With the spring recruiting season in full form and rosters still looking to take shape with late commitments and transfers, Michigan is no different as a whole. There are plenty of moving parts as well as things to look ahead to for the 2020-21 season as well. With that said, let's have a look at some of the biggest offseason stories.
A New Transfer Target:
After losing out on Justin Pierce to North Carolina and seeing a handful of other potential targets come and go with no real news, Michigan are back on the transfer trail and have reason to feel good about their target. Jaevin Cumberland, an Oakland grad transfer, visited Michigan on an official visit and confirmed receiving an offer to the Detroit News. Originally considered to have Oregon as the front-runner, it seems that Michigan may have been able to push themselves into that top spot, or at least make it a two-horse race for Cumberland's service. He was a high-usage player for Oakland, playing 92.5% of all minutes against D1 opposition, and finished the year with a team-high 3.7 PORPAGATU!, for the 40% three point shooter. Cumberland played just 406 minutes his first three seasons in the Oakland program before his explosion onto the scene as one of Oakland's two key options, along with star forward Xavier Hill-Mais. Under Greg Kampe, especially as of late, Oakland has always been a team characterized by an emphasis on 'star' players (like the three-headed monster of Kendrick Nunn, Martez Walker, and Jalen Hayes two seasons ago) and Cumberland was one of those for the Grizzlies last season. With seven games of five or more made threes, and the lowest-percentage game of those being a 35.7% outing, Michigan would gain some desperately needed shooting if they were to obtain the commitment from Cumberland for the 2019-20 season.
What's Cumberland's fit within the Wolverines team, though? It does seem pretty straight forward that the 6'3" guard immediately slots in at the two in place of Jordan Poole. Without Cumberland, it would seem that Eli Brooks is the front-runner for the starting role at the shooting guard slot, and even with Cumberland I would expect that he'll ultimately back up Cumberland there as well. Allowing room for a high-volume shooter with a strong percentage makes for a much more balanced line-up next season. Without Cumberland, Michigan would likely be going into 2019 with a starting line-up of players shooting 30.8%, 29.2%, 30%, and potentially one having just three collegiate attempts to his name. With his addition, you get a go-to guy from long range and instead of teams really clamping down outside on Isaiah Livers (42.6%) you have to respect the drive-and-kick as well, perhaps keeping him open from deep as well. With Cumberland, Michigan immediately become a much better-balanced side.
Freshmen in 2019:
Of course, Cumberland would fill just one of a likely two open scholarship spots. There are slim pickings remaining in the 2019 recruiting class. Lester Quinones cancelled a Michigan visit and will pick between Memphis and Indiana today, May 10th. Nah'Shon Hyland made a huge jump in the recruiting rankings and garnered serious Michigan interest, but that recruitment has also fizzled out. Jalen Bridges had been pursued by Michigan as both a 2019 and 2020 recruit, but he has also announced a year of prep school ahead of remaining in the 2020 class. That leaves really just one player: Franz Wagner.
John Beilein flew out to Germany to see Moe's younger brother, but Michigan face tough competition from the European professional ranks. Having won Alba Berlin's Young Player of the Year award for this season, Franz is looked at already as a hot commodity who would likely be able to draft looks whether or not he chooses to get the American college experience. Wagner is 6'7" and would be just eighteen when the next collegiate season starts. He is a stellar outside shooter who projects at the three at the collegiate level in my eyes. Wagner falls somewhere in between being a player who can come in and play minutes for Michigan and someone who may need a year to embed himself in the system. Playing the three will allow him a bit of a more laid-back learning curve as we saw when Nik Stauskas and Caris Levert were freshmen, before becoming ball-dominant players. I'm not saying Wagner will make a jump and suddenly control the game with the ball at his hands, but rather that playing minutes at the three will make life easier for him as he adjusts to the differing aspects of the college game. Wagner isn't as important as a get as would Cumberland be for immediate contention next season, but he is a strong contender to help the team in years after.
Looking Ahead: The 2020 Impact Recruits:
With the spring season also comes the first real time that (for most teams, at least) 2020 recruits are the main high school player focus. Michigan have a smattering of players that they continue to look at as things heat up. One player they will not, however, is Ethan Morton. Morton committed to Purdue on Thursday choosing them over hometown team Pittsburgh. Michigan had, however, seemingly been prioritizing different recruits, so this is not a huge surprise. One of those recruits has been Nimari Burnett. Burnett is a top-25, five-star recruit out of California. Luke Yaklich was his youth AAU coach and the combo guard took an unofficial visit to Michigan previously, but did not receive the full tour due to catching the flu. That is, almost assuredly, why he did not previously receive an offer. Now, though, Burnett is catching fire up the recruiting rankings and with offers from UCLA, Auburn, and Arkansas all in the last month alone, as well, teams are taking notice. I think Burnett is an impact player from day one wherever he ends up. Burnett is smooth and crafty with the ball with a nice three point shot. He fits in well as a shooting guard but can handle the ball against pressure well enough to function in the Beilein system, too. One of the top available 2020 recruits, Michigan seem to be taking a hard look at him.
Of course, he is not the only player Michigan are interested in. Jabri Abdur-Rahim is another player that I am high on and is currently shooting up the rankings. Still just a top-60 recruit in the 247Sports composite, and not even in their top 100 as of now, Abdur-Rahim had a stellar early spring AAU season and continues to impress. With a Villanova offer now under his belt, Michigan has been in on Abdur-Rahim longest and perhaps most extensively. He is a smart kid, with offers from Harvard and Georgetown, and has basketball pedigree as the son of former Vancouver Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks star Shareef Abdur-Rahim. He opened the EYBL season with 41 and 45 point games, and has provided plenty of reason to take notice of him. Michigan are casting a wide net, with interest in flashy names like Cade Cunningham, a top-ten recruit in the class, big men like Walker Kessler, a top-twenty player in the class, and Zach Loveday, a top-fifty player who is catching fire as well, and some in-state kids like Carlos 'Scooby' Johnson. It is still early in the 2020 recruiting time frame, but Michigan are looking at a huge cast of players.
The NBA Combine -- Michigan Well-Represented:
Rounding out some of the early off-season news and notes is the news that all three Michigan NBA Draft prospects received NBA Draft Combine offers. I discussed each player much more in-depth in my end of the season player recaps but getting invites to the combine is a positive step for all three players. Ignas Brazdeikis still has not officially ruled out returning to Michigan, but it seems clear that his focus is on the NBA Draft. This is the prime opportunity for players to move up draft boards with either play or impressive measurements. Also of note is Zak Irvin getting an invite to the G-League Combine as a member of the G-League contingent hoping to impress NBA scouts. Irvin has completely revamped his game at the professional level going from a shooter in college to someone who took just ten threes over the season for his Worcester Knicks side. As more NBA Draft news develops, I will continue to write and keep up-to-date about it.
Follow me on Twitter @RMAB_Ryan for plenty more Michigan basketball coverage, as well as AFC Ann Arbor and Liverpool FC coverage as well!
A New Transfer Target:
After losing out on Justin Pierce to North Carolina and seeing a handful of other potential targets come and go with no real news, Michigan are back on the transfer trail and have reason to feel good about their target. Jaevin Cumberland, an Oakland grad transfer, visited Michigan on an official visit and confirmed receiving an offer to the Detroit News. Originally considered to have Oregon as the front-runner, it seems that Michigan may have been able to push themselves into that top spot, or at least make it a two-horse race for Cumberland's service. He was a high-usage player for Oakland, playing 92.5% of all minutes against D1 opposition, and finished the year with a team-high 3.7 PORPAGATU!, for the 40% three point shooter. Cumberland played just 406 minutes his first three seasons in the Oakland program before his explosion onto the scene as one of Oakland's two key options, along with star forward Xavier Hill-Mais. Under Greg Kampe, especially as of late, Oakland has always been a team characterized by an emphasis on 'star' players (like the three-headed monster of Kendrick Nunn, Martez Walker, and Jalen Hayes two seasons ago) and Cumberland was one of those for the Grizzlies last season. With seven games of five or more made threes, and the lowest-percentage game of those being a 35.7% outing, Michigan would gain some desperately needed shooting if they were to obtain the commitment from Cumberland for the 2019-20 season.
What's Cumberland's fit within the Wolverines team, though? It does seem pretty straight forward that the 6'3" guard immediately slots in at the two in place of Jordan Poole. Without Cumberland, it would seem that Eli Brooks is the front-runner for the starting role at the shooting guard slot, and even with Cumberland I would expect that he'll ultimately back up Cumberland there as well. Allowing room for a high-volume shooter with a strong percentage makes for a much more balanced line-up next season. Without Cumberland, Michigan would likely be going into 2019 with a starting line-up of players shooting 30.8%, 29.2%, 30%, and potentially one having just three collegiate attempts to his name. With his addition, you get a go-to guy from long range and instead of teams really clamping down outside on Isaiah Livers (42.6%) you have to respect the drive-and-kick as well, perhaps keeping him open from deep as well. With Cumberland, Michigan immediately become a much better-balanced side.
Freshmen in 2019:
Of course, Cumberland would fill just one of a likely two open scholarship spots. There are slim pickings remaining in the 2019 recruiting class. Lester Quinones cancelled a Michigan visit and will pick between Memphis and Indiana today, May 10th. Nah'Shon Hyland made a huge jump in the recruiting rankings and garnered serious Michigan interest, but that recruitment has also fizzled out. Jalen Bridges had been pursued by Michigan as both a 2019 and 2020 recruit, but he has also announced a year of prep school ahead of remaining in the 2020 class. That leaves really just one player: Franz Wagner.
John Beilein flew out to Germany to see Moe's younger brother, but Michigan face tough competition from the European professional ranks. Having won Alba Berlin's Young Player of the Year award for this season, Franz is looked at already as a hot commodity who would likely be able to draft looks whether or not he chooses to get the American college experience. Wagner is 6'7" and would be just eighteen when the next collegiate season starts. He is a stellar outside shooter who projects at the three at the collegiate level in my eyes. Wagner falls somewhere in between being a player who can come in and play minutes for Michigan and someone who may need a year to embed himself in the system. Playing the three will allow him a bit of a more laid-back learning curve as we saw when Nik Stauskas and Caris Levert were freshmen, before becoming ball-dominant players. I'm not saying Wagner will make a jump and suddenly control the game with the ball at his hands, but rather that playing minutes at the three will make life easier for him as he adjusts to the differing aspects of the college game. Wagner isn't as important as a get as would Cumberland be for immediate contention next season, but he is a strong contender to help the team in years after.
Looking Ahead: The 2020 Impact Recruits:
With the spring season also comes the first real time that (for most teams, at least) 2020 recruits are the main high school player focus. Michigan have a smattering of players that they continue to look at as things heat up. One player they will not, however, is Ethan Morton. Morton committed to Purdue on Thursday choosing them over hometown team Pittsburgh. Michigan had, however, seemingly been prioritizing different recruits, so this is not a huge surprise. One of those recruits has been Nimari Burnett. Burnett is a top-25, five-star recruit out of California. Luke Yaklich was his youth AAU coach and the combo guard took an unofficial visit to Michigan previously, but did not receive the full tour due to catching the flu. That is, almost assuredly, why he did not previously receive an offer. Now, though, Burnett is catching fire up the recruiting rankings and with offers from UCLA, Auburn, and Arkansas all in the last month alone, as well, teams are taking notice. I think Burnett is an impact player from day one wherever he ends up. Burnett is smooth and crafty with the ball with a nice three point shot. He fits in well as a shooting guard but can handle the ball against pressure well enough to function in the Beilein system, too. One of the top available 2020 recruits, Michigan seem to be taking a hard look at him.
Of course, he is not the only player Michigan are interested in. Jabri Abdur-Rahim is another player that I am high on and is currently shooting up the rankings. Still just a top-60 recruit in the 247Sports composite, and not even in their top 100 as of now, Abdur-Rahim had a stellar early spring AAU season and continues to impress. With a Villanova offer now under his belt, Michigan has been in on Abdur-Rahim longest and perhaps most extensively. He is a smart kid, with offers from Harvard and Georgetown, and has basketball pedigree as the son of former Vancouver Grizzlies and Atlanta Hawks star Shareef Abdur-Rahim. He opened the EYBL season with 41 and 45 point games, and has provided plenty of reason to take notice of him. Michigan are casting a wide net, with interest in flashy names like Cade Cunningham, a top-ten recruit in the class, big men like Walker Kessler, a top-twenty player in the class, and Zach Loveday, a top-fifty player who is catching fire as well, and some in-state kids like Carlos 'Scooby' Johnson. It is still early in the 2020 recruiting time frame, but Michigan are looking at a huge cast of players.
The NBA Combine -- Michigan Well-Represented:
Rounding out some of the early off-season news and notes is the news that all three Michigan NBA Draft prospects received NBA Draft Combine offers. I discussed each player much more in-depth in my end of the season player recaps but getting invites to the combine is a positive step for all three players. Ignas Brazdeikis still has not officially ruled out returning to Michigan, but it seems clear that his focus is on the NBA Draft. This is the prime opportunity for players to move up draft boards with either play or impressive measurements. Also of note is Zak Irvin getting an invite to the G-League Combine as a member of the G-League contingent hoping to impress NBA scouts. Irvin has completely revamped his game at the professional level going from a shooter in college to someone who took just ten threes over the season for his Worcester Knicks side. As more NBA Draft news develops, I will continue to write and keep up-to-date about it.
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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