Casey Prather and Trey Zeigler will be visiting Ann Arbor this weekend
Recruiting Notes
Visitors
As previously mentioned, this weekend is huge not only for the football team but for Michigan basketball recruiting as well. Trey Zeigler and Casey Prather are the 2010 headliners but there are a number of underclassmen as well. For the full list, check out the updated expected visitors page. Additions include Justin Gant and Tommy McCune as well as a pair of underclassmen including 2012 point guard Ray Lee and Denzel Watts (2013, Flint CA). (Update: Added commitment Tim Hardaway Jr. as well)
Casey Prather
Rivals posted a pretty bland article ($) about Casey Prather’s visit to Clemson last weekend. Prather has consistently said the right things throughout his recruitment and seems to make sure to keep things close to the vest. The consensus from Prather was that Oliver Purnell and company “made a good impression”. This video is relevant enough to link.
Other Notes
Starting this week, coaches are allowed to make in-home visits and according to BOTB Scouting (they are rolling again), Tom Izzo made his way to the Zeigler household. Izzo also made it to see Tommy McCune, a 2011 Saginaw forward who has Michigan State high on his list but is expected in Ann Arbor this weekend.
Schedule Notes
The schedule page has been updated with time and TV information for a couple of the non-conference games. Kansas will be an early tip on ESPN and UConn is set for 4:30 PM on CBS (or 1:30). Here’s the full list of updates:
- Nov 20th – Houston Baptist — 7 PM
- Dec 2nd – Boston College — 7:30 PM — ESPN2
- Dec 9th – at Utah — 9PM ET (7PM MT/Local) — CBS College Sports
- Dec 19th – at Kansas — Noon ET, (11 am CT/Local) — ESPN
- Jan 17th – UConn — 1:30/4:30 PM — CBS
UPDATE: The full schedule has been released.
More Bullets
The 2009 Old Spice Classic bracket has been released. Michigan will play Creighton in the first round and then the winner/loser of Xavier/Marquette.
It looks like Michigan is the #1 or #2 seed in the tournament to me and I would expect them to be one of the favorites to win the whole thing. It will not be a cakewalk but I think the odds will be on Michigan or Florida State. A 2nd round battle against Xavier or Marquette looks difficult, however Xavier will be breaking in a first year coach and Marquette lost some very good players.
For a team that relished in the underdog role last year, it will be interesting to see how they react to the favorite role early in the season. The pre-season hype continues to build, Dick Vitale put Michigan at #11 in his pre-season top 40.
In terms of the first round match-up, Creighton fell on the wrong side of the bubble but won 27 games last year before being knocked out of the NIT by Kentucky. The Jays lose Booker Woodfox, last year’s returning scorer and reigning MVC player of the year, to graduation. They also lose Josh Dotzler (21 mpg) and Dustin Sitzmann (2 mpg).
The leading returnees for the Jays include P’Allen Stinnet, Justin Carter, and Kenny Lawson Jr however there are a number of guys who played 10-25 minutes last year that will be back. Former Michigan point guard target 4-star Andrew Bock headlines the Jays’ incoming class.
This is just a quick rundown from looking at the Creighton roster and I’m sure it’s too early to judge. The Jays have proven that they are a quality mid-major program and they definitely shouldn’t be underestimated in round 1.
First off, the schedule still has not been released and according to an e-mail I received this weekend won’t be for some time. For the time being we will have to just stick to what we know so far. I also got a email that claims we will open the Big Ten season against Wisconsin and confirmed UConn, Seton Hall, and Duke games.
Another note about next year, there has been changes to the student ticket policies. According to Michigan Sports Center, there will now be new student sections. The configuration this year will be student tickets in the bleachers behind the benches for $99, tickets behind the basket with the band and in the gold section will be free.
Recruiting notes from Saturday’s game. Lou Dawkins of BOTB Scouting reported this visitor list before the game: Trey Ziegler 2010 6’5 G Mt. Pleasant, Ray McCallum 2010 6’1 PG Country Day, Alex Gauna 2010 6’9 PF Eaton Rapids, Matt Kaminiecki 2010 6’8 F Clarkston, Evan Smotrycz 2010 6’9 F New Hampton Prep (NH), LaDante Henton 2011 6’5 F Lansing Eastern, Tommie McCune 2011 6’8 F Saginaw High, Amir Williams 2011 6’10 C Country Day, Matt Poches 2011 6’4 Wing Hartland, Christian Vaughn 2012 6’2 PG St. Mark’s (Mass), Ray Lee 2012 6’2 SG Robichaud, Jordan Hare 2012 6’6 Wing Saginaw High, Kevin Marshall 2012 6’6 F Saginaw High, Dorian Dawkins 2013 5’10 PG Saginaw Central Middle. However after the game he noted that Trey, Gauna, and Lee didn’t make it in.
A few more recruiting notes:
The Southern reports that Southern Illinois has been invited to the Coaches vs Cancer tournament in New York City.
The Salukis will host two opponents, still be determined, and if they win both games, will advance to Madison Square Garden Nov. 20-21 for the semifinals and third-place or championship game. SIU will host the first two games between Nov. 10-14.
Lowery said SIU, UCLA, Michigan and Duke would host early-round games for the tournament. SIU would likely meet Duke in the semifinals if both are victorious, he said.
SIU facing Duke makes sense because Duke is already on Michigan’s schedule in December. As long as Michigan avoids upset in its first two games at Crisler it appears they will get a match-up with UCLA. It also appears 2K Sports really wants a Duke vs UCLA match-up in the final. Worst case scenario for Michigan would hopefully be 2-2, but that didn’t exactly work out for Kentucky last year so anything is possible.
