Castleton
Best Pro prospects:
Johns
Castleton
Iggy
Nunez
Dejulius
I’m surprised to see so many selling Dejulius short. I think he has a ceiling higher than what Walton hit his senior year and could really solidify our PG spot for years to come.
My list based on who I’m most excited about, not necessarily who I think will be best immediately or who will be best long term:
Castleton
Iggy
Dejulius
Johns
Nunez
I think Iggy and Johns will be the best, but I think I’m more confident that I know what they’ll bring. Castleton could easily be a Mark Donnal or better than Wagner. It’ll be fascinating.
I think that’s a reflection of the talent level of the class more than anything. I wouldn’t be surprised if we send 2 or 3 of these guys to the NBA. Dejulius could have an excellent (Walton like) career and still be 4th best in this class. As for the comparison, I think DD is the better scorer but I really liked the other parts of Waltons game coming out of HS.
Surprised everyone has Nunez last on their lists. With a shot as pure as his, playing in NYC and at a prep with older kids, and Coach’s affinity for shooters makes me think that he will find himself minutes from the get go. He could certainly play a freshman year Zak Irvin type role.
Ignas and Johns over Livers is a bit too optimistic in my view. There’s no doubt in my mind Livers is the best athlete and defender of the bunch. He faded into the background on offense down the stretch, but I suspect his ankle had something to do with that. He had a string of several good games on offense prior to the injury and I’m hoping he can regain that edge during the off-season.
Johns may make the biggest splash next year because there is likely more available minutes for a freshman at the 4.
Matthews is going to take a leap and be a monster next year, thereby taking up 30-35 minutes at the 3.
Teske will probably play 25-28 minutes and Castleton will have to fight Davis for the balance.
Simpson and Poole will take the bulk of the minutes at the 1 & 2, but Brooks will be fighting DD and Nunez for time at both spots.
There is no returning player to back up Livers at the 4, so there could easily be 10-15 available minutes for Johns or even more if they slide Livers to the 5 for some small ball.
Is this what Duke and Kentucky fans feel like every year – sheer revelry in an in-coming class? No, actually, this is probably a better feeling given the relative caliber of coaching these UM kids are about to receive.
I like him a lot, but a higher ceiling than senior Walton? Not the guy we saw over the final 10-15 games, I assume? If so, I respect your opinion, but that’s going to be a high bar to pass.
If Nunez isn’t ready to step in at the 2 and play some minutes I personally think Dejulius takes those minutes over brooks. Neither one is tall but Dejulius is quite a bit stronger than Brooks. Just feels like he would get pushed around more but maybe I’m underestimating his toughness. I’ve said it before but DD feels like a scoring guard to me he’s just stuck in a PG body.
I do agree the minutes are going to be most widely available at the 4 but also the 2. If iggy is noticeably better than Johns and Michigan is content to play Matthews 30+ minutes it’s possibly they play Iggy at the 4 as well I would think.
I noticed a lot of people really high on Poole’s contributions to the team next year… Love his swagger, and he settled down a bit later in the season but he’s still really, really far behind defensively in my opinion. If that doesn’t take a major leap he won’t play huge minutes. One weak link defensively screws up the whole operation.
Except those guys know GUARANTEED their entire class is gone one year later. I can’t wait to see what Dejulius and Castleton and Johns look like 2 years from now
Dwalt had an 128.5 Orating on 23% usage, on the year; and Torvik had him ranked as the 3rd best player in the country, that year (someone feel free to correct me, if I am interpreting Torvik’s 2017 player rankings)
After the Illinois game, through the Oregon loss, Dwalt had a 131.3 Orating on 26.4% usage; and Torvik had him ranked as the best player in the country, during that period.
For reference:
-sophomore Trey: 123.4 on 28% usage; Torvik NPOY
-sophomore Nik: 127.9 on 24% usage; #4 in Torvik’s player rankings
Senior Dwalt, and especially Blue Collar Dwalt, was fricken good.