Lesson Learned
After Tyus Battle took the last available scholarship in the 2016 class only to decommit and cause Michigan to lose out on fellow five-star wing Josh Langford, it looked like John Beilein's strict adherence to not oversigning—even in the attrition-heavy environment of major conference college hoops—cost Michigan their shot at an elite wing, especially after they accepted the commitment of three-star Ibi Watson last week.
Sam Webb hinted in the wake of Watson commitment that was not, in fact, the case. When Webb broke the news that five-star wing Miles Bridges, a Flint native who plays for Huntington (WV) Prep, would visit on Monday, the picture became clear: Michigan is changing their recruiting tack and they're not done recruiting wings.
Michigan had been the only school in Bridges' top five not to offer him, since he hadn't taken a visit to Ann Arbor yet. That changed following Monday's visit, according to Webb. While Kentucky and Michigan State are the favorites to land Bridges, there's reason for optimism. Bridges is AAU teammates with top point guard target Cassius Winston, and they've mentioned a desire to play together in college. [Insert caveat about package deals here.]
This is a significant shift for Michigan, as it'd mark a change in Beilein's willingness to project attrition when recruiting. The Wolverines need a point guard in this class; it's expected commit Austin Davis will take a prep year and reclassify to 2017 to make room for one. There isn't an obvious way to make room for one more, but Beilein isn't exactly at risk of going Full Crean (never go Full Crean); with the logjam at the three and the four, plus the potential for a Zak Irvin breakout year, it'd be a surprise if every eligible member of this year's team was back in 2016-17.
It's a lesson learned the hard way, but it looks like Beilein took note of what happened with Battle and is making the requisite adjustments to his recruiting strategy.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
Winston Sets Officials
@cassiuswinston official visit schedule: Stanford (8-7) Pittsburgh (8-30) Harvard (9-4 - tentative), Michigan St. (9-12) Michigan (9-19).
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanESPN) July 28, 2015
As you can see above, Michigan will get the final official visit for the aforementioned top-30 U-D Jesuit point guard Cassius Winston. While he's planning to take all five officials, this has long looked to be a Michigan-MSU battle, and he's been the primary focus of M's 2016 recruiting efforts for a while now.
The other point guard Michigan has offered this cycle, four-star KY PG Quentin Goodin, committed to Xavier last weekend. That doesn't mean Beilein lacks a backup plan. Four-star NJ PG Bryce Aiken recently named Michigan to his top six, though he's yet to set a visit. In a recent rundown of the July evaluation period, Dylan from UMHoops also mentioned three-star WI PG Te'Jon Lucas and top-50 OR PG Payton Pritchard, who decommitted from Oklahoma last month, as potential options.
There's also the chance that four-star SG Kevin Huerter, a 2016 recruit who could wind up reclassifying to 2017, has enough combo guard skills that Beilein would take him instead of a point guard. It seems more likely Michigan would push for him to reclassify, as Syracuse is doing with him.
More Ibi Watson
There wasn't a ton of scouting out there on Ibi Watsonwhen he committed, so I figured I'd add some more here. Scout's Brian Snow posted a lengthy evaluation following his commitment ($):
As Watson gets more reps and more confidence in that jumper he could be someone who really takes off as a shooter going forward.
Also Watson brings solid size, he is a legit 6-foot-4 and maybe slightly taller, and versatility to the court. With that in mind he can play the shooting guard or small forward position on the offensive end, and also is a capable defender who should in time be more than adequate in that area, potentially even developing into someone who can be looked to lockdown an opponent’s top scorer.
As for areas for improvement, Snow mentioned a need to add toughness and aggressiveness. While he sees Watson as a redshirt candidate in need of significant development, he also notes the potential for him to turn into a go-to player down the road.
The Wolverine's Chris Balas caught up with Watson to get a self-evaluation ($):
"They like my versatility, my ability to shoot the ball," he said of college coaches. "The fact that when I'm aggressive, nobody can stop me … my ability to do everything.
"A lot of colleges say they think I can play the one through three offensively and defensively. I can shoot, drive, pass and do everything."
Beilein, though, wanted to see more aggressiveness before he offered, and Watson obliged. He was in attack mode most of the summer.
Considering Watson's breakout summer, the light may have come on in regards to his aggressiveness as a scorer.