We are well into the summer practice sessions for college basketball and Michigan's basketball roster seems to be almost certainly filled out. With eleven scholarship players, losing three players to the NBA, and a couple figuring to need another year of seasoning, this is a roster that is going to need the summer training. Here, I'll go over all the latest Michigan news and notes while also having a gaze at the rest of the nation.
Franz Wagner:
The big news of the summer since Juwan Howard has been named head coach is the commitment of Moe Wagner's younger brother, Franz, to the 2019-20 roster. Wagner is currently playing for Germany in the FIBA U18 European Championships and Howard flew out to Greece to watch him. The Wagner get is huge for this Wolverines team as it should give them a much needed piece to contribute immediately in the rotation and, just as importantly, on the perimeter. He went through some struggles in the opener with just five points on two-for-nine shooting and in the second game he appeared to tweak something in his back, but these incidents should not be any cause for concern at this stage of the game.
There is some great footage of Wagner available here on YouTube with a bit of scouting info on him as well. For those who have not seen him though, Wagner is a lanky wing player who can shoot the ball well. Standing at 6'8" according to the updated basketball roster, he is athletic and I would figure that he can guard the three and four. Whether or not he starts will be the question for this Michigan team, and I would think that he does. Zavier Simpson, Jon Teske, and Isaiah Livers are nailed on starters for this squad, but the other two positions are up in the air. Eli Brooks and Brandon Johns are two other options, and it would seem that one of those two will for sure start unless Wagner sees plenty of minutes at the two, or Colin Castleton impresses playing at power forward and Howard wants to go with a two-big look.
The idea of Wagner playing at shooting guard is also interesting and would highlight how Howard Eisley noting the want to play "positionless basketball" with this team. That is a common buzzword in the sport, but it can work with a team like Michigan who still has a defined point guard and big man. Both can guard quicker/different sized players on switches, but where the buzzword runs into trouble is when you have a team like Northwestern last season where there was no true ball-handler and no player shot higher than 33.5% from three last season. Michigan needed a player like Wagner to offer a bit of a more consistent perimeter threat. With Livers looking to have possibly been the lone true threat on the outside with Wagner, the German's presence will force teams to respect his shot, and perhaps draw attention from players like Brooks and Johns and help see their three point percentages improve.
2020 Recruiting:
There are still some eyes on 2019 recruits/late-transfers, but as of late it has been full steam ahead with 2020 recruits. Juwan Howard has extended offers to some of the biggest names in the class, and at least as of now there is plenty of reason to be excited with Michigan making four big shortlists. The big news has been Joshua Christopher's inclusion of Michigan in his top five. Christopher is a dynamic shooting guard ranked ninth in the 2020 class and would instantly fill a need for the 2020 Wolverines with his athleticism. Though his three point shot could do with some improving, I really like his stroke and think that the potential for it to improve is there. This is an uphill recruitment, though. Christopher has described Kentucky as his dream school, and they are in the top five. Also in the top five are Arizona State, where his brother plays, and Missouri, where his cousin is a S&C coach. UCLA rounds out his top five -- which also makes sense as Christopher is from Los Angeles. It is a big achievement in making his top five, but I would figure to see Christopher in Kentucky blue next season. Here is a bit of footage of him at Peach Jam.
Two shortlists are from players that Michigan has been in on since John Beilein was head coach. Nimari Burnett named a top twelve including, other than Michigan, Louisville, Oregon, Illinois, Stanford, Alabama, Marquette, Arkansas, Arizona, Wake Forest, UCLA, and Auburn. Burnett's dad mentioned that Howard is like family and that Michigan sits higher than they previously did. Burnett had an unofficial visit with Beilein, however he fell ill and did not take the full campus tour. To me, Burnett is almost a must-get for this staff. The #23 guard in this class and originally from Morgan Park, Illinois, now based in California, this is a great opportunity for Howard to make a statement of intent with a recruit who already respects him. I love Burnett's game, you can see why in this clip here on YouTube. The other player is 2020 big man Walker Kessler. Kessler named a final six that includes Michigan as well as some other stellar schools for the Atlanta big man -- North Carolina, Duke, Auburn, Gonzaga, and California. A stretch-style center, Kessler can stretch the defense and draws comparisons to Brook Lopez on his 247Sports recruiting page. With center being a certain position of need in 2020, the 6'10" #16 recruit in the class is a great fit to plug that hole. He figures to be a Duke lean, but it still seems a bit murky at this point.
The final shortlist is the most recent one, that of Hunter Dickinson. A true seven-footer (standing 7'2") Dickinson is the #30 recruit in the 2020 class and was a priority under Beilein's staff as well. Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, Purdue, Providence, and Notre Dame round out the top seven, and UNC and Notre Dame figure to be key players. As shown by both Dickinson and Kessler being emphasized by this staff, the center position after Teske graduates will be up for grabs and while Colin Castleton figures to have first digs, so to speak, it could certainly be up for grabs.
Michigan have also extended plenty of offers. UMHoops does a fantastic job keeping track of them here but some of the more recent developments have included longer looks at more burly power forwards like Lance Ware, Carlos 'Scooby' Johnson (who seems to have fallen off the radar a touch), and Henry Coleman. Also of note is an earlier top five listed by Jaden Springer that includes Michigan. Another combo guard, Springer's list includes Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Memphis. He is the #11 recruit in the class and figures to be a UNC lean. With shortlists being made, this is primetime to keep an eye out on 2020 recruits as Michigan hopes to land a few big commitments sooner rather than later.
Roster and Schedule:
The updated roster has been added to the Michigan basketball website, as has the full non-conference schedule. Starting with the roster, the big news is the bulking up of Colin Castleton to 235 pounds, up from 210 last season. That is the biggest jump on the roster and a great sign for Castleton to contribute a bit more in the more physical Big Ten season. Another more fun note is Isaiah Livers will be wearing the number two now that Jordan Poole has moved on to the NBA. The two freshmen, Wagner and Cole Bajema, will wear #21 and #22, respectively. This is the first time the numbers have been issued since Zak Irvin and Duncan Robinson graduated. Also of note, there have been no additional walk-ons added.
The non-conference schedule is also official. The big news is that Michigan will open the Battle 4 Atlantis by taking on Iowa State. ISU is a solid power five opponent, but with them projected at #53 according to the BartTorvik metrics for 2020, it's a great opportunity for Michigan to get a victory against a good team on a neutral court. North Carolina is a possible second round opponent, they will take on Alabama. This would be three seasons in a row with a UNC match, while this would be the first meeting with Bama since a two-point loss in Orlando in 2009. The season opener is November 5th against Appalachian State and the team then has a week off before taking on Creighton in the Gavitt Games match-up for this season. Also on the horizon is the trip to Louisville for the Big Ten/ACC Showdown, then eleven days off before returning to host Oregon. All-in-all, this is a strong non-conference schedule with five P6 conference opponents guaranteed, and a sixth (or Gonzaga) possible in the Bahamas as well.
A Look Around:
College basketball is always changing, let's have a look around. The current top team according to BartTorvik's preseason metrics is Florida, led by Mike White. White landed Kerry Blackshear Jr. to nudge them into the top spot past Michigan State. This is a Gators team that I am very high on, but do hold back on committing fully with until White proves himself a bit more (see: Memphis). I do love Andrew Nembhard's game and he will take Tremont Waters's spot as my personal favorite SEC point guard. Noah Locke also deserves love at the shooting guard spot, and Scottie Lewis is a top freshman talent as well. Louisville could also, other than Michigan State, end up being Michigan's top-ranked opponent. Predicted at #4 in preseason, they return seven rotation pieces and bring in Lamarr Kimble and Samuell Williamson to make for a truly stacked rotation.
The rest of the Big Ten outside the state of Michigan also looks strong once again. Despite losing Bruno Fernando, Maryland returns every other key rotational piece. Ohio State looks, to me, to be a can't miss team with a ton of potential and only question marks with CJ Walker stepping into the point guard role after learning the offense in a transfer season from Florida State. You also have Illinois and Penn State, two teams who struggled last season but are rated highly by preseason metrics. I'm higher on Illinois than PSU -- I think the three-player core of the Fighting Illini is a bit better than the solid, but one-dimensional, Penn State team. Myles Dread is a key to that team. If he can take over games like he has the potential to, combined with Jamari Wheeler stepping into the Josh Reaves role and Lamar Stevens as the top dog, that is a core that now I give a bit more respect to.
Looking at some of the bottom-feeders, the three main ones seem to be Minnesota, Nebraska, and Northwestern. The Gophers lose a lot with Amir Coffey, but have a somewhat young core and I think this will be a great learning season for the team to develop. Nebraska have almost wholesale roster turnover with Fred Hoiberg coming in, returning just one active scholarship player from last year -- they're a massive question mark. Northwestern still don't figure to have a primary point guard and with the losses of Vic Law, Dererk Pardon, and Ryan Taylor (Law and Taylor being the two best shooters on the 310th best three point percentage team in the country), they also don't have much by way of scoring. A.J. Turner and Anthony Gaines will be essential to this team. With the Big Ten's stiff competition, Michigan snagging a tournament bit in a real difficult conference would figure to be a solid win for Juwan Howard's first season.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
Franz Wagner:
The big news of the summer since Juwan Howard has been named head coach is the commitment of Moe Wagner's younger brother, Franz, to the 2019-20 roster. Wagner is currently playing for Germany in the FIBA U18 European Championships and Howard flew out to Greece to watch him. The Wagner get is huge for this Wolverines team as it should give them a much needed piece to contribute immediately in the rotation and, just as importantly, on the perimeter. He went through some struggles in the opener with just five points on two-for-nine shooting and in the second game he appeared to tweak something in his back, but these incidents should not be any cause for concern at this stage of the game.
There is some great footage of Wagner available here on YouTube with a bit of scouting info on him as well. For those who have not seen him though, Wagner is a lanky wing player who can shoot the ball well. Standing at 6'8" according to the updated basketball roster, he is athletic and I would figure that he can guard the three and four. Whether or not he starts will be the question for this Michigan team, and I would think that he does. Zavier Simpson, Jon Teske, and Isaiah Livers are nailed on starters for this squad, but the other two positions are up in the air. Eli Brooks and Brandon Johns are two other options, and it would seem that one of those two will for sure start unless Wagner sees plenty of minutes at the two, or Colin Castleton impresses playing at power forward and Howard wants to go with a two-big look.
The idea of Wagner playing at shooting guard is also interesting and would highlight how Howard Eisley noting the want to play "positionless basketball" with this team. That is a common buzzword in the sport, but it can work with a team like Michigan who still has a defined point guard and big man. Both can guard quicker/different sized players on switches, but where the buzzword runs into trouble is when you have a team like Northwestern last season where there was no true ball-handler and no player shot higher than 33.5% from three last season. Michigan needed a player like Wagner to offer a bit of a more consistent perimeter threat. With Livers looking to have possibly been the lone true threat on the outside with Wagner, the German's presence will force teams to respect his shot, and perhaps draw attention from players like Brooks and Johns and help see their three point percentages improve.
2020 Recruiting:
There are still some eyes on 2019 recruits/late-transfers, but as of late it has been full steam ahead with 2020 recruits. Juwan Howard has extended offers to some of the biggest names in the class, and at least as of now there is plenty of reason to be excited with Michigan making four big shortlists. The big news has been Joshua Christopher's inclusion of Michigan in his top five. Christopher is a dynamic shooting guard ranked ninth in the 2020 class and would instantly fill a need for the 2020 Wolverines with his athleticism. Though his three point shot could do with some improving, I really like his stroke and think that the potential for it to improve is there. This is an uphill recruitment, though. Christopher has described Kentucky as his dream school, and they are in the top five. Also in the top five are Arizona State, where his brother plays, and Missouri, where his cousin is a S&C coach. UCLA rounds out his top five -- which also makes sense as Christopher is from Los Angeles. It is a big achievement in making his top five, but I would figure to see Christopher in Kentucky blue next season. Here is a bit of footage of him at Peach Jam.
Two shortlists are from players that Michigan has been in on since John Beilein was head coach. Nimari Burnett named a top twelve including, other than Michigan, Louisville, Oregon, Illinois, Stanford, Alabama, Marquette, Arkansas, Arizona, Wake Forest, UCLA, and Auburn. Burnett's dad mentioned that Howard is like family and that Michigan sits higher than they previously did. Burnett had an unofficial visit with Beilein, however he fell ill and did not take the full campus tour. To me, Burnett is almost a must-get for this staff. The #23 guard in this class and originally from Morgan Park, Illinois, now based in California, this is a great opportunity for Howard to make a statement of intent with a recruit who already respects him. I love Burnett's game, you can see why in this clip here on YouTube. The other player is 2020 big man Walker Kessler. Kessler named a final six that includes Michigan as well as some other stellar schools for the Atlanta big man -- North Carolina, Duke, Auburn, Gonzaga, and California. A stretch-style center, Kessler can stretch the defense and draws comparisons to Brook Lopez on his 247Sports recruiting page. With center being a certain position of need in 2020, the 6'10" #16 recruit in the class is a great fit to plug that hole. He figures to be a Duke lean, but it still seems a bit murky at this point.
The final shortlist is the most recent one, that of Hunter Dickinson. A true seven-footer (standing 7'2") Dickinson is the #30 recruit in the 2020 class and was a priority under Beilein's staff as well. Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina, Purdue, Providence, and Notre Dame round out the top seven, and UNC and Notre Dame figure to be key players. As shown by both Dickinson and Kessler being emphasized by this staff, the center position after Teske graduates will be up for grabs and while Colin Castleton figures to have first digs, so to speak, it could certainly be up for grabs.
Michigan have also extended plenty of offers. UMHoops does a fantastic job keeping track of them here but some of the more recent developments have included longer looks at more burly power forwards like Lance Ware, Carlos 'Scooby' Johnson (who seems to have fallen off the radar a touch), and Henry Coleman. Also of note is an earlier top five listed by Jaden Springer that includes Michigan. Another combo guard, Springer's list includes Florida, North Carolina, Tennessee, and Memphis. He is the #11 recruit in the class and figures to be a UNC lean. With shortlists being made, this is primetime to keep an eye out on 2020 recruits as Michigan hopes to land a few big commitments sooner rather than later.
Roster and Schedule:
The updated roster has been added to the Michigan basketball website, as has the full non-conference schedule. Starting with the roster, the big news is the bulking up of Colin Castleton to 235 pounds, up from 210 last season. That is the biggest jump on the roster and a great sign for Castleton to contribute a bit more in the more physical Big Ten season. Another more fun note is Isaiah Livers will be wearing the number two now that Jordan Poole has moved on to the NBA. The two freshmen, Wagner and Cole Bajema, will wear #21 and #22, respectively. This is the first time the numbers have been issued since Zak Irvin and Duncan Robinson graduated. Also of note, there have been no additional walk-ons added.
The non-conference schedule is also official. The big news is that Michigan will open the Battle 4 Atlantis by taking on Iowa State. ISU is a solid power five opponent, but with them projected at #53 according to the BartTorvik metrics for 2020, it's a great opportunity for Michigan to get a victory against a good team on a neutral court. North Carolina is a possible second round opponent, they will take on Alabama. This would be three seasons in a row with a UNC match, while this would be the first meeting with Bama since a two-point loss in Orlando in 2009. The season opener is November 5th against Appalachian State and the team then has a week off before taking on Creighton in the Gavitt Games match-up for this season. Also on the horizon is the trip to Louisville for the Big Ten/ACC Showdown, then eleven days off before returning to host Oregon. All-in-all, this is a strong non-conference schedule with five P6 conference opponents guaranteed, and a sixth (or Gonzaga) possible in the Bahamas as well.
A Look Around:
College basketball is always changing, let's have a look around. The current top team according to BartTorvik's preseason metrics is Florida, led by Mike White. White landed Kerry Blackshear Jr. to nudge them into the top spot past Michigan State. This is a Gators team that I am very high on, but do hold back on committing fully with until White proves himself a bit more (see: Memphis). I do love Andrew Nembhard's game and he will take Tremont Waters's spot as my personal favorite SEC point guard. Noah Locke also deserves love at the shooting guard spot, and Scottie Lewis is a top freshman talent as well. Louisville could also, other than Michigan State, end up being Michigan's top-ranked opponent. Predicted at #4 in preseason, they return seven rotation pieces and bring in Lamarr Kimble and Samuell Williamson to make for a truly stacked rotation.
The rest of the Big Ten outside the state of Michigan also looks strong once again. Despite losing Bruno Fernando, Maryland returns every other key rotational piece. Ohio State looks, to me, to be a can't miss team with a ton of potential and only question marks with CJ Walker stepping into the point guard role after learning the offense in a transfer season from Florida State. You also have Illinois and Penn State, two teams who struggled last season but are rated highly by preseason metrics. I'm higher on Illinois than PSU -- I think the three-player core of the Fighting Illini is a bit better than the solid, but one-dimensional, Penn State team. Myles Dread is a key to that team. If he can take over games like he has the potential to, combined with Jamari Wheeler stepping into the Josh Reaves role and Lamar Stevens as the top dog, that is a core that now I give a bit more respect to.
Looking at some of the bottom-feeders, the three main ones seem to be Minnesota, Nebraska, and Northwestern. The Gophers lose a lot with Amir Coffey, but have a somewhat young core and I think this will be a great learning season for the team to develop. Nebraska have almost wholesale roster turnover with Fred Hoiberg coming in, returning just one active scholarship player from last year -- they're a massive question mark. Northwestern still don't figure to have a primary point guard and with the losses of Vic Law, Dererk Pardon, and Ryan Taylor (Law and Taylor being the two best shooters on the 310th best three point percentage team in the country), they also don't have much by way of scoring. A.J. Turner and Anthony Gaines will be essential to this team. With the Big Ten's stiff competition, Michigan snagging a tournament bit in a real difficult conference would figure to be a solid win for Juwan Howard's first season.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
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