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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.

Continue reading ‘2009 Michigan Camp Wrap-Up’

The 2009 class is in the books and I’m sure the Michigan staff will be excited to take this season’s momentum onto the recruiting trail. Right now there are technically two scholarships available but I would expect Michigan to take three in the class once everything works out. The biggest needs are at the wing and power forward positions — the debate would be what to do with the third scholarship.

High school seasons are pretty much in the book and that means it’s time for AAU ball. Kids like to put recruiting on the back-burner during their high-school season but AAU ball is all about recruiting. Things typically start to pick up and stock rises and falls quickly. The frustrating thing for Michigan is that a lot of the kids on the board are looking to make fall decisions rather than spring or summer.

Here is a quick run-down of who is on the board and how their high school seasons wrapped up. The list really hasn’t changed much since when I posted the 2010 hot-board a while back (will be updated soon). The main additions are Prather, Dragicevich, Payne, and Oliver. The three “firm offers” are Will Regan, Trey Zeigler, and Casey Prather but there is plenty of serious interest up and down the list. For more on every kid make sure to click through their category pages on the sidebar. You can find some video as well as the weekly recruiting wraps there.

Will Regan (6-foot-8, Nichols, NY)

Will Regan has emerged as Michigan’s premiere big-man target. The junior had a huge year for the Nichols School and he seemed to produce night in and night out. Nichols’ season came to a disappointing end against Canisius in the Manhattan Cup final but it there is no doubt that Regan is blowing up.

Michigan has been in good position with Regan for a long time. Academics are important to Regan and Michigan certainly fits the bill. A spring decision seemed imminent but several new schools including Villanova have started to show interest. Regardless, Regan has an offer and Michigan is in very good position.

Trey Zeigler (6-foot-5, Mount Pleasant, MI)

Trey Zeigler appears to have been the #1 wing forward on Michigan’s board for a long time. He is the son of a college coach and possesses all the tools including athleticism, basketball IQ, and shooting. Zeigler was named to the Class A all-state team and averaged 24 points and nine rebounds per game while shooting 48% from behind the arc.

Zeigler’s recruitment has been a bit of a roller-coaster in terms of speculation but the Zeigler family appears to have been true to their word in terms of time frame and plan. They have consistently stated that they want to take their time and not rush to a decision. The “big four” for Trey were Michigan, Michigan State, CMU, and UCLA but UCLA isn’t getting as much play of late. This will definitely be the recruitment to watch over the summer and you can bet that the rumors will be flying in every direction.

Casey Prather (6-foot-5, Jackson Northside, TN)

It’s hard to call Casey Prather anything but an athletic freak. The 6-foot-5 swingman was a finalist for Mr. Basketball in Tennessee as a junior and is garnering interest from high-majors across the country. Prather averaged 24.4 points and 11 rebounds per game but lost to Mr. Basketball award to Josh Jenkins who averaged over 40 points per game.

The odds of landing Prather are probably long but it appears there is some sincere interest. Vanderbilt appears to be the local school to watch out for but big dogs like UNC and Wake Forest have been in to watch Prather play.

Moses Morgan (6-foot-5, Palo Verde, NV)

Moses is a skilled wing forward from Nevada whose Palo Verde team fell just short of a state championship. Morgan appears to have bounds of talent but sometimes isn’t quite assertive enough on the offensive end. Commenter Ken in Vegas was at the game and produced this report.

Moses has been big on Michigan since he visited in the fall and his recruitment doesn’t seem to have moved much over the school year. Things should start moving a little more quickly over the summer AAU period.

Tim Hardaway Jr. (6-foot-5, Miami Palmetto, FL)

Hardaway Jr. is a wing guard from Palmetto High School in Miami. The son of NBA-star Tim Hardaway Jr., the three-star prospect visited Michigan this winter for the Duke game and Michigan appears to be in a pretty good spot. Hardaway has also received interest from Kansas State, Miami, Virginia Tech, and Florida State in recent months.

Continue reading ‘Recruiting Roundup: Class of 2010′