Not in the early period. However, April has sort of turned into a whole new recruiting window with transfers, the NBA Draft, other attrition. Coaches losing jobs and freeing up kids from letters of intent. Depending on how Michigan’s roster shakes out, they could certainly be open to making moves in the spring. I would expect they’ll keep their eyes peeled for any late bloomers, etc. throughout the winter.
It is still very early for the 2020 class even though Michigan has a commitment.
U-M is hosting Walker Kessler for an official visit this weekend which is a big deal and shows there is serious mutual interest there. However, most of Kessler’s family attended and played at Georgia. That will be a tough get.
I don’t see anyone in the 2020 class who has accelerate their timeframe as much as we saw with Zeb Jackson right now, so it might be a while.
Iggy Brazdeikis is the safest bet here. He’s going to be a guy who is super productive in counting stats (which POY voters tend to love) and he will have an early chance to make an impact.
I am generally anti-redshirt, but if Jon Teske, Austin Davis and Brandon Johns play well early then it might make the most sense to redshirt Colin Castleton. He definitely needs to get stronger to reach his potential.
I want to say under, but with five freshman and only one being a lock to crack the rotation… I gotta give the over a real shot here.
How concerned are you that this team needs Poole to reach lofty expectations to reach their ceiling…and how concerned are you that he’ll be able to do that?
(I love Poole and like his potential, but I think it is foolish to ask him to be Sophomore Stauskas given his usage, 3pt%, height, and limited ball screen experience from last year…he also hasn’t shot well in any of the scrimmages or Euro games.)
Follow-up since you’re probably right on redshirts. How many freshmen play less than 250 minutes this season? For context, last season Brooks had 310, Simmons had 264, and Watson had 136.
I think Michigan needs Poole to be more LeVert than Stauskas. Like it or not, Charles Matthews is going to have the ball in his hands a lot. He’s going to be near the top of every scouting report. Poole can play off of that action and I’m not that worried. I’ve never been the No. 1 Poole guy, but he was brought to Ann Arbor to score and make plays with the ball. To be honest, he did that very well last year.
There will be some bumps but I’d say I’m cautiously optimistic. It will be interesting to see how his personality – more laid back, playful, etc. – jives with Matthews and Simpson who are very down to business guys.
Not really sure where to even start with this one… I assume that most people would consider the 2012 class as the best class but where do you go from there? Hard when classes are different sizes and you can rank based on different things (sentimental value, years played, pros)
I think this is a very balanced group between immediate production (Iggy), long term potential (Castleton, Johns) and then a couple of guys who might end up in sort of a MAAR situation later in their careers where they are four-year guys who fill gaps and make plays (DeJulius, Nunez).
So maybe similar to the 2009/2013 type of classes?
Michigan under Beilein has shown that they can compete at the highest level and this year they boast a deep and talented roster. Which games on the schedule right now with limited data look the scariest for them to come away with a victory and why?
Let’s stick to the November and December games for now… The Villanova game obviously stands out as a likely loss. I think the stretch where we’ll learn the most about Michigan is UNC, Purdue at NW as the calendar rolls into December. Those games are all winnable, but they are also easy to drop.
Does it annoy you like it annoys me that Jay Wright gets so much credit from the media these days for his progressive offense when Beilein has been doing it for much longer and rarely gets mentioned with the great coaches? (I like Wright and he deserves praise, but he’s not doing something that hasn’t been done before.)