I've been holding off on posting this, afraid that I'd do so and it wouldn't happen. Now that it has///
Not surprisingly, I'm very excited. If you drew up the ideal combo 3/4 for John Beilein's system, Brandon Johns is that ideal--great shooter, good length, good ball skills, above average athleticism, plays inside/out. In addition, he looks ready to come in and play from the get-go. And he can play alongside Isaiah Livers, a similarly versatile player. We have quality AND depth at the forward position which we haven't had at any point in the Beilein era.
And that's without counting anyone else we get in this year's class, as well as the very strong likelihood that Charles Matthews is still around beyond this season. There are still other wings on the board who would make the forward/wing positions extremely deep (Ignas Brazdeikis and Jerome Hunter are top 50-75 kids, Hunter Tyson, who I also think we could get soon, is a top 150 kid who is very young for his class (still 16), and a guy with real upside, and Damezi Anderson is a top 100 kid).
As for comparisons to other players, I'd say Christian Watford of Indiana and Jake Layman of Maryland would be the closest matches.
Finally, it's good to see us getting kids out of Michigan again, and ones offered by MSU (see also, Livers). This is the first time in the entire Beilein era that we've had two Michigan kids in the same class (the last time was the Manny Harris and Kelvin Grady, and they were signed by Tommy). I don't mind getting kids from all over, but it's good to have a presence in your own home state. To get the top rated kid in Michigan, and from East Lansing to boot...that's a very good thing.
Not surprisingly, I'm very excited. If you drew up the ideal combo 3/4 for John Beilein's system, Brandon Johns is that ideal--great shooter, good length, good ball skills, above average athleticism, plays inside/out. In addition, he looks ready to come in and play from the get-go. And he can play alongside Isaiah Livers, a similarly versatile player. We have quality AND depth at the forward position which we haven't had at any point in the Beilein era.
And that's without counting anyone else we get in this year's class, as well as the very strong likelihood that Charles Matthews is still around beyond this season. There are still other wings on the board who would make the forward/wing positions extremely deep (Ignas Brazdeikis and Jerome Hunter are top 50-75 kids, Hunter Tyson, who I also think we could get soon, is a top 150 kid who is very young for his class (still 16), and a guy with real upside, and Damezi Anderson is a top 100 kid).
As for comparisons to other players, I'd say Christian Watford of Indiana and Jake Layman of Maryland would be the closest matches.
Finally, it's good to see us getting kids out of Michigan again, and ones offered by MSU (see also, Livers). This is the first time in the entire Beilein era that we've had two Michigan kids in the same class (the last time was the Manny Harris and Kelvin Grady, and they were signed by Tommy). I don't mind getting kids from all over, but it's good to have a presence in your own home state. To get the top rated kid in Michigan, and from East Lansing to boot...that's a very good thing.
