The country has essentially been shut down due to Coronavirus concerns, but the Michigan basketball staff continues to work. Here's what we've picked up over the last week.
First things first — Josh Christopher. Everyone has been watching the five-star Californian closely and he knows it (and is enjoying it ... as he should, given that it's the only time he'll be recruited). He recently took to twitter to post pictures of himself in each of his four finalists' uniforms, and Michigan was last.
He then tweeted that he was fooling around, adding the next time he tweeted about college would be with a decision. We expect that soon, and we (and those close to the program) believe it will be for Michigan. It's fair to say we'd be very surprised at this point, and that it would involve an absolute, 180 change of heart.
This one has been trending Michigan for a long time (strong opinion). Though Christopher's brother is at Arizona State, there's plenty of evidence the Sun Devils have faded. Missouri has always seemed to be playing from behind, and UCLA hasn't really been in it for months.
The 6-5 five-star, Rivals.com's No. 11 senior nationally, is going to announce on twitter, and we expect it to happen any day. We also expect him to be the last 2020 pledge, though the Wolverines will continue to look for grad transfers, just in case. As we've stated many times on the board, we expect at least one guard, perhaps (and very possibly) two, to leave the program.
It's not as foregone a conclusion as it seemed a week ago. One in particular has been doing his workouts virtually with strength coach Jon Sanderson (as have big men Colin Castleton, who some thought was a lock to leave, and others), so they're acting as thought it's business as usual.
Folks close to it predict that junior Isaiah Livers will perhaps test the NBA waters, but barring something unforeseen will return for his senior year. He would have been a strong candidate (and very likely) to leave had he been strong start to finish, but injuries, of course, cost him much of the season, and Coronavirus concerns the NCAA Tournament.
Franz Wagner, too, could test, but he's also expected back barring something unexpected. He's in Washington D.C. right now hanging out with his brother, Moe.
Finally, recent events seem to make it more likely that Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Academy's Isaiah Todd signs in April — overseas options had been dicey at best even before recent world events —and we believe that five-star Texan Greg Brown stays home and plays for Shaka Smart and the Longhorns.
We asked head coach Juwan Howard yesterday about the roster and how they'd have room, get down to 13 players ... he didn't want to talk about that, shifting his focus to the current team and how they were handling finishing classes, etc.
We'll continue to follow these events in the days and weeks to come.
First things first — Josh Christopher. Everyone has been watching the five-star Californian closely and he knows it (and is enjoying it ... as he should, given that it's the only time he'll be recruited). He recently took to twitter to post pictures of himself in each of his four finalists' uniforms, and Michigan was last.
He then tweeted that he was fooling around, adding the next time he tweeted about college would be with a decision. We expect that soon, and we (and those close to the program) believe it will be for Michigan. It's fair to say we'd be very surprised at this point, and that it would involve an absolute, 180 change of heart.
This one has been trending Michigan for a long time (strong opinion). Though Christopher's brother is at Arizona State, there's plenty of evidence the Sun Devils have faded. Missouri has always seemed to be playing from behind, and UCLA hasn't really been in it for months.
The 6-5 five-star, Rivals.com's No. 11 senior nationally, is going to announce on twitter, and we expect it to happen any day. We also expect him to be the last 2020 pledge, though the Wolverines will continue to look for grad transfers, just in case. As we've stated many times on the board, we expect at least one guard, perhaps (and very possibly) two, to leave the program.
It's not as foregone a conclusion as it seemed a week ago. One in particular has been doing his workouts virtually with strength coach Jon Sanderson (as have big men Colin Castleton, who some thought was a lock to leave, and others), so they're acting as thought it's business as usual.
Folks close to it predict that junior Isaiah Livers will perhaps test the NBA waters, but barring something unforeseen will return for his senior year. He would have been a strong candidate (and very likely) to leave had he been strong start to finish, but injuries, of course, cost him much of the season, and Coronavirus concerns the NCAA Tournament.
Franz Wagner, too, could test, but he's also expected back barring something unexpected. He's in Washington D.C. right now hanging out with his brother, Moe.
Finally, recent events seem to make it more likely that Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Academy's Isaiah Todd signs in April — overseas options had been dicey at best even before recent world events —and we believe that five-star Texan Greg Brown stays home and plays for Shaka Smart and the Longhorns.
We asked head coach Juwan Howard yesterday about the roster and how they'd have room, get down to 13 players ... he didn't want to talk about that, shifting his focus to the current team and how they were handling finishing classes, etc.
We'll continue to follow these events in the days and weeks to come.
