I actually really like Zeb and think he has a bright future. That said, I’m not sure he is a guy who is an instant impact freshman. Not many freshmen are. If he was a Freshman All Big Ten type player then he would have gotten more minutes on Montverde, regardless of how good that roster was. He will need to grow up in a hurry out of necessity though. Hopefully he excels with the opportunity given to him.
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“Some of the strong ones have been Gonzaga, Washington, Washington State, Oregon State, BYU, Pepperdine and more,” Bajema told 247Sports.
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Let’s just stick with my Aaron Henry comparison. Do you think a guy like Henry would have played big minutes for the typical Monteverde team? I don’t.
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I can totally see him at Gonzaga or BYU. Gonzaga loses Gilder, Woolridge, possibly Ayayi and/or Kispert.
BYU loses Jake Toolson and TJ Haws. They love to shoot it from deep.
Maybe this is the bourbon talking, but after bringing in the top rated recruiting class in the B1G does anyone else feel like since the Christopher news, everything Michigan basketball related has been…bad news?
More and more transfers out, no transfers in (besides Mike Smith, doesn’t really move the needle for me, glad to have him but) and these G-league contract offerings…just all rolled together I’m not feeling very positive about this upcoming season.
Instead I have a sinking suspicion that Livers will go the pro route (based off absolutely nothing) and we’ll be stuck with a very short handed (depth-wise) roster, talented but ultra inexperienced.
My expectations at this point are compete for .500 conference record and win a first round NCAA tournament game. How are you guys feeling about the upcoming season, assuming we have one that is. 
Not likely, but at the same time Henry had a college ready body from day 1. Zeb is real slight. It’s not always pure ability that makes an instant impact player. There are a lot of variables at play, a couple of which are size/strength and ability to pick up a system (which is impossible to predict). I like Zeb’s height and athleticism, but he may not be able to effectively use that until he gets stronger.
I think I would take those results at this point. I can see a floor where they don’t even make the tourney so actually making the second round doesn’t sound too bad.
Now if Livers comes back and they have decent health they could well exceed that, but those are not guaranteed by any stretch.
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I love Zeb as a prospect but he just looks so thin. Reminds me of a freshman Caris Levert.
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Sure - a backcourt of Eli, Smith, and Zeb with no safety net is at the very least EXTREMELY questionable (ie we have two guys who haven’t established they can play big ten average hoops)
Not that Bajema would have added a second but would at least have added an option…now we don’t really have one.
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nice deflection
This seems closer to the reason of why he left and that he just wanted to be closer to home.
The team has their work cut out for them whether or not Livers comes back. But it’s not like playing 8 deep with inexperienced players is unprecedented. I mean, we hope its at least 8 deep. It’ll be a challenging year no matter what. They still have to play the games.
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I feel pretty good about it IF Livers returns.
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I don’t think he’s nearly that thin.
And don’t forget Levert was playing key minutes for a Final Four team by the end of his freshman year.
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I think the overlying reason Bajema hurts for most is because of what people see him becoming from 2021 onwards. Losing him for this upcoming year with so many unknowns sucks but 2 years in the system with the flashes he showed had people very excited for him as a junior and senior. To me that is the biggest point for people’s discomfort with him leaving. This year everyone thinks he’d surpass Nunez and maybe so, but even if he did that doesn’t mean he’d play more than like 5 minutes in a lot of games if he’s still the 8th or 9th man in the rotation. His long term upside was what people don’t like to see leave.
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I agree with your sentiment. I also think the transfer year allows him to get stronger and still practice with a strong D1 team. I think it’s the right move for him…similar to Charles and Duncan. Get another year, regroup and focus on getting better/stronger. In this case I think the extra year is beneficial to Cole, providing the NCAA transfer rules remain in place.
It’s definitely been a really frustrating month, but I agree that if Livers is back there’s plenty of reason to be hopeful. It’s also been suggested that the transfer portal could still deliver for Michigan, on the assumption that the pandemic is going to mean waivers for all/most this year, even if in a somewhat messier system. Alsoi important to remember that this was going to happen. We knew to expect multiple transfers. We are going to have to let go of the hopes we had for these players, at least here, but we are also going to have new players soon enough to reattach those hopes. It’s going to be fine. It’s not going to be a year of contention, thanks to the Christopher miss, but hopefully Howard learns from that and we get the talent we’re looking for soon.
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Caris Levert coming out of HS: 6’4, 175
Zeb Jackson right now: 6’3, 165 or 6’2, 160 depending on which site you look at.
Jackson looks like he’s thicker than Levert was coming in, but he’s definitely lighter than you’d like him to be if he’s going to be in the rotation.
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He is probably gonna be a 4 year player. Nice shot and room for potential (added muscle and weight) to a 6’7 height. Not having him pushes the need for 6-7 guys in 2021 class. Maybe the obsession on him is a bit much, but he was a nice lottery ticket.
We have to be adding some non-grad transfers, at a minimum of 1, hopefully 2 this offseason.
The no sit transfer rule appeared to be a sure thing, but now isn’t as certain with that recommendation against it.
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I was referring to the handwringing about whether he should have gotten Nuñez’s, like, 30 conference minutes.
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Some guys are wiry but strong - I think that’s Zeb. And I think Caris was more like 6-6 when he came to Michigan, too.
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