M Among Finalists For Justin Smith
Four-star 2017 IL wing Justin Smithannounced his final seven schools on Monday, and despite being the only school not to put forth an offer yet, Michigan made the cut along with Illinois, Indiana, Stanford, Villanova, Wisconsin, and Xavier. Smith was at Michigan's team camp in June and the coaches followed him closely throughout the recent evaluation period; he's expected to be back on campus August 14th, when he could very well land an offer.
In a thread on the Scout board, Brian Snow mentioned that Villanova, Stanford, Michigan, and Indiana are likely ahead of the other three schools, and official visits—Smith plans to use them—will play a huge role. Smith looks like he'd be a great fit at Michigan; he's long, athletic, and boasts impressive court vision for a point guard, let alone a 6'7" wing.
[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of the roundup.]
I Guess This Is Meaningful
Kris Wilkes top 11 schools: Indiana, Xavier, Butler, UCLA, Ohio State, Illinois, Michigan, North Carolina, Washington, Arizona, UConn.
— Kyle Neddenriep (@KyleNeddenriep) July 31, 2016
Michigan made the top 11 for five-star IN wing Kris Wilkes, who picked up an offer back in June. Wilkes added a UNC offer last week, and Snow thinks that Michigan is in the second tier of contenders behind the Heels, Indiana, UCLA, and Xavier. Wilkes was always going to be a tough pull, and UNC jumping into the fray just made it that much tougher.
Livers Has Officials In Mind
4-star 2017 wing Isaiah Livers (Kalamazoo, MI) tells @MLive he'll take official visits in Aug/Sept to Michigan, Michigan State, Cal & Butler
— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) July 28, 2016
Four-star forward Isaiah Livers added a Michigan offer in June, and while the Wolverines will have to overcome childhood favorite Michigan State—which has 100% of his Crystal Ball picks—they'll at least get a shot when he returns for an official visit. The Wolverine's Chris Balas caught up with Livers last week and got a timeline for his recruitment:
Livers is still considering Cal, Butler, Oklahoma State and Minnesota and is planning on visiting most schools on his list one more time.
"It's pretty hard," he said. "I'm going to try to do it right when we start school … early or mid-September. It's going to come down to the system. Whatever system I fit in the best and whoever can prepare me and improve me on and off the court, make me keep working."
While Livers had an excellent visit to campus this summer, the Spartans remain the favorite.
2018 And Beyond: Team Camp This Weekend
While most of us are focused on this weekend's football BBQ, the basketball program also has a major recruiting event on Saturday: the team's annual College Practice Camp. Four-star 2018 MA SG Cormac Ryan will be in attendance, and if Michigan's summer viewing habits are any indication, he should be in line for an offer, per Balas:
An elite shooter, Ryan fits the profile of a Wolverines’ guard. Michigan coaches John Beilein, Jeff Meyer and the rest have let him know it.
“Michigan has been following me around basically all of July. They were around in the spring, too, so those guys have been pretty interested,” he said. “I'm going for camp and then to visit, and though I’m not expecting an offer, I’ve heard it might happen. If they do, I’ll be thrilled. If they don’t, I’ll keep working. I’ve still got a couple years left … but I’ve heard that [offer talk] floating around. I’ll take it as it comes with everything else.
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In fact, Ryan said, U-M hasn’t missed one of his games since a spring tournament in Pittsburgh, with either Beilein or one of his assistants on hand.
Three-star 2018 wing Kevin Easley has some impressive early offers and is hoping to add another this weekend:
Top-100 2018 SF Kevin Easley tells @MLive he'll be at Michigan's Elite Camp on Aug. 6 and is hoping to land a scholarship offer on the visit
— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) July 28, 2016
Easley, an Indy native, holds offers from Purdue, Indiana, Butler and others, but says he "really wants" an offer from Michigan next week.
— Brendan F. Quinn (@BFQuinn) July 28, 2016
Both (early) Crystal Ball picks for Easley are for Michigan, one from a Wisconsin insider. Dylan mentions on UMHoops that three-star 2018 Macomb (MI) PF Thomas Kithier, who holds an early MSU offer, will also attend the camp. While it's early yet, Michigan will also host an in-state prospect who could end up among the top players in his class:
Romeo Weems (19/The Family) will visit Michigan 8/6 for Elite Camp. 6'7 wing with elite skill set is one of the best freshman in the country
— Endless Motor Sports (@endless_motor) July 18, 2016
6'7" is an overstatement, but might not be for too long: Dylan mentions that Weems measured in at 6'4" with a 6'11"(!) wingspan at a recent Nike event. Michigan State, Ohio State, and Xavier are also early contenders for Weems.
Etc.
Despite the recent commitment of point guard Eli Brooks, Michigan is still in pursuit of 2017 guard Nojel Eastern, who's 6'6" with a lead guard skill-set, according to Balas. Eastern plans to narrow his list soon and Michigan is expected to make the cut.
Buffalo transfer Lamonte Bearden, who mentioned Michigan as a possible destination, will play out his eligibility at Western Kentucky, per Jon Rothstein.