With the regular signing period for the 2015 class less than a month away, it's time for one of our every-so-often basketball recruiting roundups. Headlining this edition is a visit from one of the best players in the country.
Jaylen Brown Sets Official
2015 GA SF Jaylen Brown, the #2 overall prospect in the country, has twice had to cancel planned official visits to Michigan due to scheduling conflicts. The third time should be the charm, as Sam Webb reports he's set to visit later this week:
Scout's #1 player in 2015, Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler SF Jaylen Brown is slated to visit #Michigan Thursday and Friday of this week
— Sam Webb (@SamWebb77) March 16, 2015
A potential commitment from Brown would have a significant impact on the outlook for next season, but Michigan faces daunting competition: Brown has also visited Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, and UCLA, in addition to the in-state pairing of Georgia and Georgia Tech. Everyone's favorite one-and-done factory currently leads his 247 Crystal Ball picks.
Brown is one of two 2015 prospects left on Michigan's radar with one scholarship available, making the not-so-safe assumption that Caris LeVert stays and Max Bielfeldt doesn't return. The other, far more likely option is German forward Moritz Wagner, who added a scholarship offer during his official visit for the Rutgers game.
[Several class of 2016 updates after THE JUMP.]
M-OSU Battle For Towns?
Columbus (OH) Northland SF Seth Towns is one of the favorites to end up in the critical 2016 class; Michigan initially looked to be the leader in his recruitment before Ohio State offered Towns in November. Towns took in Michigan's win over the Buckeyes in February and discussed his timeline and top schools with The Wolverine's Chris Balas ($):
Towns plans to wait until after the spring and summer to make any decisions, "just let everything open up and see what comes down." Michigan remains "really high on his list" with Ohio State, while Iowa, Purdue and others are also in the mix.
Leaving Columbus could be tough for a lifelong Buckeyes fan, but it's certainly a possibility.
"I'm still trying to figure things out," he said. "We'll see how things play out and what happens."
This looks like a Michigan-OSU battle. We'll see if the hometown advantage proves too much to overcome.
Michigan Makes Battle's Top Seven
Five-star 2016 SG Tyus Battlecut his list to seven teams in February: Connecticut, Duke, Louisville, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, and Syracuse. John Beilein and ND's Mike Brey dropped by for visits that months, and Battle is planning his first pair of official visits—Duke and Louisville. The Blue Devils are the presumed favorite; we'll see if Syracuse sticks in his top group given their whole NCAA sanction problem.
It's tough to talk Battle without also mentioning Derryck Thornton, the five-star point guard who's looking at many of the same schools, including Michigan and Duke. The Wolverines could be fighting an uphill battle in this one; Thornton is strongly considering a reclassification to the 2015 class, and that would appear to favor the Blue Devils.
Other 2016 Updates
Basketball recruiting moves at a leisurely pace, so there's not a whole lot more of note with Michigan's focus largely on the 2016 class.
Per Balas, four-star U of D Jesuit PG Cassius Winston plans to wait at least until he's done with his spring AAU season before making a decision ($). His choice is likely to come down to Michigan and MSU.
Beilein visited five-star combo guard Josh Langford in February, watching him score 34 and pull down nine boards in a playoff game, per 247's Jerry Meyer. Florida, Michigan, and MSU have reportedly been the schools in closest contact with Langford; the Wolverines and Spartans have split his last five Crystal Ball picks.
Michigan already has one big man committed to the 2016 class in Ohio four-star Jon Teske. Should they want a second, Beilein's maintained contact with Onsted (MI) center Austin Davis, per GBW's Kyle Bogenschutz. Davis holds five offers, four of them from MAC schools, and has seen several Big Ten programs come through to see him.
Speaking of Teske, the Michigan commit led his Medina squad to a district title on Saturday with an eye-popping stat line:
Jon Teske earned a triple double to help lead the Medina boys basketball team to a 45-43 upset against top-seeded Massillon Jackson on Saturday in the Division I Copley District final.
Teske led Medina, seeded No. 10, scoring 27 points, 12 rebounds and 10 blocks.
The true big man's triple-double. Yes, please.