Five-star power forward Isaiah Todd commits to Michigan

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I watched some of Juwan’s press conference from today. If I was a high school kid — heck, me right now — there is no doubt I would want to play for Juwan over Self and all these other egomaniac, self-serving coaches. Lol at the idea of Izzo trying to recruit against hiim.

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A couple of random thoughts I had on this great signing:

– I like that Juwan’s first recruit is arguably similar to himself. Same height, same position, highly ranked, uber talented at a lot of things but maybe not a star at any one skill, etc. Very cool.

– I think there are some parallels to Mitch McGary’s signing too. Mitch started out as a top-5 guy and finished the recruiting process as a top-30 guy. I think that’s similar for Todd. Mitch also was athletic, talented, worked hard, did a lot of good things…but didn’t necessarily have the star power. (Meaning he wasn’t your alpha, go-to guy but was a critical part of the machine).

– I think the depth at forward now with Livers, Johns, and Todd will be an asset next year. Todd doesn’t have to come in and be a superstar, he can work his way into the rotation and give the team a spark for maybe 20mpg initially until he settles in.

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Yea it will be very interesting to see if Livers or Johns blows up and goes pro. If not then the 3-4 positions will be super stacked next year. Obviously it’s a good ā€œproblemā€ to have.

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I suppose it is possible that Livers or Johns have a DJ Wilson season and make the jump, but I’d bet against both. Neither of them are freakish athletes that the NBA over-drafts and neither has shown enough skill to project that they’d blow up into a Mo Wagner type departure. I would love to believe that Livers has a great year and suddenly shows he can beat guys off the dribble, defend the best wing on the other team, diversify his offense, etc…but I expect he will be back next year.

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Great sign for the program under Juwan. I confess that I am not as thrilled as I would be for a signing in another sport of a prospect of this caliber, because years of Beilein have trained me to recognize that speckling a roster with one-and-done five stars is no guarantee of a successful team. And, of course, Beilein was good at taking mid-level prospects and turning them into great players. So one top prospect for a year won’t necessarily bring the house down.

But the Beilein days are gone. It’s Howard’s team now. This is a great start.

The NBA is pretty desperate for guys that can credibly defend and command respect from defenses on the wing. If Livers shows he can defend threes well, he’s a second round pick guaranteed because we know he can shoot. Michigan may need him to diversify his offense - the fact that he’s a plus shooter is enough for the NBA.

I mean - Danny Green dribbles like twice a year, and is a very valuable player.

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Yeah agreed. Anyone with wing size who can guard their position and shoot 40% on threes is a draftable prospect. It’s weirdly rare that you can find both of those.

I don’t expect Todd to slide much more in the rankings than he has, and could even move back into the top-10, if healthy. He’s also much springier than McGary ever was- more in the DJ Wilson/Petway/Baston category, not the McGary/Juwan category in terms of hops. Mitch had a more college-ready body, though. Judging from Ethan’s article, it sounds like Isaiah may have some Alpha in him. I’m looking forward to seeing what he can do…and also looking forward to Michigan’s 1st McDonald’s All-American since Daniel Horton.

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The first video I watched of Todd suggested he was still a bit of a puppy–and I got how the incredible promise had him ranked number one early, still more latent than actual. But he is, at this stage, quite a refined and very versatile player, Dylan’s caveats notwithstanding. If I imagine him with another year of play behind him and a summer with Sanderson? I could talk myself into some of those Giannis comparisons. I mean, the way he carries himself is different, but there’s something of the same promise in the two players.

I also don’t accept some suggestions that he’s passive. He’s not mean-spirited, but he doesn’t shy from going hard.

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I don’t think anyone is saying he’s passive that I’ve seen.

I don’t understand Giannis comparisons at all though. Giannis is a point guard, Todd is a power forward.

A great Euro step does not make you Giannis. I just don’t see Todd coming into passing skills like Giannis, he’s more of a true scoring perimeter four.

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Matt D quotes someone saying that coaches would like to see him be more assertive in his Mgoblog appraisal (the quote is from a Rivals piece).

I bow to your greater experience and–yeah–he will never be a guard, but there is something about his stride. . . that’s a little Giannis-like, or which helps me see why a couple of people were tempted by the comparison. More importantly, though, I feel like one can glimpse a player who just might exceed the already-large expectations.

I actually think Todd has a better jumper than Giannis so Todd will probably be better than Giannis. That comparison is disrespectful.

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Yup, Duncan Robinson has earned himself a spot on an NBA roster. While Livers may not be as good of a shooter/offensive player as Duncan, he’s a better rebounder/defender, and is still a plus shooter. He’s got enough to work with that some team will give him a shot, even if he still can’t dribble.

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The one thing that stats and a certain kind of fixed-in-amber take on players can’t give you is a sense of their continuing potential. If we’re lining up the votes on whether Isaiah is a markedly improved dribbler, I am going with the likelihood he’s a happy surprise. And yes, I agree there’s a pretty good chance that he’s gone after this year.

I think the whole Giannis at point guard experiment went the way of Jason Kidd. Giannis is a new wave big 3 or stretch 4. Tough comparison for Todd simply because Giannis is the reigning MVP, but look back around 2013-2014 and Giannis came into the league pretty scrawny and pretty raw (offensively). He’s really only just added an adequate 3 ball (if you can consider it that). Clearly has always been a plus passer.

With that said, I get the comparison. Lean, athletic guys who puts the ball on the floor, can face up, and finish in traffic. But, kinda ends there. One guy hasn’t played a minute of college ball, the other is putting in work in the NBA. I guess it’s only human nature to compare high school prospects to NBA all-stars and league MVPs at this stage (it’s exactly what happens during recruitments and during the NBA draft).

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I don’t have a ā€œfixed in amberā€ opinion of Todd’s game at all. I just don’t think the way Giannis plays matches the way that Todd plays at all.

Giannis is and was a unicorn because of his playmaking and passing at his size. Todd is not a great passer despite a good handle.

Giannis is a downhill player who has always preferred to drive to the rim instead of pull up for a jump shot. Todd is a face-up four man who settles for jump shots too often rather than attacking the rim.

Other than in transition, I’m just not really buying the similarities.

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There are no comparisons. This is so not reality.

Because let’s be honest, comparing him to a player who he most likely actually compares to (I see you, Noah Vonleh) isn’t exactly going to excite the fanbase like a reigning MVP.

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No, I don’t think you do. But a lot of fans really tend to project what they see in a player at any given moment as their future or professional ceiling. And we’ve seen some pretty dazzling cases of some experts being very very wrong here over the last years. DJ Wilson will always be my favorite.

The fact that a second sportswriter made a Giannis comparison was what prompted me to try to see it, that’s all. (I think beanman about got it right.) But. . . moving on!

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