Robin Benzing will not be enrolling at Michigan this fall. Bad news to say the least and might be part of the reason Beilein was watching Andy Brown at Peach Jam. This was the risk with taking a guy like Benzing with so many question marks with regards to eligibility, qualification, suspensions and whatever else. Beilein must have absolutely loved Robin’s game because of the big risk involved, however the gamble didn’t pay off.
Beilein left the door slightly ajar about Benzing showing up in Ann Arbor at some point but I find it very unlikely that he would goto prep school or something at this point when he can play pro-ball in Europe.
“Robin is a fine young man and we will continue to provide him with the NCAA information he will need if he continues to pursue options in the United States. If he does not pursue these options, I assume he will begin playing at a professional level in Europe starting this fall.”
I was excited about Benzing, and he seemed like a great fit but most likely wouldn’t have been eligible this year anyways. The real issue here is the damage to the recruiting game plan, it’s time to scramble.
Now Michigan is in a jam, Andy Brown was huge on Michigan early (and they were seemingly very interested) but the recruitment fizzled after Benzing’s commitment. Michigan had started focusing almost entirely on point guards and wing forwards. With the post position already so depleted, this is just another blow. It is an absolutely necesity to land a power forward in the 09 class. The problem is, there aren’t that many power forwards who are really on the U-M radar. Michigan has to at least make a try to get back involved with Andy Brown but after that they have to cast a wide net of other power forwards.
With Benzing off the board I updated the scholarship breakdown.
It seemed like everyone was just waiting for this to become official, Robin Benzing has signed with Michigan. I have written lots about him the last week or so, make sure you check out this big post if you missed it. I think Benzing is going to play the four at Michigan and is the perfect skilled type of four man that Beilein loves. Benzing will enroll at Michigan this year but most likely sit out a year and then have 3 years to play because of eligibility rules with the NCAA. Here is what Beilein had to say on Benzing:
“With a lot of hard work, we feel Robin will be a valuable asset to the program,” said Beilein. “He is long, versatile, and at 6-10 has a high skill level. The recruitment of foreign players is a bit more complicated now than in the past. The NCAA’s current academic and amateur certification process may affect Robin’s initial eligibility to play at Michigan. We will follow the situation closely and hopefully know more as soon as possible.”
- First this weekends originally planned visits:
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- No Andy Brown this week. Is it because Beilein is out of town or a guy like Benzing is taking his spot?
- No Darius Morris, this visit had been rescheduled for a while I think.
- Brian Elerbee is now doing construction according to The Realests.
- A couple things on Robin Benzing:
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- I confirmed with Chris at European Prospects that the eligiblity situation is that he would enter college this year and most likely have to sit out the 08-09 season before being able to play the next year. Sorry, from looking at previous cases it appears that Benzing would have SOPHOMORE eligibility in 09-10 instead of RS-Freshman eligibility.
- In regards to Benzing’s position a lot of scouting services have him listed as a 3 man. I think that down the road in the NBA Benzing certainly could project to a 3 man but right now with the roster composition in Beilein’s offense I can’t see Benzing playing anything but the 4.
- Thanks to Sheryl for pointing out that Zack and Stu are playing in another All-Star game, this time on opposite teams. This time it’s the Hoosiers’ Reunion All Star Classic on June 6th (8pm).
Best Bets 2009
I am going to make a best guess list for the 2009 recruiting class which right now has 4 (3 open) spots. This is basically just a preview of the updates I am planning for the hot board brought to you early. For the record this is my personal opinion and is not affiliated in any way with the University of Michigan basketball program.
1. Jordan Morgan – Center/PF – Commit
Morgan provides the size and post presence that Michigan needs inside but also still has a little bit of range on his jumper.
2. Robin Benzing – PF/SF
I think Benzing will come to Michigan and fill the opening at the PF. He would enroll this summer but most likely have to red shirt due to NCAA rules. This would give him a year to get acclimated to the US and also start learning Beilein’s system. It might be a stretch but I think Benzing might have jumped ahead of Andy Brown given that Beilein has already traveled over to Germany to see Benzing play.
Back-Up: Andy Brown
3. Darius Morris – PG
The need at point guard is huge, Morris provides a very good combo of passing, flair, scoring and athleticism that Michigan needs in the back court.
Back-Ups: Nick Russell, CJ Harris or Carl Jones
4. Best Available – C/WF/SG
The last scholarship is the toughest to project, it would seem like it should goto a wing or a big man but I think Michigan will just go for the best available player. There are not many big men on the radar right now that appear to be sure bets. I think the best bets here are one of the following: Nick Russell, Andy Brown, Manny Atkins or CJ Harris. I think that some sort of late riser could also fill this spot, I wouldn’t be suprised to see this spot stay around for a while especially if Michigan can lock up a point guard and 4-man.
A few more stats on Benzing from this past year. With the ProA team Benzing averaged 8ppg in 18.1mpg while shooting 50% (25.7% 3pt) from the field. In the U19 league Robin averaged 22.5 ppg in 26.3 minutes while shooting 62.1% (37.3% 3pt) from the field. For comparisons sake Mark Kelley (who graduated from UC Irvine and averaged 9 and 5 his senior year) averaged 17.1 ppg and 7.6 rebounds in the ProA league. It’s still important to remember that Benzing is probably substantially younger than a lot of the kids playing in the ProA league because its a professional league and not an age limit league like the U19.
View U19 Stats or View Pro A Stats.
Also don’t miss the latest on the practice facility or the earlier post on Benzing.
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