Recruiting

Notebook: Five-star wing Tyus Battle set for official visit

Michigan will host five-star guard Tyus Battle for an official visit this weekend as the wing guard moves closer to a decision.

Michigan will host five-star guard Tyus Battle for an official visit this weekend as the wing guard moves closer to a decision.

Battle recently took official visits to Duke and Louisville back-to-back in April and he’s planning to take his fourth official visit to Syracuse on May 22nd. Battle’s father, Gary, is pushing for his son to make a decision by June.

“I’d like to see him get this over with by June,” Gary Battle told Syracuse.com. “Tyus is undecided on that.”

Duke is the heavy favorite in Battle’s Crystal Ball, but Michigan will have a chance to make an impact as Battle makes his second trip to campus. The five-star wing also visited during Michigan’s College Practice Camp last June.

2017 wing Kris Wilkes wants to visit Michigan

Michigan has been tracking Kris Wilkes, the No. 19 prospect in the class of 2017 according to 247 Sports Composite, and the dynamic wing wants to reciprocate the interest with a visit.

The 6-foot-7 Indiana native averaged 17.4 points, 5.5 rebounds and 1.2 assists per game as a sophomore while shooting 58% from the floor.

Wilkes has already visited Indiana, Ohio State and Butler for basketball games during the season and told Inside the Hall that he wants to visit Michigan, Illinois and Ohio State soon.

While Wilkes has impressed this summer, he’s focused on adding weight and rebounding ability.

“I’m 6-7 and 184 pounds. It’s a little bit hard (to put on weight),” he told Inside the Hall. “I eat a lot, but it doesn’t show. But I’m lifting weights, so hopefully I can get bigger.

“I need to get bigger, rebound more and get my jump shot better.”

Cumberland rising quickly

Tyus Battle and Josh Langford are Michigan’s priority targets at the off-guard spot, but the Wolverine staff stumbled upon a few new targets in April. One of those is 6-foot-3 Ohio guard Jarron Cumberland. Cumberland is described by many as the best scorer in Ohio and he’s put up big numbers on the spring circuit – playing with both Ohio Basketball Club and King James Shooting Stars.

Cumberland is reportedly looking at visiting Michigan and thinks an offer could be waiting.

“They really like me and they want me to come there on a visit because they can’t offer over the phone, but they’ll offer in-person,” Cumberland told MLive. “I could see myself there as a two guard who can help them score a lot.”

Cumberland averaged 16.5 points per game during the second session of the Nike EYBL and made 10 of 26 three-point attempts. He was also one of the top performers at the Spiece Run-n-Slam Classic in Fort Wayne last weekend and his composite ranking on 247Sport is up to No. 95.

Point guard radar expanding

Cassius Winston is the top target on Michigan’s 2016 recruiting board, but the 6-foot point guard is also in no hurry to make a decision. Talking with Winston at the Nike EYBL in Lexington, it was clear that he’s focused much more on basketball this summer rather than advancing his recruitment. He didn’t want to name favorites and wasn’t sure of any plans to take any visits in the short-term. To be fair, the focus on basketball has led to him leading the Nike EYBL in scoring at 22.1 points per game.

We profiled two potential point guard targets in Bryce Aiken and Bruce Brown in recent days and another target on the radar is recent Purdue decommitment CJ Walker. Walker is a small, but quick guard who has heard from John Beilein in recent weeks.

“It was really exciting to hear from coach Beilein,” Walker told MLive. “I mean, he’s one of the best coaches out there. That’s exciting. Getting an offer from Michigan would really mean a lot to me. I feel like I could be the next Trey Burke or something in that area. I feel like I could go there and be something special and really do something for that program.”

Michigan also has an offer outstanding to Quentin Goodin, a four-star point guard from Kentucky, who has played very well this spring. Goodin would check all the boxes for the point guard position at Michigan and provide the Wolverines with a skillset more similar to Darius Morris with his size and ability.

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