There’s some spring football game taking place tomorrow but there’s also a big recruiting weekend on deck for the basketball team. A number of basketball prospects are expected in Ann Arbor this weekend on official and unofficial visits. That’s the good news, the bad news is the not so spectacular weather forecast.
In the 2010 class, Isaiah Sykes and Jon Horford will both make official visits. Horford is already committed so he will primarily be serving as a recruiter this weekend. The more interesting visitor is Isaiah Sykes. Sykes’ recruitment has been shrouded by mystery but this John Beilein quote pretty much tells the story:
“We feel really good about the prospects with at least one more (recruit). Signing one more, I wouldn’t hesitate to do that in a minute. Two more if it’s really a great addition that could help us immediately.”
It’s tough to imagine that Sykes doesn’t receive his offer this weekend. The one concern could be any kind of transcript or academic holdup stemming from Sykes attending multiple high schools over the last four years. At this point, if Sykes receives an offer, I wouldn’t be surprised if Sykes jumps on it. Mike Rothstein caught up with Sykes for a quick update on his recruitment.
Michigan also hopes to host 2011 prospects Eric Katenda and Markus Crider on unofficial visits this weekend as well. Crider seems like a good bet to visit but there have been conflicting reports on whether Katenda will make it in. I suspect they will try to get as many prospects on campus as they can but it’s a busy time with various AAU tournaments taking place across the country.
One more recruiting item to watch is John Beilein’s scheduled in-home visit with Cody Larson. The latest reports were that Beilein was scheduled to visit Larson on Sunday along with several other coaches. Indiana, Florida, Ohio State, and Arizona State are among the other schools that will have made in-home visits by the end of the weekend. Larson plans to take several visits so priority number one should be securing a visit.
Updated: Michigan also made Marcus Thornton’s list of eight schools along with Georgia, Georgia Tech, Alabama, Clemson, Florida, Kentucky, and Texas. Head coaches from all eight schools are expected to make in-home visits during the contact period which runs until April 21st.
There will also be plenty of Michigan targets in action on the AAU circuit. Marshall Plumlee, Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, and Cody Zeller will be in action with Indiana Elite at the Double Pump Spring Tournament all the way in Denver, Colorado. Plumlee and Ferrell didn’t play with Indiana Elite last weekend because of other commitments so this will be their first contest on the national circuit of the season.
There will also be plenty of local talent in action at the Grand Rapids Storm Classic. Some of the headlining teams at the Classic include the Michigan Mustangs and King James Shooting Stars. We profiled many of the Mustangs’ stars last week including Patrick Lucas-Perry, Dwaun Anderson, and Trey McDonald. The King James Shooting Stars feature Michigan wing target Markus Crider, who is also expected to visit Ann Arbor on Saturday. You can see a full listing of the teams participating in the Storm Classic here.
