Funny cameo by Beilein at 2:15 of the highlights of FOH Seattle v Howard Pulley.
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Bajema enters the 247 rankings at 61.
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Pretty amazing. In just a matter of weeks, Cole goes from an under the radar, two star only known to a few mid majors on the west coast to the number 61 prospect and a four star on 247 with offers from Xavier and Virginia and Michigan. Now he has been offered and accepted a scholarship to Michigan. THIS, because of the eye of a man named Beilein.
Weāll see how the rankings work themselves out as the year progresses. Iām not going to say I donāt care about rankings. I do, but I care more about the eye of Beilein. Itās never a good idea to question the eye, or the heart or the gut or the brain, of John Beilein.
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Also thanks to a smart plan from his family and AAU coach and a gamble on himself. Without that, Beilein probably maybe never hears of him until Michigan opens a hypothetical NCAA Tournament against Pepperdine in 2021.
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Third straight class with at least two composite 4*. Second straight with 2 composite top 75 players.
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Gotta see what Rivals ranks him before judging his composite rank, right? (Not that I particularly care for such topics as ranking debates 
)
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Here, here! Congratulations to the young man and his family. Nice story by Ethan, too.
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Lol, jumped the gun I guess. Forget that weāve only got two prominent ranking sites left.
Holy shit. Thatās incredible
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You took the words right out of my mouth.
So what do we think his ranking would be if he committed to Washington? 80? Virginia? 60? San Francisco? 125?
Just being facetious but thatās the funny part about national rankings. I donāt envy the chore of trying to rank the top 150, 200, whatever kids, but the fact of the matter is that so much of it is based on word of mouth, etc. Then combining feedback from all different scouts and I doubt more than 1 or 2 of them have seen him live (and probably only last weekend in Vegas) and then they decide to plop him in there at No. 61 the day after he commits to Michigan /shrug.
I think Bajema is a terrific fit and a great player, and Iāve written about why, Iām just commenting on the process of ranking kids and how silly it can become.
We can also cue up the inevitable drop in April (probably because no one made the trip out to Lynden, WA to watch him) as a couple of uncommitted prospects rise.
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Letās not pretend that Beilein ādiscoveredā Bajema.
The kid solicited us with his film and his marketing.
He backed it up with his performance from then on.
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I absolutely agree, but I do think theyāve seen a lot of film they perhaps wouldnāt have seen if Coach B hadnāt taken notice and gotten involved.
Ranking kids CAN become silly, but guys make a living doing it because guys like me eat it up! 
Itās never a good idea to question the eye, or the heart or the gut or the brain, of John Beilein.
True. I have thought for a few years that other schools keep an eye on guys that Beilein is watching out of respect for his eye for talent. Also, Beilein (and UM) are benefiting from his reputation, record and network. More than a few players have become Wolverines because someone has reached out to Beilein. I believe Bajemia, Wagner, Robinson and Spike all fit that category.
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You can add MAAR to that list too.
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No question about it, chezaroo. There WAS a bit of marketing employed by his coach and his dad, and then the kid absolutely put on a show and delivered a great performance. Interesting, though, that it was John Beilein who was invited and given front row tickets to the show. And maybe, just maybe, a whole lot of other folks showed up because John Beilein was there. Kudos to the kid and his coach and family, but kudos to Coach B, too.
This is true, but it takes some stones to go after a kid who is basically completely off the radar. There are plenty of coaches out there who might not. There is a lot of group think in recruiting. For Beilein, it is business as usual and I donāt think he thinks anything of it.
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True, but they get film on a LOT of kids sent to them. Beilein still has to evaluate and decide to follow the kid all summer. If he had sent film to Izzo, would he be a Spartan commitment right now?
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Kid backed it up with his play. End of story.
Heās really good already. I donāt see any risk in adding this young man to the team, and his upside is NBA. Iām sitting here thinking about why he wouldnāt develop into a very good player under Coach Beileinās tutelage and Iām coming up with nothing.
2 really good players in this class
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