- If you missed it: Tim Hardaway Jr. committed to Michigan yesterday and Jordan Morgan will miss 4 to 5 months with knee surgery.
- John Beilein was named U-M coach of the year by Wolverine Magazine as voted on by all the U-M coaches.
- Vogrich is pick to click as freshman at Michigan
Local fluff on Matt Vogrich - Bartelstein took scenic route to Ann Arbor
And some more on Josh Bartelstein - Student season ticket sales for U-M basketball takes huge jump
Over 2000 student tickets sold after selling only 480 last year. The bandwagon is open, I still feel like the student section needs to be expanded. - Palmetto’s Tim Hardaway Jr. headed to Michigan
Miami Herald on the Tim Hardaway Jr. commit, averaged 25, 10, and 6 as a junior. The Wall Street Journal also mentions Tim’s commitment. - Tim Hardaway Jr. named 2nd team all-state in Florida
- Regan Chooses Virginia
This isn’t a shock, and Michigan cooling on Regan has been well documented, but this is a good fit for the New York big man. - Richmond, Thomas star at skills camp
Casey Prather named top defender at Vince Carter camp. No mention of Smotrycz but he reportedly played quite well. You have to remember that about 2/3 of these Nike camps are closed to the media. - Knight, Selby on point at skills academy
McCallum named the top “floor general” by ESPN at the Deron Williams camp. - Sam Webb talks Hardaway, Recruiting (WTKA audio)
Podcast - Jeff Jordan leaving team for academics. A surprising player continues to surprise. – Hail to the Orange
I’m late on this story, but good luck to Jeffery Jordan
Monthly Archive for June, 2009
Before the joy of Tim Hardaway’s commitment even sinks in, there is more disappointing news to share. Incoming freshmen Jordan Morgan is scheduled to undergo knee surgery and will be out for 4-5 months. The surgery to repair articular cartilage in Jordan’s left knee is scheduled for Wednesday, July 1st.
“The timing of Jordan’s injury is very unfortunate,” said Beilein. “We are very confident; however, that with the great medical staff at the University of Michigan, Jordan will make a full and speedy recovery.”
The recovery and rehab time-frame would most likely put Jordan back in action sometime during the month of November. Once he is cleared to play he has to get into basketball shape and start learning Beilein’s system first hand.
There was a chance that he would have redshirted in the first place and missing a this much time increases that chance significantly.
Miami Palmetto guard Tim Hardaway Jr. verbally committed to Michigan after being officially offered by head coach John Beilein. Hardaway Jr. came to Ann Arbor to earn his offer and he got it done. The clinic that he put on Sunday ($) in the championship at Michigan’s team camp was probably what locked up his offer. It took Hardaway a while to warm up at camp but in the end Coach Beilein was impressed enough to extend an offer.
Hardaway is a 6-foot-4 lanky shooting guard with excellent length who is a great three point shooter. He’s not as athletic as Casey Prather and his offensive game isn’t as refined as Trey Zeigler’s but there is no doubt that he is the best shooter of the bunch.
Michigan had been in the drivers seat in Hardaway’s recruitment for a while. Other suitors included Minnesota and Kansas State:
Minnesota and Kansas State have both offered, while Florida, South Carolina, Kansas State, Northwestern and Florida State
ESPN rates Hardaway at 93/100, which is good for the #28 shooting guard in the country and the 93rd ranked prospect in the class of 2010. Rivals and Scout both Hardaway as a 3-star prospect. Rivals also has a couple premium video clips ($) from the AAU circuit this summer.
Hardaway has played well early on on the AAU circuit this spring and summer. Hardaway was named to the all-tournament team at the Bob Gibbons TOC event. He also impressed ESPN scouts at the Nike Memorial Day Classic:
May, 2009: Hardaway, who has obvious basketball bloodlines, displayed high-level ballhandling and passing ability at both guard positions. He is an excellent athlete who uses his quickness and length to his advantage. He showed he is a threat from 3 if the defender backs off. He was very good in transition pushing the ball up the floor and is a great finisher at the rim. He had a good feel for using ball screens and also could create off the dribble. He was able to get into the paint for a midrange jump shot and did a nice job drawing the defense and kicking out to an open teammate. Defensively, he is a smart, fundamentally sound player who understands angles and has above-average lateral quickness. He still has upside and is developing some point guard skills. As his body continues to mature, Hardaway should blossom into an excellent college player.
Hardaway might not have the type of superstar potential that Trey Zeigler and Casey Prather have but I like this commitment a lot. Hardaway has the length to play at the top of the 1-3-1 zone and he has the shooting ability to play in John Beilein’s offense. I think right now he projects a little more to the two guard position rather than the three but he definitely has the potential to play both. The biggest knock on Tim right now is his handle, I would think his dad could help coach him up there though.
Scholarship Situation
A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush and this situation still gives Michigan a clear opportunity to land Zeigler or Prather.
Hardaway’s commitment leaves one scholarship remaining for the class of 2010 (see the updated scholarship breakdown for information about future classes). The two main candidates for that last spot in the class of 2010 are clear: Trey Zeigler and Casey Prather. This becomes a first come first serve situation for the last scholarship.
Taking Hardaway makes a lot of sense because if you wait too long for Casey and Trey then you risk being left empty handed. The staff has done an exceptional job recruiting Casey and Trey but acan happen in recruiting. Prather has consistently talked about visiting, the next step is to make that happen. Zeigler didn’t make it to Ann Arbor this week because of illness and his dad’s CMU camp being scheduled at the same time but he still plans to take a few visits and then decide in early Fall.
The class of 2011 is where the scholarship situation gets interesting. Assuming Michigan’s class of 2010 consists of Smotrycz, Hardaway Jr., and one more player that leaves only two scholarships in the class of 2011. I think Michigan needs at least one big man in the class of 2011, so that leaves only one spot for a guard or wing. At this point Michigan has offered Brandan Kearney (G/WF), Patrick Lucas-Perry (PG), Carlton Brundidge (G), and Amir Williams (C). With the crunch on scholarships in 2011, it will be interesting to see if a 2011 kid decides to accelerate their timeframe before it’s too late.
Editors Note: Hot board updates should also be done this week (2010, 2011, and maybe 2012).
I didn’t make it up to Ann Arbor this weekend but plenty of other people did. I’ll try to mix in the reports that I received while throwing in links to other observers. Wolverine3, a commenter and friend of the blog, also was nice enough to share a very detailed report on the Saturday action at team camp.
Tim Hardaway Jr.
All eyes were on Hardaway Jr. this weekend as this was billed as his chance to “earn an offer.” With so many eyes focused on Hardaway there are naturally many differing opinions.
Wolverine3 sees Hardaway as a bit one dimensional:
One dimensional. Two if you count finishing its own aspect of the game. Kid can certainly finish, but he’s a shooter, and a streaky one at best. Just not efficient. He lets them fly, he misses a lot, makes a couple. Great LOOKING form. Does not take the ball to the hole. Not much of a handle. Is very long and finished very well on the break today. Potential I guess.
Next Generation Sports points to his length and ability to finish:
Tim Hardaway Jr. (2010)- struggled with his shot but showed why he is high on Beilein’s list of recruits by using his length and explosion to jump passing lanes and get to the basket.
Hardaway had his ups and downs over the weekend but exploded on Sunday to lead his team to the camp title ($). It’s clear that Hardaway is a shooter first a foremost and every shooter has an off day or two.
I think Hardaway appears to be much more of a 2-guard in Beilein’s system rather than a three. His length is intriguing for playing at the top of the 1-3-1. I think he’s a good fit with his length and shooting. While he might not be the star player that some other targets in this class are, you are stuck with the bird in hand vs. two in the bush mantra.
Incoming Freshmen
Darius Morris
Darius Morris was the class of the weekend. He left just about everyone impressed. Wolverine 3 was no different:
Darius Morris- WOW. Grew a half inch. Legit 6′4 now. I saw him last year when he was,arguably the best player at the camp along with Lubick. Even with the limited action he saw today, he left NO QUESTION who top dog was on campus. These kids couldn’t even come close to stopping Darius. And as Sam said this was against a pretty stellar Clarkston team who BLEW OUT Will Regan’s Nichols team by 20 (30pt gap at times during the game).
Morris came out and scored the first 5-7 points for the Red Oxen vs. Clarkston. Hit a three, baseline drive and pull up J, fast break lay in. Probably had 13-16 in the game before getting injured. He locked down his man at the other end all game, just as he did last year vs Eso Akunne (who was now his teammate).
His first step is quick, he handles the ball with confidence and strength even more so then last year. He could go anywhere he wanted on the court at any given time. Fathers on the Clarkston team kept looking at each other like “are you kidding me right now? How do we compete?”
Lastly on Morris…. he is in GREAT shape. Last year he looked like a high school player, this year he looks straight D1. Put on at least 8-10 lbs of muscle over the past year, another reason for his straight dominance this weekend. I really am not over hyping him either…he was killer.
Darius was limiting by an ankle injury over the weekend but it shouldn’t be anything to worry about long term.
It’s Just Sports posted some more material from a UM Alumni golf outing in Atlas Township. This time it’s video from a Q&A session featuring John Beilein and Rich Rodriguez. The video is entertaining, if for nothing more than hearing Beilein make fun of someone’s obsession with recruiting websites.
Elite Camp
Chris Balas posted a great list of Elite Camp notables from Day 1. Trey Zeigler didn’t make it in because he is under the weather but the list is still impressive.
The class of 2010 list is highlighted by Tim Hardaway Jr., a 6-foot-5 guard from Miami who visited back in December and is working to earn his official offer. Other notable 2010 prospects include Devin Oliver, Corey Petros, Walter Pitchford, and Allen Payne.
The 2011 list is impressive as well. In-state guards Patrick Lucas-Perry and Brandan Kearney (both offered) were in attendance. Indiana prospects Spencer Turner and Austin Etherington have played well this spring and also made it in. Matt Poches and Dan Chilcote are two names that we haven’t talked about a lot but they are worth keeping an eye on. Make sure to check out the full list.
Other Links
- NBPA: Casey Prather Video ($)
- Inside the Hall turns two years young
Happy birthday to my favorite Indiana hoops blog, Inside the Hall celebrates with a brand new design. - NBA Past, Present and Future?
More Smotrycz love including a picture and a mention of Casey Prather - 2008-09 Chicago Tribune High School Scholar-Athlete Team – Matt Vogrich
30 ACT and wants to study business at Michigan to become a head salesman for a shoe company. The incoming freshman isn’t just smart, he can flat out shoot as Michigan fans will find out soon enough. - Prather puts on show at Top 100 ($)
- Ex-Michigan coach Ellerbe joins GW as assistant
- Pistons draftee almost played at UB
Pistons draftee from Sweden has a connection to Beilein
