U of M Basketball Recruiting Discussion

[hack]

Definitely seems like there's a buzz. Needs to be followed up by some serious recruiting. Enough with the guards. We need to get some bigs in here soonest.

[*JD*]

Well, as the Final Four shows, you can make it there with strong guard play. There's not a stud big man amongst those 4 teams. The teams with the potential lotto-bigs (UNC, Kansas & Arizona) are all gone. The teams that made it are all led by strong guards (Walker, Rodriguez, Knight & Mack).

That's not to say a guy like Matt Howard isn't a great big for Butler (and UK and UConn both have some size) but I don't think he was a top 25 player coming out of H.S.

Bielfelt probably projects very similar to what Howard was as a H.S. senior.

I'd rather have the Top 25 big man to go along with the rest but in the college game it seems to be the guards that make the bigger difference. Florida is the only recent champion that I can think of that was really led by their bigs (and Corey Brewer). I think they still had a decent PG in Green, though.

If we have guys that can defend, rebound and block the occasional shot, we should be okay. I think Morgan can get even better and at least be a 11 & 8 guy, I still have faith in Horford improving and I think Bielfeldt can at least grab boards and score the occasional bucket.
McLimans? Maybe not. I'll just say I'll be pleasantly surprised it he turns into a poor man's Josh Asselin.

A key will be Smotrycz doing more than hitting 3's and getting a hot hand here and there. He needs to bulk up and work on his ball-handling and defense. He did improve his post game over the last few weeks of the season.

I was watching Chandler Parsons for Florida and thought maybe Smot could wind up being that kind of player if he fills out a bit.

We've got some pieces coming in these next couple of years. GR III & Stauskas are both still Juniors in H.S. so they may not be done growing either. They're both in the 6'5"-6"6" range, depending on which scouting service you read so it's possible one of them might wind up an inch or two taller. Maybe they won't be power players but having that length will still help on the boards.

[hack]

Agreed that you can win with serviceable bigs and great guards. I'm not saying I want to find the HS Tim Duncan -- although of course I do. I'm just saying that I would like more serviceable bigs. Assuming things stay the same, Max is the one big recruited in the the next two years. There's no depth at all.

[*JD*]

I'm sure we'll go after at least 1 big in the 2013 class. We would then have Morgan, Horford and Smotrycz as seniors (and maybe McLimans, if he's brought back for a 5th year) with Max as a Junior (if we don't redshirt him) for whatever Freshman bigs are coming in. In Beilein's system, Colton Christain is a 4 as well.

My guess is that unless McLimans makes a big leap, he won't be brought back for a 5th year. Morris and Vogrich will be gone and Hardaway will probably go pro by the end of his Junior year. We'll have 3 or 4 scholarships. Look for one to be used on a PG and the other two to be used on bigs. If we have a 4th, that's up for grabs.

[*JD*]

Here's how it breaks down, right now:

[The Oracle]

Many feel GRIII will grow into a 4 as well.

[*JD*]

That would be great if he wound up his dad's height or taller.

[*JD*]

Trey Burke got his highest honor to date, 2nd Team Parade All-American:

http://www.uksportsinfo.com/basketball/2011-high-school-basketball-parade-all-americans.html

[Pasadena Blue]

I was surprised there was still an undecided on that 1st team list.

[*JD*]

Austin Hatch, for the class of 2013, has Michigan as his leader:

http://www.umhoops.com/2011/04/07/austin-hatch-michigan-is-probably-no-1-right-now/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+UMHoops+%28UM+Hoops.com%29&utm_content=Twitter

6'6" and 214 is pretty good size for a Soph.

[*JD*]

I haven't found many highlight videos while looking for him but here's an interview. He doesn't sound like a 15 or 16 year old kid:

[YOUTUBE]Bj63Cz546Oo[/YOUTUBE]

[*JD*]

Also, in what I think are ESPN's final rankings for H.S. Seniors, Carlton Brundidge is at #73 and Trey Burke is #81.

Neither GR III or Nik Stauskas are among the Top 60 Juniors ranked but that may change after AAU ball.

[lineygoblue]

Do any of you basketball recruiting geeks remember where Tim Hardaway Jr was ranked?

[*JD*]

Right around 100. I think the highest I saw was #91 but it might not have been that high.

Obviously, it's not an exact science.

[*JD*]

I'm not sure how old this one is but it doesn't even have him ranked. He's also listed at 6'3" so this may have been the summer after his Jr. year.

http://rivals.yahoo.com/michigan/basketball/recruiting/player-Tim-Hardaway-70973

Here, he is rated #36 at his position:

http://scouthoops.scout.com/a.z?s=75&p=8&c=1&nid=3798656

Wiki says ESPN had him graded at a 93 and 26th at his position.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Hardaway,_Jr.