Several Michigan targets participated in the recent NBA Players’ Association camp over the weekend, and there’s some big news on plenty of them. Here’s what we’ve picked up from the Charlottesville (Va.) camp …
First off, we’ve been saying for several weeks that Michigan appeared to be in good shape for Pete Nance of Cleveland (Ohio) Revere. The son of former NBA star Larry Nance, brother of the NBA’s Larry Nance Jr. is a high-upside guy who hasn’t played great this spring, but it still a top 100 prospect.
TheWolfpacker.com’s Jacey Zembal saw him four times, and he put up goose eggs in the first two games. He picked it up a bit later, scoring seven points in one game and notching seven rebounds in another, close to double-digit rebounds in two other games, but the 6-9 prospect, Rivals.com’s No. 39 rising senior nationally, was too passive offensively, Zembal reported.
“He’ll get rated on his potential, but at some point it becomes about production,” Zembal said. “He reminds me some of Nicolas Claxton, who is going to his dad’s alma mater Georgia. He was ranked top 100 and then not ranked, but has a lot of potential … just tall and skinny.”
He averaged 3.0 ppg and 2.7 rpg, went 8 of 21 from the field and never shot more than five times in a game.
We’ll see Nance this weekend at Michigan team camp, and then he’ll follow up a Northwestern official with an official to U-M July 1. He’s probably a top 90 kid when Rivals adjusts its rankings, but he has loads of potential.
Buzz from Charlottesville supports what we’ve been saying … that U-M is the favorite.
The Wolverines might be the leader for Monroe, N.C., Piedmont’s Hunter Tyson, and judging by the way the three-star played in Charlottesville, that’s a great thing. He’s one of Rivals writer Krysten Peek’s most underrated in the class.
“A lot of players have been playing well this spring and Hunter Tyson is one of them. The three-star small forward had this putback dunk during the live period that surprised a lot of people in the gym. He's been a consistent option on offense for Team CP3 on the Nike EYBL circuit and if he continues to work on his outside shot, he'll be a threat at the next level. Clemson, Wake Forest, DePaul and Tennessee have all offered with Michigan, NC State and Virginia showing interest.”
He’ll visit Michigan next week, at which point we believe the 6-6 16-year-old will receive an offer. Tyson averaged 8.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg and shot 54 percent from field and 9 of 27 on threes (33.3 percent), but he had a 19-point game Saturday morning and 16 with three triples Saturday night.
He went off in the semis for 19 and should have had more, missed three free throws that would have counted as six points. Then he came down to earth in the title game,” Zembal reported. “I like him, though.”
Canadian forward Ignas Brazdeikis, a top 35 if he played in the U.S., didn’t have his best week. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds, shot 43.2 percent from the field and was a bit frustrated.
Interestingly, he left the door open a crack for 2017, and one analyst on site said he believes he could still go that route, Zembal reported. One thing we haven’t really considered here – the CIA Bounce AAU kids don’t usually end up at U-M. There’s a pipeline to Oregon, in fact (Dillon Brooks, for example) and not much love for the Wolverines.
However, Brazdeikis is tight with Nik Stauskas and has great family support, is closer to U-M than most other schools, so that works in Michigan’s favor.
Four-star wing (No. 79 overall) Jerome Hunter of Pickerington, Ohio did not play well.
“He has big upside, but didn’t play like I was hoping he would,” Zembal reported. “He averaged 4.4 ppg and 1.7 rpg, went 11 of 39 from the field and 3 of 20 on threes.”
He’s been really good this spring, however, and U-M has been in a good spot with him. His one and only quote from the interview room:
“My mom said I can’t do any interviews.”
We don't expect him to decide early.
Michigan is playing from behind for Minnesota three-star (No. 116), 6-8 forward Race Thompson, son of former Gophers star and NFL running back Darrell Thompson. Minnesota, Iowa State, Baylor, Indiana and Marquette are his top five.
Thompson never shot more than seven times and had six games of four shots or less at NBPA. He averaged 5.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg and went 21 of 37 for 56.8 percent.
Finally, East Lansing (Mich.) standout four-star forward Brandon Johns played well, averaging 9.5 points and 5.0 rpg, shooting 59.1 percent from field. The buzz from NBPA … someone very close to him (and influential) wants him at Michigan, but schools like Indiana and Purdue are pushing. He likes those programs, too.
We expect Johns to be on campus again this summer, but his timetable is still up in the air. There’s still talk, too, that he’ll spend his last season somewhere other than East Lansing, perhaps La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere.
First off, we’ve been saying for several weeks that Michigan appeared to be in good shape for Pete Nance of Cleveland (Ohio) Revere. The son of former NBA star Larry Nance, brother of the NBA’s Larry Nance Jr. is a high-upside guy who hasn’t played great this spring, but it still a top 100 prospect.
TheWolfpacker.com’s Jacey Zembal saw him four times, and he put up goose eggs in the first two games. He picked it up a bit later, scoring seven points in one game and notching seven rebounds in another, close to double-digit rebounds in two other games, but the 6-9 prospect, Rivals.com’s No. 39 rising senior nationally, was too passive offensively, Zembal reported.
“He’ll get rated on his potential, but at some point it becomes about production,” Zembal said. “He reminds me some of Nicolas Claxton, who is going to his dad’s alma mater Georgia. He was ranked top 100 and then not ranked, but has a lot of potential … just tall and skinny.”
He averaged 3.0 ppg and 2.7 rpg, went 8 of 21 from the field and never shot more than five times in a game.
We’ll see Nance this weekend at Michigan team camp, and then he’ll follow up a Northwestern official with an official to U-M July 1. He’s probably a top 90 kid when Rivals adjusts its rankings, but he has loads of potential.
Buzz from Charlottesville supports what we’ve been saying … that U-M is the favorite.
The Wolverines might be the leader for Monroe, N.C., Piedmont’s Hunter Tyson, and judging by the way the three-star played in Charlottesville, that’s a great thing. He’s one of Rivals writer Krysten Peek’s most underrated in the class.
“A lot of players have been playing well this spring and Hunter Tyson is one of them. The three-star small forward had this putback dunk during the live period that surprised a lot of people in the gym. He's been a consistent option on offense for Team CP3 on the Nike EYBL circuit and if he continues to work on his outside shot, he'll be a threat at the next level. Clemson, Wake Forest, DePaul and Tennessee have all offered with Michigan, NC State and Virginia showing interest.”
He’ll visit Michigan next week, at which point we believe the 6-6 16-year-old will receive an offer. Tyson averaged 8.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg and shot 54 percent from field and 9 of 27 on threes (33.3 percent), but he had a 19-point game Saturday morning and 16 with three triples Saturday night.
He went off in the semis for 19 and should have had more, missed three free throws that would have counted as six points. Then he came down to earth in the title game,” Zembal reported. “I like him, though.”
Canadian forward Ignas Brazdeikis, a top 35 if he played in the U.S., didn’t have his best week. He averaged 9.2 points and 3.8 rebounds, shot 43.2 percent from the field and was a bit frustrated.
Interestingly, he left the door open a crack for 2017, and one analyst on site said he believes he could still go that route, Zembal reported. One thing we haven’t really considered here – the CIA Bounce AAU kids don’t usually end up at U-M. There’s a pipeline to Oregon, in fact (Dillon Brooks, for example) and not much love for the Wolverines.
However, Brazdeikis is tight with Nik Stauskas and has great family support, is closer to U-M than most other schools, so that works in Michigan’s favor.
Four-star wing (No. 79 overall) Jerome Hunter of Pickerington, Ohio did not play well.
“He has big upside, but didn’t play like I was hoping he would,” Zembal reported. “He averaged 4.4 ppg and 1.7 rpg, went 11 of 39 from the field and 3 of 20 on threes.”
He’s been really good this spring, however, and U-M has been in a good spot with him. His one and only quote from the interview room:
“My mom said I can’t do any interviews.”
We don't expect him to decide early.
Michigan is playing from behind for Minnesota three-star (No. 116), 6-8 forward Race Thompson, son of former Gophers star and NFL running back Darrell Thompson. Minnesota, Iowa State, Baylor, Indiana and Marquette are his top five.
Thompson never shot more than seven times and had six games of four shots or less at NBPA. He averaged 5.8 ppg, 2.4 rpg and went 21 of 37 for 56.8 percent.
Finally, East Lansing (Mich.) standout four-star forward Brandon Johns played well, averaging 9.5 points and 5.0 rpg, shooting 59.1 percent from field. The buzz from NBPA … someone very close to him (and influential) wants him at Michigan, but schools like Indiana and Purdue are pushing. He likes those programs, too.
We expect Johns to be on campus again this summer, but his timetable is still up in the air. There’s still talk, too, that he’ll spend his last season somewhere other than East Lansing, perhaps La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere.
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