Camp week has come and gone and Darius Morris did not commit. However Darius did enjoy himself and plans to stick to his end of summer decision date. Scout also has a diary feature with Darius (also here on GBOA?) that began today. I still feel good about this one but the danger is if August passes and Darius doesn’t make a decision, then we are looking at a Tory Jackson 2.0 situation (Short version: Tory told the coaches repeatedly he was coming and “planned to commit” several times but it never happened as he strung Michigan on for far too long). But at this point he has taken a visit to Ann Arbor and loved it and it’s time to just wait it out. With CJ Harris off the board it appears that Carl Jones is the plan-B target for a point guard in a class where it’s hard to fathom Michigan not signing a point guard.
The other star of camp week was clearly Nate Lubick, the big fella really impressed all week in Ann Arbor and at this point has to be the top 2010 target on the board. Rivals already has Lubick listed as the #6 PF and #30 overall player in the class of 2010 and I can only see that ranking going upward. The competition for Lubick will be fierce with tons of high majors after him but Lubick is very familiar with the Michigan program and has been to campus multiple times.
Stephen Bell wrote a good piece listing ten intriguing in-state prospects at Michigan camp. The most promising junior names for U-M fans to keep an eye on are: Alex Gauna (left camp early due to injury), Sultan Muhammad, Matt Kamieniecki, Michael Talley and Maurice Jones. LaDontae Henton is also a freak athlete in the class of 2011 who is already drawing a lot of attention. Michigan will only have 2 open scholarships in 2010 (if they use their two remaining 2009 scholarships) and I would assume they have to take at least one big guy.
There has been a lot of talk about the starting line up again now that people got a look at the freshman in 
action at team camp. Zack had become the flavor of the month recently with his gaudy numbers but after struggling a bit at team camp it appears Stu is the guy everyone is penciling in now. It has to be noted that Zack has been playing in tons of camps, all-star games and scrimmages over the past couple months as well as playing baseball and moving to Ann Arbor so it is safe to say that he is probably a little burned out.
Stu’s range has never been questioned but there were many people trying to knock him as the second coming of Reed Baker despite his shooting. First off, Stu is probably at least 3 inches taller than Reed but the thing that sets him apart is his passing ability and ability to use screens. I don’t think Stu can be a point guard but he can make the right passes at the right times from the two-guard. I can’t even begin to count the number of times Michigan missed open back door cuts that would have resulted in easy baskets. Stu being able to make (deep) open shots and stretch the defense and then hit open cutters is a valuable asset all by itself.
The issue with the starting lineup is where does Manny Harris play next year? If he plays the wing (which I think he will), then I think Stu starts at the two-guard to begin the year. If Manny plays the two like he did last year then you have the potential of Novak or Wright starting at the three. For depth reasons it makes more sense to have Manny backed up by Novak at the three with Wright backing up DeShawn in the thin front court. Where Laval Lucas-Perry plays when he is eligible is also going to be interesting because I could see him playing point guard or shooting guard.
Other notes.
- Sounds like Manny Harris is NOT going to Taiwan for the Jones Cup, just Laval Lucas-Perry.
- Ben Simmons didn’t show well at the camp despite lighting up the Grand Valley team camp earlier in the summer. It appears to me “the Perfect Beilein Recruit’s” chances of a U-M offer are slipping.
- One other piece of positive news on Darius Morris. Washington State received a commitment from point guard Xavier Thames. This should presumably knock them down (and off?) Darius’ list.
- Hollins a Wolverine
Forgot to add this earlier, nice grab for Borseth.
