Notebook: Texas G Tyler Williams visiting, 2015 rankings, Michigan overrated?

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We previously reported that top-5 2015 prospect Diamond Stone would be on campus this weekend, but the Wolverines are expected to host another high profile out of state visitor as well. Class of 2015 wing guard Tyler Williams, of Dallas Hebron is expected on campus this weekend as well.

Williams is a 6-foot-5 wing guard that had a strong summer with Urban DFW. Williams already holds an Iowa State offer and also visited Texas A&M this fall. He had a strong performance at the Adidas Invitational this summer in Indianapolis and caught Rivals.com’s Corey Albertson’s eye at that event:

Williams is a shifty slasher who loves to compete against high-level competition. The Urban DFW wing was able to score the ball prolifically in a win over Eric Gordon All Stars on Friday by constantly looking to be aggressive with his dribble, and using his superior size for a rising sophomore guard to rise over defenders. Williams showed signs of having a mature mid-range jumper, but was more aggressive playing off the wing and attacking the basket with straight-line drives to the rim. He’s a good athlete who can play a variety of positions at 6-foot-5, and is willing to use his size to his advantage on the defensive end.

Williams’s visit to Ann Arbor is expected to extend throughout Friday and Saturday as he attends the Michigan-Michigan State game on Saturday afternoon. Michigan’s class of 2015 recruiting board continues to grow and the Wolverine staff has targeted quality prospects around the country, slowly expanding from their midwestern base.

2013 commitments planning official visits

2013 commitments Derrick Walton and Zak Irvin are both expected to take their Michigan official visits this weekend for the Michigan State game.

Both Michigan commitments tweeted their excitement about the upcoming trip and should serve as helpful recruiters for Michigan’s other targets on campus.

Me and my mans @zirvin21 gone be in Ann Arbor this weekend.. Don’t be shy to speak!! Show us some love!

— Derrick Walton(@DerrickWalton10) October 18, 2012

Michigan’s three-man class of 2013 can officially sign letters of intent next month with the early signing period running from November 14th through 21st.

Rivals Class of 2015 Four, Five Stars Revealed

Rivals.com unveiled its initial listing of four and five stars in the class of 2015 on Thursday afternoon and several Michigan targets were featured. Karl Towns and Diamond Stone both earned five star distinction while Jordan Ash, Jalen Coleman, Hyron Edwards, Eric Davis, Trevor Manuel, Stephen Zimmerman were among the four-stars.

Ash, Edwards and Manuel have all visited Ann Arbor while Stone is expected on campus this weekend.

Michigan overrated?

This was discussed in our buy-or-sell feature but several national pundits feel that Michigan is overrated in USAToday’s Coaches Poll. The USA Today’s Dan Wolken and Basketball Prospectus’ John Gasaway both tweeted their disagreement with Michigan’s early ranking.

All in all not a bad preseason 25, coaches. But flip Michigan and Michigan State. is.gd/vvHmVy

— John Gasaway (@JohnGasaway) October 17, 2012

I like Michigan’s team, but No. 5? One of most overrated teams ever.

— Dan Wolken (@DanWolken) October 17, 2012

I think it’s hard to deny that Michigan is at least a bit overrated but “the most overrated ever”, well that’s taking it too far. Nathan Walker (@bbstats) tweeted a weighted average of early preseason measures (the coaches poll, Luke Winn’s Power Rankings and Vegas odds) to create a composite early ranking which seems a bit more fair. Michigan slides to 7th and appears fairly equal to Duke, NC State and Michigan State.

Quick Hitters:

• CAM Magazine has a great feature article on Michigan’s Player Development Center and the construction behind it.
• Dick Vitale chose Trey Burke for the first team of his All-Solid Gold preseason All-American teams.
• Drew Cannon explores the differences between creative and opportunistic scorers on Ken Pomeroy’s blog.