I recommend subbing to read Dylan’s article that gives some context to the 3pt shooting numbers.
Having said that, he’s not a game changer, but he is a floor raiser that we know is a HM level player and would make sure Franz is able to play the 3 full time.
Yeah I’m starting to see why there could be frustration that people log into the message board to use arguments explicitly refuted in the article Dylan wrote, lol
I believe JCL is more than a floor raiser. I believe raises the ceiling, too, for the reasons you and Dylan indicated and because, despite what some may say, I think he’s a pretty darn good player.
As for the “beggars can’t be choosers” comment above…seriously? I think we should be pleased if he comes, not acting like he’s just not really good enough, but, well, we’ll take him if no one better comes along. And, you know what, if someone who IS better comes along we’ll still have one more scholarship left. Right now, unless I’m mistaken, we have two available scholarships. Since clichés seem to be popular today, “A bird in the hand…”
True. His small 9 game sampling at 25% 3 point shooting is not good. And the 32% last year not great (although a point better than Franz- don’t see anyone ripping him for terrible threes) Funny how u failed to state JCL previous numbers of 42%and 38% from three. Why didn’t you? How many guys we have last few years averaging that? That should tell us he has ability to knock them down and I’d like to think we might be able to spread floor this year with shooters. I opinion that Michigan fans should be thrilled to puck up a caliber player like this at this point in the game. Not the “if nobody better comes along…Attitude.
No idea what he’s thinking but he looks a good fit at USC. They have the Mobley brothers inside, a couple big guards (one of whom is a PG) and a really just a shooter type transferring in and a couple freshman who didn’t play a ton but are probably okay. Seems like Coleman-Lands would be basically assured 30+ minutes there and some open looks if freshman Mobley can be the All-American his recruiting ranking suggests.
Hence, why I said I’m not “excited” about him.
I wasn’t making an argument. I was replying to a poster who said the following: “At the point where we are how could anyone not be excited about his possible inclusion.” In response, I listed three reasons why I personally am not “excited” about his possible inclusion. I’m not saying I believe Michigan should stay away from JCL, and I make no attempt to convince anyone otherwise. Just stating my feeling on the player, which is not quite as high as the rest of you.
That’s fine. That’s your opinion. Mine is that I’m not “thrilled” by this player.
It seems my comment about taking him if no one better enters the portal ruffled some feathers.
ESPN and CBS writers tend to be very poor and I’ve no doubt Dylan’s analysis is exponentially more thorough. Nonetheless, I’ll share what ESPN has to say in their rankings of grad transfers.
OK, one more comment pitts and then I’m through. Against my better judgement I’ve allowed myself to get too “excited” and I’ve definitely spent too much time on a recruit we probably won’t even get. After the Josh Christopher show I’m pretty much “over” this recruiting stuff and resigned to just cheer for whoever actually wants to come to Michigan and play for the Mazie n’ Blue. Or so I thought. By the way, I have followed recruiting since before the Fab Five, as hard as it was to get info back then, so it really is hard, I guess for this old dog to give up those tricks! 
Here we go, be forewarned. I saw the ESPN ranking of number 35, too, and I simply couldn’t understand it. Another reason, I guess, for me to put little stock in ESPN and their assessment of recruits and college basketball in general. I have no idea who the writer is, whether he spent any time learning about the players in his rankings, or how much credibility he has or deserves. I like the Mike Smith number 10 ranking, for what that’s worth, but I think the writer is off by at least 20 or more places on JCL.
So, let’s revisit Coleman-Lands. He was Jalen Coleman back in 2015 as a high school recruit. He was recruited by Michigan and several on this very forum, myself included, wanted him to come to Michigan. Either he or we seemed to cool on his recruitment after Coach B signed Duncan Robinson, a decision that was not well received by all on the board at the time, but proved to be an outstanding decision on Coach B’s part. For what it’s worth, I was optimistic that DR would make the transition from DIII to DI and become a really good player for Michigan, and supported him every step of that journey that ended with him in the NBA.
Jalen Coleman was an outstanding high school prospect in 2015. He was ranked 34, 37, 38, and 44 in the recruit rankings I was able to find from that time. He played in at least one of the national all star games, the Jordan Brand Classic. He chose Illinois to the dismay of some of us here at Michigan. He started 24 of 34 games for Illinois as a freshman, averaged 10.3 ppg and shot 42.2 from three, and he set Illinois’ record for three pointers made by a freshman.
His sophomore year at Illinois JCL was a part time starter, starting 15 of 35 games. By the way, that soph year was the only year of the four years he played at the high DI level where he didn’t start every game. He had suffered a preseason injury to his shooting hand. Perhaps that caused him to get a bit behind and limited him somewhat going forward that season. He shot 38% from three that year despite the injury and averaged eight points per game.
He transferred to Depaul, sat out a year and then was injured in a game against UIC on December 18th sidelining him for the rest of the year. He started nine of the nine games he was available that year averaging 9.6 ppg and 2.8 rpg, but he had started the season slowly, didn’t shoot well at all and, according to his coach, was just starting to come around when he was injured. He did NOT have a good year that redshirt junior year. He shot only 25% from three and just wasn’t the same player he had been at Illinois, for whatever reason.
His senior year at Depaul was pretty good, though certainly not outstanding. Once again, he started every game, he averaged 11.1 ppg and 2.7 rpg, shot slightly better than 32% from three and about 81 or 82 percent from the line.
All in all this is a very talented player who probably hasn’t lived up to his hype as recruit coming out of La Lumiere, Jordan Poole’s school, where he was ranked more highly than JP as a senior, and was considered the number one or number two recruit in Indiana that year depending on the recruiting service one uses. He played very well at Illinois in his freshman year, pretty much what you’d expect for a top 40 recruit. His sophomore season was not as good, but he DID suffer a broken shooting hand in September of that year. Despite the setback, he DID shoot 38% form three which is certainly not too shabby. While he did start every game that he was available at Depaul, for whatever reason, he didn’t meet the lofty expectations probably anyone had for him. Was it a bad fit? I don’t know.
But I DO know this, the kid has talent. Talent doesn’t just disappear never to be found again. Oh, excuse me for calling him a kid, he’ll be 24 years old when he suits up for whichever team is fortunate enough to get him. Is that a bad thing, being 24? Perhaps. I guess the NBA would think it is. I think there is a great chance that, at 24, JCL could be a very mature, VERY experienced player who could “fit” very well with our other two mature and experienced guards to give us an excellent three guard rotation. I think JCL is MUCH better than the number 35 available transfer, but I don’t write for ESPN, so what do I know? I’ve just followed Michigan basketball for about 55 years, and Michigan’s basketball recruiting for about 35 years.
One last thing, JCL HAS played 110 games at the high DI level, and has started 80 games against that level of competition. In fact, he has played 2,977 minutes of college basketball for teams that play in the B1G and the Big East.
So, over the last day or two I’ve been doing what I just don’t want to do anymore. I’ve gotten excited about a recruit. And you know what, we’re probably not even going to get him. But for decades I’ve gotten excited about recruits, all the way back to the transfer in of Rickey Green, and a whole lot of other players since, but the Josh Christopher debacle had really drained me of all excitement surrounding the recruitment of kids to play in our program. And make no mistake, I hold no animosity toward JC. I am sure he is where people, maybe not dad, but mom and brother want him to be, and maybe that’s where he and dad wanted him to be all along, too. I don’t know, I just allowed myself to get too involved in that recruitment…sadly, for me. And, so I decided to just not get involved in recruiting for a while…maybe ever. Hmmm, “the best laid plans…”
Sorry this is SO long, but I like to be very thorough in my discussions. As bobohle might say, this might be the longest “book” of all! Peace all!
Absolutely not. I’d even say that’s a point in his favor. Maturity doesn’t automatically come with age, but in general a young man is likely to be more mature at that age than at 18, and I’d guess JCL is more mature than the younger players. Abel Porter, the grad transfer to OSU, is 24, married, already with a master’s degree in hand.
No worries. I appreciate your passion and I’ve seen your propensity to be thorough on more than one occasion. 
Does he have a “decide date” yet?
Every time I see an update to this thread, I read the title as “DePaul Lands grad transfer Jalen Coleman” and get sad, then very confused
Ahhh Silver you never disappoint with your writing. Keep up the good work or maybe it’s because we agree so often. Those of us who saw Cazzie Russell,Ricky Greene, Campy Russell,the General Gary Grant and Glen Rice play will always get excited for M recruiting. 
I could have added Rudy T,Tim McCormick and Roy Tarpley but I didn’t want to encroach on Silver’s book area haha. What do all the above players in my last two comments have in common? They played before Dylan was born. 