Patterson is likely headed to Oregon IMO.
Thatās what i heard when I was in Indianapolis for the EYBL as well.
Soā¦ Howardās been in town as our HC for about a month now. From reading all the articles on here, itās still pretty tough to get a read on who our actual ātop targetsā are (i.e. who we really want and have a legit shot at ultimately signing). So I thought Iād go to the expertise of the very well-informed board members. I know there are a lot of 2020 threads already in existence, but I thought this would be fun, educational and not too annoying for anyone.
Soā¦ with all that being saidā¦ who do YOU predict will ultimately be in Juwan Howardās 1st recruiting class?
Me:
1-Seems like all green lights with Zeb Jackson. Should be a very interesting PG battle in 2020. Should be very interesting to see what Martelli and Eisley can do with DeJulius and Brooks this coming season.
2-Jabri Abdur-Rahim. Seems to pretty clearly be a ātop targetā. Virginia just won a national championship and put a similar profile player into the lotto. Theyāll be tough to beat, for sure. Maybe not impossible?
3-Nimari Burnett. Joshua Christopherās got a Howard offer in hand tooā¦ but seems like sort of a long-shot. Itās tough, really, to readā¦ but of all the Chicago guards we started hearing about upon JHās hireā¦ Burnett seems to have the most smoke. A 5-star two-guardā¦ coming in to compete with a 3rd yr guy who hasnāt really seen the court yet (Nunez), but who has real potentialā¦ with PGās playing out of position (Zeb, DeJulius, Eli)ā¦ and with SFās playing out of position (Bajema, JAR?). He could definitely be a game-1 starter.
4-Big man? Walker Kessler and Hunter Dickson both seem to qualify as real ātop targetsā. Both have top dogs after em. Which ā if either ā will buy-in enough to the JH development pitch? Pretty impossible to say at this point. I really, really do hope weāre able to land one though.
5/6-Fifth guy? (Sixth guy?). Certainly, there will be some non-elite-elite guys who emerge. Doesnāt seem to be much smoke with Scooby at the moment. And I really have no idea who there is real smoke with. Iām sure some of you do.
7-Probably not but worth mentioning in my deluded mind. Isaiah Jackson. Heās damn good. Heās local. He seems like heād be interested in a full-court-press recruitment scenario. Havenāt heard a ton of smoke to dateā¦ but hoping to.
Seems likely that both Castelton and Johns will be on the roster as big men in 2020/21. Livers could be. Wagner could be. Bajema probably will be. Nunez probably will be. At least one of DeJulius/Brooks will be, possibly both. Thatās best case scenario 8 scholarship guys on the roster = 5 scholarship spots. Obviously could be 2/3 more.
Thoughts? Predictions?
Iāll start with Scooby as it would seem unlikely he comes to Mich. I see him as duplicative to Jace Howard (Spelling) and if he comes we do not need another energy guy although at this time I see Scooby as higher rated.
Suggs mentions Michigan but itās largely about Gonzaga and he was extremely in depth about them compared to others. Says heād like to decide in August. Timeline isnāt ideal for Michigan so Iām guessing itās pretty unrealistic in terms of landing him.
Heās had a really odd recruitment for a top 10-15 player in the country. His mom went to the HS where I coach at and so did the guy that runs his AAU program and I usually get some decent info. UNC was his dream school growing up but they never really showed interest. Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas all came up at least once to see him but didnāt really pursue him. Gonzaga is only place heās done an official to. I see it at a two horse race between Gonzaga and Minnesota. His school is about two miles from Minnesotaās campus.
Ok so either way Michigan isnāt realistic. Hopefully Michigan staff recognizes that and focuses on other targets. Heād be an amazing pickup but yeah itās a lost cause for him.
Regardless if it was Suggs or not, I feel itās really hard to get into a recruitment at this point unless there was contact beforehand a la JAR, Kessler, etc.
He also plays on the same AAU team as Chet Holmgren, itās at least worth a shot to be at some games this month.
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If that has anything to do with a decision, thatās a bad sign. Since UVA is the only place heās visited. Letās hope it is something else
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Sighā¦whereās the dis-love button?
He has a tweet from 6/23 discussing a top 8 - then nothing more about it. Guessing itās a listā¦
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How does Wagnerās addition impact recruiting for the class of 2020? Does it change how many Coach Howard ideally looks to take in the class? 4 man class instead of 5 or 6?
Still 5 or 6, we have 5 to give if Davis does not come back, and assuming no early entry and other attrition
With the staff getting a relatively late start on the Class of 2020, going heavier than necessary on that class and tying up scholarships that could/should be used for the Class of 2021 seems like bad planning, in my opinion.
Plan to use 4 scholarships on Freshmen (Zeb Jackson + 3), save a 5th scholarship slot for a transfer (or to chase a pie-in-the-sky one-and-done option). If thereās (the likely) attrition beyond that, then fill in with transfer options and keep scholarship flexibility for the Class of 2021.
The Spring transfer market is likely to be robust, again. Take advantage of the new norm while allowing the roster flexibility to really capitalize on the 2021 and 2022 classesā¦when Coach Howard is recruiting from āeven footingā with other major programs.
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That all being said, if Top50/Top75 caliber recruits want to join on, donāt turn them away to stay at a 4-person class. I just have a tough time seeing the staff being able to ink five Top50/75 caliber recruits in Year 1, while working from behind.
Zeb Jackson + 2 other Top50 recruits + a legacy name like Zaire Wade ā¦ that would be a tremendous first recruiting cycle haul, in my opinion.
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I think if youāre talking about a legacy name, itās extremely likely to be Jace Howard, who I think is an overwhelming favorite to be in this class. And before anybody raises the issue of Jace walking on, if a player is good enough to get mid/high major offers (as Jace already has in SDSU, Dayton and St. Louis), that almost never happens, regardless of whether the parents can easily afford tuition (or even, in this case, could use the roster spot), and I would be surprised if it happens here.
As to how many players we should sign, I think the issue will sort itself out in the spring. Given that kids will not be able to see what we run, or how we look, until shortly before the first signing day, I would expect a fall class of Jackson, one other 4* guy (or maybe a 5* big like Kessler), and Jace, with others keeping us in contention while they watch and observe. I completely agree that you take 4* kids or better whether the class is 4, 5 or even bigger because of attrition.
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Almost every coach gets an initial new coach bump, truth is Iāll be a bit concerned if this isnāt a big time class. This isnāt 10 years or so ago when the majority of the top kids had decided by now. Kids have pushed their timelines back a lot. The expectation for juwan is that heāll be a really good recruiter. A really good recruiter that comes to a current top program with 5 slots and already a top 60 kid committed should be able to land a big time first class if he is actually a high level recruiter. Relationships can be built very quickly in recruiting.
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I wonder if players at some of the schools waiting for the boom to be lowered are quietly examining their options? Seems like a no-brainer that Michigan would not pass on a really good prospect. And having the space available when the time come could be opportune.
Iām very happy with the hiring of Juwan, but letās be clear hereāmost ānew coach bumpsā accompany guys who are either (a) not new head coaches overall, but merely new at the school theyāre now at, and thus guys who have a body of work and a previous system to which to recruit, or (b) long time assistants who have been at a school which has an established style and contacts from their recruiting days.
I think heās going to recruit very well. That doesnāt mean that everyone has to sign in the early signing period.
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