Looks like Scout only gave 4 or 5 stars to the top 75, since the PF right above Evan is ~#75 it is safe to assume that Scout thinks he’s a top 100 player, albeit a 75-100 player.

That Scout list keeps going if you click on the Prospects tab. It looks like Smotrycz is #90. Regan is #89 and Russell Byrd comes in at #82. I think we see why Beilein grabbed him when he did. He now appears to rated similar to a few other kids who had offers. He definitely isn’t a reach.

Any ideas on why Michigan isn’t listed for Prather?

Also…I need to vent for a moment…how is it that OSU has two commitments in the top ten and then are on the list of three more guys in the top 15. Unbelievable. Oden was misused for an entire season up until the championship game. Koufos left disgruntled b/c he thought he was mishandled. Mullens…was on the team. Those are three studs and what did they get out of playing for Matta? Oden made a trip to the finals, but more in spite of the coaching than as a result of it. And now they have a class full of studs again. It’s not like the OSU kids are tearing it up in the pros either so that can’t be the argument. Seriously, in the Big Ten, who would you rather play for…Izzo or Matta? Izzo doesn’t get anywhere near the kind of recruits that Thad Matta gets…THAD MATTA?!?!?!?!? Something really stinks down in Columbus (aside from the academics;).

Alex Gauna got his MSU offer and committed.

http://michiganstate.scout.com/2/861550.html

Didn’t seem to be a lot of mutual interest, Gauana was said to be an MSU lock if they offered. It’s one less available scholarship in East Lansing though.

I got the feeling Gauna was recruiting MSU more than the other way around. Any idea how many spots they have left and who they are going after?

Alex – two of OSU’s top guys are from Ohio. Where else are they going to go? Is there another big time program in that state right now? A lot of Ohio kids grow up thinking Ohio State is the greatest school ever and are dying to go there. Hard to comprehend, but it’s true.

Lucas, Appling, Lucious
Byrd, Allen, Summers
Sherman, Nix, Roe, Green, Herzog, Gauna

That’s 12 of 13 scholarships accounted for which means 1 to give in 2010.

With Lucas, Allen, Summers, and Herzog graduating after that year, they will have 4 for 2011 available.

Yikes. 4 for 2011. That scares me.

Yeah… quite a few ‘ships.

Michigan is building a bit of a log jam…
Next year’s roster will have:
2 seniors, 2 juniors, 3 sophomores, 5 freshmen

Some interesting players in the Academic All-Star Game in addition to Morris and Vogrich. Former Michigan targets (Angus Brandt, Kelly Olynyk, and Andy Brown), Detroit kids (DeShonte Riley, Donnavan Kirk), and a Michigan legacy (Glen Rice Jr.). Too bad that Darius and Vogrich won’t play against each other. It’s set up as East vs. West and North vs. South, and Darius is playing for the East(huh?) and Vogrich is playing for the North.

Did anyone watch that Dook video? It made me chuckle.

His background and even style of play remind me of Chris Kramer. Maybe a bad comparison based on most Michigan fans opinion of him after the West Lafayette fiasco last year. He looks to be quick with the dribble and can finish. There weren’t any defensive highlights which I was a bit disappointed in because that’s what Kramer is known for.

Just looked at the early entries list…can’t believe some names on that list. Have to think that 2/3 of those players will go undrafted. Makes you wonder where those players are getting advice. Atleast Manny and Peedi have a certain thing I like to call common sense. The funniest one in my opinion is Devendorf from Syaracuse. Its hard to imagine him getting drafted in the WNBA let alone the NBA.

Devendorf is a punk’s punk. I have heard some terrible stories out of the “Cuse about that guy.

Tom Too, please share at least one of these stories. I’ve got to harass my ‘Cuse friends, but simply saying ‘Dorf is probably getting paid by ‘Cuse in hot plates and Wild Turkey is getting old.

Dylan, next season at least one of the incoming freshmen will be redshirted, likely will be a class of 4 for 2009 and a class of 4 for 2010, and there will always be attrition, so not so much a log jam to worry about.

Wow! Overlooked again… 3.5 overall gpa (at a very tough high school), 28 ACT score, acceptance to the UM College of Engineering, 20 pts/14 rbs per game and 10 double doubles as a senior are obviously not enough to be invited!

Sorry….had to vent!

~Mom

No worries Mrs. Morgan – Jordan is a great kid and will be a great student athlete at UM.

Mom Morgan, do not worry. I have little doubt that Jordan could be four times Academic All Big Ten in the next 4 or 5 years, and he will make you even more proud. Go Blue!

Mom Morgan, which engineering program is he looking at. I didn’t decide until my junior year, so there is no rush (though I advise to decide before that).

That is one impressive resume. He is my new favorite player.

One more thing about Morgan and tying it to the Ohio State/ Michigan State recruiting discussion above.

If you look at State’s succes, it has been the unsung heroes that have pushed them over the top and made them a great program. Off the top of my head, I think of Anogonye, Hutson, Granger, C. Hill, Travis Walton this year, Sutton this year. This doesn’t even get into the even lesser types like Bograkos, Ishpeia, etc… Ohio State does not have the middle to lower recruits that makes up for deficiencies with effort.

Anyway, I am convinced that players like Morgan will make our program great again. He will be the defending, rebounding force that we need even if he isn’t a sure fire NBA-type prospect.

I just hope that Mom can get 1/100th of the air time that Blake Griffin’s mom got when we make it to the great 8.

Mom Morgan, just one more thing–I’m sure Jordan is a “Man for Others” in the true spirit of his high school. Coach Beilein and he share that educational background (Coach B at Wheeling), which I’m sure helped them to connect. Go Cubs and Go Blue.

New ESPN update on Smotrycz. One comment: Almost all the reports on the kid say he has “tremendous upside”. At some level, you wouldn’t think that about a Beilein recruit, you’d almost expect that they’d be low ceiling, high floor guys who already have well developed games. I’d put my money on Coach B to get the most out of the talent he recruits, which makes me extremely excited about all of our recruits so far.

The link is too long and is not copying properly, so go to this link and type in Smotrycz in 2010.

http://insider.espn.go.com/insider/recruiting/basketball/mens/index

Dylan, is there any kind of timeline to when Zeigler plans to make his college choice?

jordan in CoE? that’s sweet..I would always get excited to see e puls in the dude :)

Thanks for the love everyone! Jordan is looking at Biomedical Engineering. I have no doubt he will be Academic All Big Ten also. I am glad to hear others think he will be a big contributor to UM basketball. He has truly become a “Man for Others”!

Go Blue!

~Mom

According to Evan Daniel at Scout.com, Richard Solomon had a big weekend in Lawrence, Kansas, this time at the Jayhawk Invitational.

If I were Coach Beilein my three man class for Michigan for 2010 would be Trey Ziegler (or Tim Hardaway Jr.), obviously Evan Smotrycz and the the final scholarship would go to the first who will committ between Richard Solomon or Ray McCallum, with the priority going to the PG but the question remains is Mr McCallum seriously considering Michigan ?

Mom Morgan:

Can you have Jordan call Trey Ziegler and tell him all the great things about UM and how Coach Beilein would make him an even better player. Jordan, Trey & Ray all need to stay together and stay in the State. Let’s build this program on Michigan talent, unlike football the talent is deep in the mitten.