Note I didn’t say all PF recruits, I singled out Johns. So hypothetically a reserve 4 may play 10-15 minutes per game, Johns simply isn’t.
Furthermore, its not mandatory that a reserve 4 play at all. JB will simply play 4 guards/wings when it’s obvious a PF isn’t ready (this year, for example). Bottom line is that I’d be pretty surprised if Johns is an impact freshman regardless of any hypothetical situation
I see JB taking only one out of Cormac Ryan or Carmody. With Johns I will take a wait and see to see how he progresses after this year.
I think Johns is a nice player, but was extremely overrated last year as a top 15-20ish type. He is nearly capped out from a mass/size standpoint (although he can get quicker), and played bad competition playing with Triple Threat on the AAU circuit and the Lansing area for HS. It was very obvious to me that was not a top 15-20 player the second I viewed him live on the EYBL circuit. Just not that level of player.
Interestingly enough, in the past year he’s gone from top 15-20 type to #28 on Rivals, #33 on 247. Additionally, the 2 sites that have most recently updated their rankings are ESPN, who moved him down to #40 and Scout, who has him at #53.
Obviously rankings don’t mean much to me independent of live evaluation and film, in fact, I’d say that even the 40-60 range is probably a bit high in my opinion. I think he’s probably a 75is type player.
Is Johns THAT much better than Beasley? (such that we’d offer Johns early and slow play Beasley to the point of disinterest)
I haven’t seen Johns play live. I have seen Easley live at the Michigan camp 3 weeks ago. I went in wanting to like his game and hoping he’d play well enough to get a Michigan offer. I left thinking that if I hadn’t known who he was when I watched his team play, he wouldn’t have made any real impression on me, and he certainly wouldn’t have struck me as a Big Ten player. Small sample size–I get that–but nothing stood out, and he made little impact on either game I watched. I also watched him in drills–nothing stood out.
Was Johns at camp? I forget. If so, did he stand out in any fashion?
I assume you mean Bazley from King James? If so, that’s a joke in terms of ranking. Bazley MUCH better than Johns both right now and upside
I watched Easley for essentially the entire UM camp. I lean toward agreeing with you, but not fully on board yet.
First off, Easley is only 6’4.5 - 6’5, and that is the issue in a nutshell. He’s not really big enough or athletic enough to play PF in the B10, but he is strong. I’ve seen him handle the ball on film in HS, and he’s certainly shown some things, but didn’t display that at the UM Camp.
Where I disagree is the shotmaking, Easely hit several shots from both mid-range and distance, both off the dribble and the catch. For context, Easley actually shot the ball better than Zak Irvin doing an identical drill (probably says more about Zak than Easley). Easley shot 7/14 from distance during one 3 point drill I was attentive to. His mechanics are inconsistent, and his shot can be flat at times.
In terms of scrimmages, a lot of people are failing to provide full context. Easley’s team had no subs at ALL. Essentially he played 1.5 - 2 hrs straight without a break. Nobody at the HS level can go that long and still produce at optimal level.
Bottom line for me is this - I need to see more of him. And I will very soon, he will be at my showcase on October 9th, and I’m curious to see how he does vs better comp in relation to the UM camp.
In the war for 5 stars, John Beilein says Michigan will recruit talent, but fit comes first