Michigan is still in search of big men after Donovan Clingan pledged to UConn over Michigan and others and Jalen Duren released a top five that didn't include Michigan.
Tarris Reed was in recently and had a great visit, but was it enough to surpass his leaders? Ohio State appears to be the team to beat here.
On Clingan ... we reported a few months ago that a great source told us his mother's dying wish was to see him stay home and play for UConn. The 7-footer, a Rivals.com top 50 out of Bristol (Conn.) Central, lost his mother to cancer three years ago, and his father (Bill) has done a great job with him and sister since.
We can also tell you that Michigan believed they were in great position with him at one point, which is why we changed our tune and said U-M was very much in play. One of the Zoom calls ended with his father telling his son, "tell them (the coaches)."
What he told them was he grew up a Michigan fan. This was at the end of a great Zoom with Juwan Howard, and the Wolverines felt great about their chances. When we talked to Clingan's father, he even said he might consider buying a condo in Ann Arbor if his son chose U-M.
The reaction after the visit was much different. They were careful about what they said, not to say too much positive other than "everyone was real." They followed up with an "awesome" visit to Ohio State following a trip to Syracuse ... and after that, he was immediately ready to visit and pledge to UConn.
And that seemed to be the culmination of his dream, which was what our source told us all along. In his pledge statement he even said, "we did it, Mom" ... pretty touching stuff. We wish him nothing but the best.
As for Duren, the nation's top player ... we still expect him to go directly to the pros, but he did release a top five that didn't included the Wolverines. That was somewhat surprising, honestly (not that we ever expected him at Michigan, as you know).
The Wolverines likely aren't getting Dereck Lively, though he does plan to visit and Juwan Howard has been paying very close attention to him on the recruiting trail. The five-star does have U-M in his top seven.
They've started showing interest in four-star Earnest Udeh, too. He's really elevated his game.
From Rivals:
"One of the biggest stock riser of the summer so far has been Ernest Udeh, a 6-foot-10 center out of Florida. Playing with Dr. Phillips in the team camp in Georgia this weekend in front of college coaches, the Rivals150 big man added to his offer list with Alabama, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee jumping into the mix.
"Udeh’s relentless motor, strong hands, and ability to dominate in the pain has been on full display the last few months with Southeast Elite. In that time, schools such as Creighton, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Miami and Stanford came in with scholarship offers."
His mom is very serious about academics, so that could play in Michigan's favor. He's much better than his current ranking.
****
We caught up with four-star Jett Howard recently to ask about a timetable. In short ... he doesn't have one, he told us. He hasn't set a decision date, and he isn't sure when he'll pull the trigger.
We didn't ask him about other schools, because we don't feel we need to. As you know, we strongly believe he'll end up a Wolverine. We'd go all-in with this one, in fact.
We'll have much more on hoops and recruiting throughout this week, including a report on the freshmen (who reported this week). We will tell you that those closest to it say this year's team is "absolutely loaded" based on what they've seen, and that's with Caleb Houstan (playing with Team Canada right now) having not yet arrived.
One last thing to remember, too, for those who might be panicking about the bigs — Moussa Diabate and Caleb Houstan came out of nowhere to commit to the Wolverines last year. Howard will get his, and it might be someone who hasn't even been on the radar.
Have a great 4th, all!
Tarris Reed was in recently and had a great visit, but was it enough to surpass his leaders? Ohio State appears to be the team to beat here.
On Clingan ... we reported a few months ago that a great source told us his mother's dying wish was to see him stay home and play for UConn. The 7-footer, a Rivals.com top 50 out of Bristol (Conn.) Central, lost his mother to cancer three years ago, and his father (Bill) has done a great job with him and sister since.
We can also tell you that Michigan believed they were in great position with him at one point, which is why we changed our tune and said U-M was very much in play. One of the Zoom calls ended with his father telling his son, "tell them (the coaches)."
What he told them was he grew up a Michigan fan. This was at the end of a great Zoom with Juwan Howard, and the Wolverines felt great about their chances. When we talked to Clingan's father, he even said he might consider buying a condo in Ann Arbor if his son chose U-M.
The reaction after the visit was much different. They were careful about what they said, not to say too much positive other than "everyone was real." They followed up with an "awesome" visit to Ohio State following a trip to Syracuse ... and after that, he was immediately ready to visit and pledge to UConn.
And that seemed to be the culmination of his dream, which was what our source told us all along. In his pledge statement he even said, "we did it, Mom" ... pretty touching stuff. We wish him nothing but the best.
As for Duren, the nation's top player ... we still expect him to go directly to the pros, but he did release a top five that didn't included the Wolverines. That was somewhat surprising, honestly (not that we ever expected him at Michigan, as you know).
The Wolverines likely aren't getting Dereck Lively, though he does plan to visit and Juwan Howard has been paying very close attention to him on the recruiting trail. The five-star does have U-M in his top seven.
They've started showing interest in four-star Earnest Udeh, too. He's really elevated his game.
From Rivals:
"One of the biggest stock riser of the summer so far has been Ernest Udeh, a 6-foot-10 center out of Florida. Playing with Dr. Phillips in the team camp in Georgia this weekend in front of college coaches, the Rivals150 big man added to his offer list with Alabama, Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana and Tennessee jumping into the mix.
"Udeh’s relentless motor, strong hands, and ability to dominate in the pain has been on full display the last few months with Southeast Elite. In that time, schools such as Creighton, Florida, Georgia, Georgia Tech, Kansas, Miami and Stanford came in with scholarship offers."
His mom is very serious about academics, so that could play in Michigan's favor. He's much better than his current ranking.
****
We caught up with four-star Jett Howard recently to ask about a timetable. In short ... he doesn't have one, he told us. He hasn't set a decision date, and he isn't sure when he'll pull the trigger.
We didn't ask him about other schools, because we don't feel we need to. As you know, we strongly believe he'll end up a Wolverine. We'd go all-in with this one, in fact.
We'll have much more on hoops and recruiting throughout this week, including a report on the freshmen (who reported this week). We will tell you that those closest to it say this year's team is "absolutely loaded" based on what they've seen, and that's with Caleb Houstan (playing with Team Canada right now) having not yet arrived.
One last thing to remember, too, for those who might be panicking about the bigs — Moussa Diabate and Caleb Houstan came out of nowhere to commit to the Wolverines last year. Howard will get his, and it might be someone who hasn't even been on the radar.
Have a great 4th, all!
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