The latest edition of INSIDE THE FORT, brought to you in a few parts this week while we cover the Citrus Bowl in Orlando, starting today with practice access followed by player interviews …
We’ll begin with basketball recruiting and Terrance Williams’ visit this weekend. The Rivals.com four-star (6-6, 210 pounds), the nation’s No. 96 prospect, will be on campus this weekend, and as we’ve said a number of times, we really like where the Wolverines sit with him.
The former Georgetown pledge liked U-M the first time around, and now that he’s seen head coach Juwan Howard in action, he’s even more enamored. The best part about this one, though … commitment Hunter Dickinson (7-1, No. 38 nationally) has been working on him for the last month, even before he was pledged to the Wolverines.
The two are even tighter than we thought.
“I've known ‘T’ since we were eight years old,” Dickinson told us recently. “We've been great friends ever since. Our families are very close.”
And by close, he means really close.
“We even tried to go to the same high school, but it just didn't work out,” Dickinson said.
The Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga standout could play with Dickinson now, and we wouldn’t bet against it happening.
Rivals.com’s Corey Evans notes that Williams is a mismatch that can play either forward position depending upon the lineup placed onto the floor.
“Most valued for his smarts, toughness and shooting … an efficient producer, the Team Takeover product made over 37 percent of his perimeter attempts during his play on the Nike EYBL platform. He has posted per-game averages of 15.1 points and 5.9 rebounds.”
As Dickinson told us last week, he can excel at either the three or the four. Even though he’s not overly athletic, he just knows how to score. Some have compared him to a Vince Edwards (Purdue) type.
This one bears watching closely over the next several days. Williams will be in Ann Arbor starting today.
****
The other day, rumblings surfaced on twitter that Michigan could be adding a player for the second semester who could be eligible immediately. Many fans were hopeful it would be an immediate contributor, as well … it has been confirmed that it’s former Ann Arbor Skyline standout Brandon Wade.
Wade, a veteran of many Michigan camps, averaged one point at Duquesne last year and comes to U-M has a walk-on. He’s practicing today and wearing No. 4 for the Wolverines, but we don’t expect him to be a major contributor.
It wouldn’t surprise if Howard continued to add other high-profile walk-ons to his program, as well. One candidate — Zaire Wade, son of former NBA star Dwyane Wade, a good friend and former teammate of Howard’s.
The three-star isn’t a huge contributor at Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, Calif., but he does bring it on the defensive end.
“He’s pretty athletic, and he is a pretty good passer,” Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi told us recently. “He’s not a particularly strong jump shooter and hasn’t been all that productive just yet. He played on a below average EYBL team and showed flashes of brilliance, but he didn’t put up really good numbers.”
His name alone makes it almost impossible for him to get judged fairly, Bossi noted, but he’s playing with outstanding talent and still budding as a player. Another like that — three-star Jace Howard of Hollywood (Fla.) University, Juwan’s son. We expect him to be part of the 2020 class. He told us three weeks ago the timing of his decision will all make sense when he signs in the late period, meaning the wheels are in motion for a few things to happen with the U-M roster.
The Wolverines will be looking for scoring from the guard position next year, and Josh Christopher would certainly fit the bill. The 6-4 shooting guard out of Lakewood (Calif.) Mayfair was recently interviewed by Jalen Rose on ESPN, and it’s fair to say now that what once seemed like a Hail Mary now seems to be a somewhat realistic possibility.
We still believe the elite scorer ends up out West, but Howard has done an incredible job building a relationship with him.
Finally, five-star pledge Isaiah Todd of Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God has convinced some that he plans to be at U-M next year. “Some” includes the Michigan coaching staff, which firmly believes he’ll spend a year in Ann Arbor next year.
Todd didn’t sign in the early period, of course, but as his mom said on twitter, that doesn’t mean he won’t. Several still believe he’ll end up overseas, however, possibly in Australia.
“The sharks are circling in the waters trying to get to not just him, but a lot of these kids,” one source said. “He may have the best intentions (of going to school), but he’s going to have to navigate some pretty difficult waters. He’s really talented, and a lot of people are going to try to convince him the short-term money is better than maybe enhancing the brand in college.”
They’d be wise to use Zion Williamson as an example, he added.
“Nobody could do it like Zion did, but Zion could never have made that money overseas.
The year of college, if he does what he’s capable of, could greatly enhance his brand,” he said.
We’ll continue to monitor that one.
****
To football recruiting …
Starting with Darion Green-Warren, the Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne standout four-star corner …
As we’ve hinted and our EJ Holland has reported, we strongly believe Rivals.com’s No. 154 senior nationally ends up in this class. We’ll leave it there, but he’d be a great addition at a strong position of need.
Meanwhile, co-host of CBS Sports’ The Lemming Report and well-known recruiting guru Tom Lemming broke down an interesting recruiting trend that has become quite prevalent among head coaches in the SEC, and one he suggested would be beneficial for Jim Harbaugh to become more involved in.
Lemming, who travels year-round to high schools around the country meeting coaches and players, first gave a brief update on three-star tight end Nick Patterson, who is still technically committed to U-M but didn’t sign during the early period.
“He’s not that good,” Lemming said. “I was shocked when Michigan offered him. Maybe it was just to keep the dad pacified, but with Shea now gone, I don’t think they see a reason to keep Nick.”
As for the recruiting practice that SEC coaches often utilize…
“Ohio State’s best players have always come from Ohio, but when Urban [Meyer] got there, they would take the best five or six guys from Ohio and then go around the rest of the country and become national,” Lemming began. “For Michigan, it’s a matter of getting on impact players when they’re sophomores — that’s what Urban and [Penn State head coach] James Franklin learned during their time in the Southeastern Conference.
“I was once sitting at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans with Leonard Fournette’s coach when he was only a sophomore, and during that time, [Ole Miss coach] Lane Kiffin, [Alabama coach] Nick Saban and [former LSU coach] Les Miles all called the coach to make sure Leonard was going to call them back, because they weren’t allowed to call him yet since he was only a sophomore. Leonard developed a relationship with Kiffin, Saban and Miles when he was only a sophomore, while most of the other coaches obviously weren’t talking to him.
“That’s a Southeastern Conference trait they all learned; Lane was at USC at the time, but he knew it because Pete Carroll had had the same instinct to call guys early. He picked it up from Carroll and learned it better from Saban at Alabama. There’s a reason the SEC had six teams in the national top eight classes this year in recruiting, because they’re phenomenal recruiters — they never stop. Harbaugh and most other coaches have to work on sophomores, even though it’s a lot of extra work. It’s actually part of their job descriptions in the Southeastern Conference, though it’s not yet like that in the Big Ten for most of the schools.
“To be in the elites, it’s what you have to do. I do know Harbaugh calls a lot of people and is a hard-working guy. He was working on [Alabama junior running back] Najee Harris as a sophomore, so he definitely does it, but it’s a matter of doing it with a lot more guys. Find out who your top 50 sophomores in the country are, and then it comes down to going that extra mile. Ohio State already has an edge, because there are more impact guys in Ohio than there are in Michigan. Michigan needs to be more national, which they are, but also with the super impact players. It also means you’re probably going to lose every three out of four guys to Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia or LSU, but at least you’re in the ball game and after the impact players.
“It’s [Michigan’s issues] not coaching, because Harbaugh is a great coach; it’s just that he doesn’t have the impact players that some of these other teams have, especially Ohio State. Ohio State has better talent, and there’s no doubt about that. I’ve been doing this for 41 years, and the five best recruiters I’ve seen are Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, [North Carolina coach] Mack Brown, [former Tennessee coach] Phil Fulmer and Pete Carroll. They all told me you win with impact players, no matter how good of a coach you are.
“Those guys proved that time and time again. With the way guys leave after three years, you have to keep the cupboard full and never have a bad recruiting year. Michigan has never really had one, maybe outside of the times they’ve had coaching changes.”
We’ll begin with basketball recruiting and Terrance Williams’ visit this weekend. The Rivals.com four-star (6-6, 210 pounds), the nation’s No. 96 prospect, will be on campus this weekend, and as we’ve said a number of times, we really like where the Wolverines sit with him.
The former Georgetown pledge liked U-M the first time around, and now that he’s seen head coach Juwan Howard in action, he’s even more enamored. The best part about this one, though … commitment Hunter Dickinson (7-1, No. 38 nationally) has been working on him for the last month, even before he was pledged to the Wolverines.
The two are even tighter than we thought.
“I've known ‘T’ since we were eight years old,” Dickinson told us recently. “We've been great friends ever since. Our families are very close.”
And by close, he means really close.
“We even tried to go to the same high school, but it just didn't work out,” Dickinson said.
The Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga standout could play with Dickinson now, and we wouldn’t bet against it happening.
Rivals.com’s Corey Evans notes that Williams is a mismatch that can play either forward position depending upon the lineup placed onto the floor.
“Most valued for his smarts, toughness and shooting … an efficient producer, the Team Takeover product made over 37 percent of his perimeter attempts during his play on the Nike EYBL platform. He has posted per-game averages of 15.1 points and 5.9 rebounds.”
As Dickinson told us last week, he can excel at either the three or the four. Even though he’s not overly athletic, he just knows how to score. Some have compared him to a Vince Edwards (Purdue) type.
This one bears watching closely over the next several days. Williams will be in Ann Arbor starting today.
****
The other day, rumblings surfaced on twitter that Michigan could be adding a player for the second semester who could be eligible immediately. Many fans were hopeful it would be an immediate contributor, as well … it has been confirmed that it’s former Ann Arbor Skyline standout Brandon Wade.
Wade, a veteran of many Michigan camps, averaged one point at Duquesne last year and comes to U-M has a walk-on. He’s practicing today and wearing No. 4 for the Wolverines, but we don’t expect him to be a major contributor.
It wouldn’t surprise if Howard continued to add other high-profile walk-ons to his program, as well. One candidate — Zaire Wade, son of former NBA star Dwyane Wade, a good friend and former teammate of Howard’s.
The three-star isn’t a huge contributor at Sierra Canyon in Chatsworth, Calif., but he does bring it on the defensive end.
“He’s pretty athletic, and he is a pretty good passer,” Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi told us recently. “He’s not a particularly strong jump shooter and hasn’t been all that productive just yet. He played on a below average EYBL team and showed flashes of brilliance, but he didn’t put up really good numbers.”
His name alone makes it almost impossible for him to get judged fairly, Bossi noted, but he’s playing with outstanding talent and still budding as a player. Another like that — three-star Jace Howard of Hollywood (Fla.) University, Juwan’s son. We expect him to be part of the 2020 class. He told us three weeks ago the timing of his decision will all make sense when he signs in the late period, meaning the wheels are in motion for a few things to happen with the U-M roster.
The Wolverines will be looking for scoring from the guard position next year, and Josh Christopher would certainly fit the bill. The 6-4 shooting guard out of Lakewood (Calif.) Mayfair was recently interviewed by Jalen Rose on ESPN, and it’s fair to say now that what once seemed like a Hail Mary now seems to be a somewhat realistic possibility.
We still believe the elite scorer ends up out West, but Howard has done an incredible job building a relationship with him.
Finally, five-star pledge Isaiah Todd of Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God has convinced some that he plans to be at U-M next year. “Some” includes the Michigan coaching staff, which firmly believes he’ll spend a year in Ann Arbor next year.
Todd didn’t sign in the early period, of course, but as his mom said on twitter, that doesn’t mean he won’t. Several still believe he’ll end up overseas, however, possibly in Australia.
“The sharks are circling in the waters trying to get to not just him, but a lot of these kids,” one source said. “He may have the best intentions (of going to school), but he’s going to have to navigate some pretty difficult waters. He’s really talented, and a lot of people are going to try to convince him the short-term money is better than maybe enhancing the brand in college.”
They’d be wise to use Zion Williamson as an example, he added.
“Nobody could do it like Zion did, but Zion could never have made that money overseas.
The year of college, if he does what he’s capable of, could greatly enhance his brand,” he said.
We’ll continue to monitor that one.
****
To football recruiting …
Starting with Darion Green-Warren, the Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne standout four-star corner …
As we’ve hinted and our EJ Holland has reported, we strongly believe Rivals.com’s No. 154 senior nationally ends up in this class. We’ll leave it there, but he’d be a great addition at a strong position of need.
Meanwhile, co-host of CBS Sports’ The Lemming Report and well-known recruiting guru Tom Lemming broke down an interesting recruiting trend that has become quite prevalent among head coaches in the SEC, and one he suggested would be beneficial for Jim Harbaugh to become more involved in.
Lemming, who travels year-round to high schools around the country meeting coaches and players, first gave a brief update on three-star tight end Nick Patterson, who is still technically committed to U-M but didn’t sign during the early period.
“He’s not that good,” Lemming said. “I was shocked when Michigan offered him. Maybe it was just to keep the dad pacified, but with Shea now gone, I don’t think they see a reason to keep Nick.”
As for the recruiting practice that SEC coaches often utilize…
“Ohio State’s best players have always come from Ohio, but when Urban [Meyer] got there, they would take the best five or six guys from Ohio and then go around the rest of the country and become national,” Lemming began. “For Michigan, it’s a matter of getting on impact players when they’re sophomores — that’s what Urban and [Penn State head coach] James Franklin learned during their time in the Southeastern Conference.
“I was once sitting at St. Augustine High School in New Orleans with Leonard Fournette’s coach when he was only a sophomore, and during that time, [Ole Miss coach] Lane Kiffin, [Alabama coach] Nick Saban and [former LSU coach] Les Miles all called the coach to make sure Leonard was going to call them back, because they weren’t allowed to call him yet since he was only a sophomore. Leonard developed a relationship with Kiffin, Saban and Miles when he was only a sophomore, while most of the other coaches obviously weren’t talking to him.
“That’s a Southeastern Conference trait they all learned; Lane was at USC at the time, but he knew it because Pete Carroll had had the same instinct to call guys early. He picked it up from Carroll and learned it better from Saban at Alabama. There’s a reason the SEC had six teams in the national top eight classes this year in recruiting, because they’re phenomenal recruiters — they never stop. Harbaugh and most other coaches have to work on sophomores, even though it’s a lot of extra work. It’s actually part of their job descriptions in the Southeastern Conference, though it’s not yet like that in the Big Ten for most of the schools.
“To be in the elites, it’s what you have to do. I do know Harbaugh calls a lot of people and is a hard-working guy. He was working on [Alabama junior running back] Najee Harris as a sophomore, so he definitely does it, but it’s a matter of doing it with a lot more guys. Find out who your top 50 sophomores in the country are, and then it comes down to going that extra mile. Ohio State already has an edge, because there are more impact guys in Ohio than there are in Michigan. Michigan needs to be more national, which they are, but also with the super impact players. It also means you’re probably going to lose every three out of four guys to Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Georgia or LSU, but at least you’re in the ball game and after the impact players.
“It’s [Michigan’s issues] not coaching, because Harbaugh is a great coach; it’s just that he doesn’t have the impact players that some of these other teams have, especially Ohio State. Ohio State has better talent, and there’s no doubt about that. I’ve been doing this for 41 years, and the five best recruiters I’ve seen are Nick Saban, Urban Meyer, [North Carolina coach] Mack Brown, [former Tennessee coach] Phil Fulmer and Pete Carroll. They all told me you win with impact players, no matter how good of a coach you are.
“Those guys proved that time and time again. With the way guys leave after three years, you have to keep the cupboard full and never have a bad recruiting year. Michigan has never really had one, maybe outside of the times they’ve had coaching changes.”
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