Class of 2015 Recruiting: An Early Look

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Michigan won’t offer class of 2015 prospects until June 15th, 2013 but the Wolverines have began an aggressive pursuit of a number of talented underclassmen. Michigan has already hosted a number of top prospects on campus for multiple visits and John Beilein and his staff have also made early overtures with an array of top-50 to top-25 prospects.

Michigan has yet to secure any commitments in the class of 2014 which makes it tough to predict a likely class size in 2015. At this point, Michigan is casting a wide net while focusing on talented players across the board regardless of position. Point guards, bigs, wings and combo forwards are all well represented on our first edition of the 2015 recruiting board.

To take a look at Michigan’s recruiting picture, we’ve broken recruits into two groups and sorted them by position. Our target list includes prospects that appear to be slightly higher level targets either because of campus visits or their sheer caliber. The second group is a name to follow, names which might just be a cut below but are still on the radar at this point.

All player names are linked to their UM Hoops recruiting profiles with previous updates, school lists, videos and scouting reports or an archive of content surrounding the player.

Targets

Lead Guards

• Hyron Edwards
  Five star Indiana point guard has already visited Michigan multiple times. Both home state schools, Indiana and Purdue, have offered but Michigan seems to have made strong early progress with multiple visits. Edwards is regarded as a top-25 point guard and is a pure point guard that’s also more than capable of creating his own offense.
• Jordan Ash
  Four star point guard was impressed on his visit to Ann Arbor this fall and also has strong interest from Purdue, Northwestern and Illinois. Already rated as a four star prospect, Ash is known for his ability to get to the basket. The 6-foot-2 guard played every level from 15U up to 17U with the Illiois Wolves this offseason.
• Chandler White
  Indiana combo guard has been to Michigan several times throughout the summer and fall including football games, Michigan’s College Practice Camp and more. More of a shooting guard than a point guard, White relies on his strength and athleticism to overpower smaller defenders while driving to the basket.
• Eric Davis
  Saginaw native impressed at USA Basketball’s mini-camp for underclassmen and will be a priority recruit. His early list includes Michigan, Michigan State, Duke, North Carolina, NC State and Iowa State.
• Sedrick Barefield
  Michigan coaches made the trip out to California to watch Barefield workout this fall and are expected to continue tracking him. Regarded as one of the top point guards on the west coast, Barefield holds a Boston College offer and strong interest from a number of Pac 12 suitors.
• Prentiss Nixon
  Nixon already holds offers from SMU and Colorado State along with interest from Iowa, Illinois, Iowa State, Boston College and UCLA. He’s visited Ann Arbor, attended Michigan’s College Practice Camp and the LaVall Jordan watched him workout this fall.
• AJ Harris
  Small but electric point guard from Ohio, Harris visited Michigan for Michigan-Michigan State football game. Harris plays his AAU basketball with Luke Kennard and Nate Fowler.

Wings

• Luke Kennard
  6-foot-5 forward has been on Michigan’s radar for a long time. Beilein attended his high school games as a freshman, his football games as a sophomore and Michigan followed him throughout the summer on the AAU circuit. Kennard has camped at Michigan for the last two years and taken other visits to Ann Arbor but other suitors include Ohio State, West Virginia, Kentucky, Michigan State and more.
• Tyler Williams
  Texas swingman visited Michigan unofficially for Michigan’s football win over Michigan State and was impressed, has also visited Texas, Texas A&M and Iowa State (offer). Bacari Alexander is the point man on Williams’s recruitment and it speaks volumes that Williams has already made the trek up from Texas for an unofficial.
• Jalen Coleman
  One of the top prospects in the state of Indiana, Coleman already holds major conference offers from Indiana, Purdue, Illinois, Providence and Notre Dame and is receiving heavy interest from the rest of the Big Ten as well.
• Dwayne Bacon
  6-foot-6 guard already holds a handful of high major offers but Bacari Alexander has been working to get him on campus. Has the ability to play multiple possessions in the backcourt and is known for his ability to slash to the basket.
• Michael Benkert
  Another fall visitor to Ann Arbor, Benkert also has strong interest from the Indiana, Purdue and Notre Dame and attended Michigan’s College Practice Camp over the summer.

Combo Forwards

• Ryan Fazekas
  Fazekas is perhaps the best shooter in the state of Indiana’s 2015 class which combined with his size makes him an intriguing prospect. Unoffically visited Michigan this summer.
• Evan Boudreaux
  Combo forward attends same high school as current Wolverine Matt Vogrich and holds early offers from Boston College and Northwestern. Visited Michigan for Illinois football game and has also tripped to Stanford, Iowa, Boston College, Wisconsin and Northwestern with upcoming trips to Butler, Dartmouth and Michigan State.
• Trevor Manuel
  Manuel is thought to be a Michigan State lean by many given the fact that the Spartans have already offered the Lansing native and his former high school teammate Denzel Valentine will suit up for Michigan State this season. Manuel has visited Ann Arbor and reiterates that his recruitment remains open.

Bigs

• Diamond Stone
  The No. 2 player in the class of 2015 has a lengthy list of suitors, including home state Marquette and Wisconsin, but visited Ann Arbor for Michigan’s football game against Michigan State.
• Karl Towns
  No. 1 player in his class has mentioned visiting Michigan multiple times but has yet to make the trip. Kentucky is considered an early favorite after John Calpari coached towns on the Dominican National Team over the summer.
• Stephen Zimmerman
  Las Vegas native is a top-25 caliber prospect and Michigan has been in to watch him several times. Holds several high major offers but there does appear to be mutual interest.
• Nate Fowler
  Big man plays his AAU basketball with Luke Kennard and AJ Harris so Wolverine staff has plenty of exposure. He has unofficially visited Michigan and holds Ohio State interest and a Dayton offer.

Watch List

This is the next tier of recruits that could go either way

Guards & Wings

• Bakari Evelyn – 6-2, Guard, Southfield Christian, MI
  Another in-state point guard to watch, Evelyn plays point guard for The Family and unofficially visited Michigan this fall.
• LaMonta Stone II – 5-8, Guard, Bowling Green, OH
  Jet quick but very small point guard from outside of Toledo, father is an assistant coach at Bowling Green. All-Ohio Red lead guard has also visited Ann Arbor.
• Glynn Watson – 5-11, Guard, St. Joseph, Westchester, IL
  Playing on the Illinois Wolves with Jordan Ash and Prentiss Nixon, Watson is a solid prospect in his own right; already holds an offer from Purdue.
• Chris Palombizio – 6-5, Wing, Chesterton, IN
  From the same high school as Zack Novak and Mitch McGary, the Chesterton native shot the lights out at Michigan’s College Practice Camp.
• Deleon Brown – 6-2, Guard, East Grand Rapids, MI
• Bronson Kessinger – 6-6, Forward, Corydon Central, IN
• KJ Walton – 6-2, Guard, Brownsburg, IN

Bigs

• Justin Greason – 6-9, Big, Utica Eisenhower, MI
  In-state big man visited unofficially for a football game this fall.
• Matt Holba – 6-7, Big, Chesteron, IN
  Spent most of the summer recovering from injury and will be one to watch this winter.
• Brad Brechting – 6-9, Big, Cedar Springs, MI
  Impressed at Michigan’s College Practice Camp in June.
• Brennan Gillis – 6-6, Big, Indianapolis Ben Davis, IN
  Michigan spent significant time watching his Eric Gordon All-Stars AAU team over the summer.
• Josh Speidel, 6-7, Big, Columbus North, IN
  Indiana big man unoffiically visited Michigan for a football game this fall.
• Gary Bonds, 6-7, Big, Indianapolis Scecina Memorial, IN

If there is a prospect we forgot, please drop us an email at umhoops@gmail.com.