Here’s what Pierce had to say on Manny:

“He’s got a pretty good mid-range game,” Pierce said of Harris. “I like the way he comes off screens. He has tremendous upside and has a good basketball IQ. He’s also one of the guys that picked things up right away.”

It’s interesting to hear someone praise Manny’s midrange game, this is something that most would consider one of the weaknesses of Manny’s game. If he were to master the pull up jumper or some sort of floater he would be almost impossible to guard.

Goodman also mentions that Harris says that he plans to be more of a vocal leader rather than leading by example. Leadership is still my biggest question regarding next year and it would be great to see Manny take that next step.

Eight of the first nine picks in the NBA draft were alumni of one of the Nike Academies and it’s great that two current players (Sims and Harris) and one future player (Smotrycz) got the chance to particpate.

The only frustrating part of the schedule is that the cupcake teams all had very bad RPIs last year. It looks like we will have four or five games against teams with an RPI over 200 again this year. Ideally you want to try to play 100-200 level teams who are still beatable but not terrible.

• Friday, Nov. 6    Exhibition vs. Wayne State
• Saturday, Nov. 14    Northern Michigan
• Friday, Nov. 20    Houston Baptist
• Thursday, Nov. 26    vs. TBD (Old Spice Classic)
• Friday, Nov. 27    vs. TBD (Old Spice Classic)
• Sunday, Nov. 29    vs. TBD (Old Spice Classic)
• Wednesday, Dec. 2    Boston College
• Saturday, Dec. 5    Arkansas Pine Bluff
• Wednesday, Dec. 9    at Utah
• Sunday, Dec. 13    University of Detroit
• Saturday, Dec. 19    at Kansas
• Tuesday, Dec. 22    Coppin State
• Sunday, Jan. 17    UConn

Before the joy of Tim Hardaway’s commitment even sinks in, there is more disappointing news to share. Incoming freshmen Jordan Morgan is scheduled to undergo knee surgery and will be out for 4-5 months. The surgery to repair articular cartilage in Jordan’s left knee is scheduled for Wednesday, July 1st.

“The timing of Jordan’s injury is very unfortunate,” said Beilein. “We are very confident; however, that with the great medical staff at the University of Michigan, Jordan will make a full and speedy recovery.”

The recovery and rehab time-frame would most likely put Jordan back in action sometime during the month of November. Once he is cleared to play he has to get into basketball shape and start learning Beilein’s system first hand.

There was a chance that he would have redshirted in the first place and missing a this much time increases that chance significantly.

Hardaway is a 6-foot-4 lanky shooting guard with excellent length who is a great three point shooter. He’s not as athletic as Casey Prather and his offensive game isn’t as refined as Trey Zeigler’s but there is no doubt that he is the best shooter of the bunch.

Michigan had been in the drivers seat in Hardaway’s recruitment for a while. Other suitors included Minnesota and Kansas State:

Minnesota and Kansas State have both offered, while Florida, South Carolina, Kansas State, Northwestern and Florida State

ESPN rates Hardaway at 93/100, which is good for the #28 shooting guard in the country and the 93rd ranked prospect in the class of 2010. Rivals and Scout both Hardaway as a 3-star prospect. Rivals also has a couple premium video clips ($) from the AAU circuit this summer.

Hardaway has played well early on on the AAU circuit this spring and summer. Hardaway was named to the all-tournament team at the Bob Gibbons TOC event. He also impressed ESPN scouts at the Nike Memorial Day Classic:

May, 2009: Hardaway, who has obvious basketball bloodlines, displayed high-level ballhandling and passing ability at both guard positions. He is an excellent athlete who uses his quickness and length to his advantage. He showed he is a threat from 3 if the defender backs off. He was very good in transition pushing the ball up the floor and is a great finisher at the rim. He had a good feel for using ball screens and also could create off the dribble. He was able to get into the paint for a midrange jump shot and did a nice job drawing the defense and kicking out to an open teammate. Defensively, he is a smart, fundamentally sound player who understands angles and has above-average lateral quickness. He still has upside and is developing some point guard skills. As his body continues to mature, Hardaway should blossom into an excellent college player.

Hardaway might not have the type of superstar potential that Trey Zeigler and Casey Prather have but I like this commitment a lot. Hardaway has the length to play at the top of the 1-3-1 zone and he has the shooting ability to play in John Beilein’s offense. I think right now he projects a little more to the two guard position rather than the three but he definitely has the potential to play both. The biggest knock on Tim right now is his handle, I would think his dad could help coach him up there though.

Scholarship Situation

A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush and this situation still gives Michigan a clear opportunity to land Zeigler or Prather.

Hardaway’s commitment leaves one scholarship remaining for the class of 2010 (see the updated scholarship breakdown for information about future classes). The two main candidates for that last spot in the class of 2010 are clear: Trey Zeigler and Casey Prather. This becomes a first come first serve situation for the last scholarship.

Taking Hardaway makes a lot of sense because if you wait too long for Casey and Trey then you risk being left empty handed. The staff has done an exceptional job recruiting Casey and Trey but acan happen in recruiting. Prather has consistently talked about visiting, the next step is to make that happen. Zeigler didn’t make it to Ann Arbor this week because of illness and his dad’s CMU camp being scheduled at the same time but he still plans to take a few visits and then decide in early Fall.

The class of 2011 is where the scholarship situation gets interesting. Assuming Michigan’s class of 2010 consists of Smotrycz, Hardaway Jr., and one more player that leaves only two scholarships in the class of 2011. I think Michigan needs at least one big man in the class of 2011, so that leaves only one spot for a guard or wing. At this point Michigan has offered Brandan Kearney (G/WF), Patrick Lucas-Perry (PG), Carlton Brundidge (G), and Amir Williams (C). With the crunch on scholarships in 2011, it will be interesting to see if a 2011 kid decides to accelerate their timeframe before it’s too late.

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.

Blake McLimans

The surprise player of the week. Blake is still very thin, but most were pleasantly surprised that he was a bit thicker than expected. Blake’s shot is quick and he can knock them down from long range.

I think Blake McLimans doesn’t red shirt and finds his way onto the court next year. He isn’t going to be able to bang with some teams but he can stretch defenses and give Michigan some minutes at the four and even the five.

W3:

When the game began vs. Clarkston, I was interested to see how Blake would compete vs. Mike Kamieniecki. Mike Kamieniecki played very well against Lubick last year and played well during the morning game when Clarkston rolled Will Regan’s team.

Mike Kamieniecki took Blake off the dribble 3-4 times, and Blake got called for 3 quick fouls. Blake couldn’t really stop him off the dribble to begin with (first 10 mins or so). All of a sudden Blake blocked pretty much anything that came down the lane. I don’t know if he needed to get his timing down or what if he just needed to get loose but he was pretty darn productive after that. Still needs to work on lateral movement, and got beat by Kami but he timed his own jump to block the shots.

Likes to rebound, and is strong with the ball when he does, despite not having grown into his body yet. Doesn’t bring the ball down low. Not much of a post game yet, but certainly potential to be. Launched three’s all game going 4 for 7. Smooth stroke. Whoever said he reminds them of Gibson was WAAAYY off.

The report I got was that McLimans isn’t nearly as tentative on the perimeter with his dribble as Gibson is and he very well could push him for some minutes this year.

Matt Vogrich

W3:

Matt’s shot was definitely inconsistent today. The first game vs .Ottawa, he missed his first two three’s, a lay in, and a jump shot before hitting two deep bombs. His shooting form is flawless. Quicker release then what I saw in his film.

When Matt wants to, he takes it strong to the rim. This is where the biggest difference between him and Stu is. Where Stu will only pump fake you out on the wing and look to pass (Stu’s getting better but Novak is this way too), Matt can take you all the way to the hole, or stop and pop for the jumper. He also has a drive and running jumper he uses. Plays stronger then he looks.

The most surprising thing about Vogrich was his defense. He really gets after it. LOTS of tip balls in the lane, and he seems like he likes to rebound. Not a finesse player, he gets after it. He was basically the man on his team after Bartlestein got hurt.

Eso Akunne

Eso just seems to get it done. He just has a knack for the game despite his lack of height. W3:

If he had 2 more inches on him he would have been a national recruit. Really took the ball to the rim hard, especially when Darius went out the first time. Is a bull. Put on a few lbs from last year but can still move. I’m definitely not worried about that though…kid can ball. Really benefited when Darius was out there (well everyone did), in particular on the break.

Jordan Morgan

Jordan was dealing with a knee injury over the course of camp and was seen on crutches. There don’t appear to be any further details announced yet.

Other Notables

• Winton Woods rising senior Allen Payne was solid at Elite Camp with his all around game. Payne is probably still a bit of a backup plan but he has a nice combination of athleticism and skill.
• Devin Oliver (2010) is often forgotten but he can play, it will be interesting to see where his recruitment goes. Oliver is solid all around, taking him on the Kalamazoo promise would be a no brainer, but that might not be an option.
• Relatively unknown 6-foot-7 Holt wing Cole Darling (2010) played very well.
• Indiana shooting guard Spencer Turner (2011) was a bit inconsistent with his jumpshot but showed flashes of his potential.
• Patrick Lucas-Perry is very good, but he’s just so short at under 6 foot.
• Brandan Kearney showed off his all around game.
• Ray Lee, a 2012 point guard, played very well.
• Carlton Brundidge was nursing an injury (see W3’s report).
• Kellen Dunham, a 2012 guard from Pendleton, IN reportedly shot the ball very well.

Links

Rivals:

• Notes from Michigan team camp: Morris injured ($)
• ITF EXTRA: Hoops freshman Morgan injured ($)
• Beilein Elite Camp: Friday afternoon report ($)
• Photos: Beilein Elite Camp ($)
• Beilein Elite Camp: Friday morning updates ($)
• Hoops: Thursday night Elite Camp updates ($)
• Beilein’s Elite Camp features familiar names

Scout:

• Hardaway Leads Club to Team Camp Title ($)
• Bball Team Camp Notes (Part 1) ($)
• Sat Morning-Afternoon Webb-Camp Report ($)
• Bball Elite Camp Day 2 Recap – (Part 2) ($)
• Bball Elite Camp Day 2 Recap – (Part 1) ($)
• Bball Elite Camp (Day 1) – Sam’s Blog ($)
• Bball Elite Camp (Day 1) – Dre’s Blog ($)

Other:

• Wolverine3’s complete report
• Winging It At U-M’s Elite Camp
• University of Michigan Elite Camp- Day 1

It’s Just Sports posted some more material from a UM Alumni golf outing in Atlas Township. This time it’s video from a Q&A session featuring John Beilein and Rich Rodriguez. The video is entertaining, if for nothing more than hearing Beilein make fun of someone’s obsession with recruiting websites.

Elite Camp

Chris Balas posted a great list of Elite Camp notables from Day 1. Trey Zeigler didn’t make it in because he is under the weather but the list is still impressive.

The class of 2010 list is highlighted by Tim Hardaway Jr., a 6-foot-5 guard from Miami who visited back in December and is working to earn his official offer. Other notable 2010 prospects include Devin Oliver, Corey Petros, Walter Pitchford, and Allen Payne.

The 2011 list is impressive as well. In-state guards Patrick Lucas-Perry and Brandan Kearney (both offered) were in attendance. Indiana prospects Spencer Turner and Austin Etherington have played well this spring and also made it in. Matt Poches and Dan Chilcote are two names that we haven’t talked about a lot but they are worth keeping an eye on. Make sure to check out the full list.

Other Links

• NBPA: Casey Prather Video ($)
• Inside the Hall turns two years young
  Happy birthday to my favorite Indiana hoops blog, Inside the Hall celebrates with a brand new design.
• NBA Past, Present and Future?
  More Smotrycz love including a picture and a mention of Casey Prather
• 2008-09 Chicago Tribune High School Scholar-Athlete Team – Matt Vogrich
  30 ACT and wants to study business at Michigan to become a head salesman for a shoe company. The incoming freshman isn’t just smart, he can flat out shoot as Michigan fans will find out soon enough.
• Prather puts on show at Top 100 ($)
• Ex-Michigan coach Ellerbe joins GW as assistant
• Pistons draftee almost played at UB
  Pistons draftee from Sweden has a connection to Beilein

Several Michigan recruits and players will be in action at various Nike camps over the next few weeks. These Nike camps feature college and high school players and are broken down into different mini camps before the final LeBron James camp.

The Deron Williams and Vince Carter camps kick off this week. Country Day point guard, and Michigan class of 2010 recruiting target, Ray McCallum will be playing in the Deron Williams event. DeShawn Sims will be playing in the Vince Carter event as well as 2010 commitment Evan Smotrycz and target Casey Prather. These camps will run June 23-26th, full rosters can be found here.

Michigan Elite Camp

The bad news regarding Michigan prospects playing in the Nike camps is that Michigan’s elite camp tips off this week as well. Because of the overlap, guys like Smotrycz and Prather won’t be in Ann Arbor for the Elite Camp.

There are still expected to be a number of prospects in attendance. I don’t have a full list of players that are expected to attend but here are a few names that have been linked to the camp.

• Brandan Kearney  (2011) – (USA Links: Freep, Det News)
• Trey Zeigler (2010)
• Tim Hardaway Jr. (2010)
• Spencer Turner (2011) – camp & visit
• Allen Payne (2010)
• Dwaun Anderson (2011, Suttons Bay)
• Sean Sheldon (TC St. Francis)

This is such a big event because this event is also a chance for relatively unknown prospects to burst onto the radar. Stu Douglass was an anonymous guard from Indiana before he shot the lights out at Michigan’s Elite Camp, by the end of the summer he had committed.

I’ll leave this open for camp discussion, and hopefully get some updates over the next couple days.

• I exchanged emails with the folks over at the OP about Jon Sanderson and it was clear that Clemson fans are disappointed to lose Sanderson. They pointed out Trevor Booker’s development; a guy who went from bulky to agile (while still a physical specimen). Demontez Stitt is a guy who added lots of strength between his freshman and sophomore years (before & after). The most important point was that Sanderson’s program helped enable Clemson to play their uptempo full court pressing style of basketball. Other Clemson fans in the comments pointed to Sanderson’s personality which is also great for recruiting. Overall I am very pleased with the hire.
• Interviews: John Beilein talks about Michigan basketball’s resurgence and the star power in the Big Ten
  A friend of the blog, It’s Just Sports, catches up with John Beilein for an interview
• BIG TEN OFFSEASON RUNDOWN
  Goodman breaks down non-conference schedules and roster moves in the Big Ten
• NBA Camp stock raisers
  Smotrycz makes the list
• Sullinger, Selby poised to move up
  More ESPN love for Smotrycz
• Lance Stephenson is still without a school, and here’s why
  If you are into the underbelly of recruiting…

Smotrycz went out this spring to prove to the recruiting world exactly how good he is. It seems like every time he attends an event with national scouts, he produces. NBA camp was no different.

Rivals was one of the major services that has yet to really see Evan play this year and Jerry Meyer sounds like a guy who realizes that Evan isn’t a prospect loaded with athleticism but he is a player who can get it done.

The Michigan commit is not that athletic and his game isn’t necessarily aesthetically pleasing. Smotrycz, however, produces. He can score at all three levels and has to the tune of 13 points per game. He can also find the open man and has a penchant for coming up with 50/50 balls. He is not a prospect who everyone is going to love, but it is evident why coach John Beilein thinks highly of him.

Smotrycz was one of twenty players voted into the camp all-star game by player vote. Making a twenty player all-star team at a camp featuring the top 100 players in the country is impressive. The all-star team included 13 5-stars, 5 4-stars whose Scout top 100 rankings averaged out to 22.

Smotrycz was in the top 10 scoring list for much of the week but dropped out after a lackluster final day. Overall it was another productive weekend for Evan, whose next chance to prove himself will be the Vince Carter camp for the top 20 wing prospects in the country.

More scouting: Scout ($), TheWolverine ($), TheWolverine ($), Hoopville Rumble in the Bronx notes

Brandan Kearney

Congratulations to Brandan Kearney and the U-16 team USA basketball team for a great performance in Argentina. Team USA won five games in five days en route to a gold medal. Brandan played well despite nursing a slightly torn tendon on his left index finger.

Kearney didn’t get it going in the championship game in only 6 minutes of play. However he played well in semifinals versus Canada with 3 points (1-3 shooting), 3 rebounds, 2 assists and no turnovers. Brandan’s best game came against Puerto Rico Friday when he posted 8 points on 3 of 4 (2-3 3pt) shooting with two assists and two steals in 13 minutes of play.

Kearney’s averages for the weekend were: 11.2 mpg, 4.4 ppg, 7 of 16 (4-11 3pt) shooting, 1.8 rpg (full stats).

Trey Zeigler

The scouting report has become very clear on Trey Zeigler: pure scorer. Zeigler scored the ball all weekend and helped guide his team to a 7-0 record and the camp championship. Zeigler posted 14 points in the title game. The next step for Zeigler to proceed with his visits, I believe he is also expected at Michigan camp this week.

ESPN scouting report:

Trey Zeigler (Mount Pleasant, Mich.) has the ability to get into the lane with ease because of his quick first step. He also does a good job of using those penetration skills to get into the teeth of the defense and dish to open teammates for scoring chances.

More scouting: Scout ($), Arizona State Update ($), More ASU ($), TheWolverine ($)

Casey Prather

Prather played on the same team as Trey Zeigler and was also a key cog in the Rockets championship run. Prather posted an impressive 19 points in the 79-74 championship win. Prather might not be as refined of an offensive player as Trey Zeigler but he definitely has the athleticism. The next step for Michigan is to keep trying to get him on campus.

More scouting: Scout ($), Rivals ($)

Ray McCallum

Ray McCallum is a pure point guard in an era of combo guards. McCallum isn’t going to be a big scorer every night but he is going to set his teammates up night in and night out. McCallum was named to the “Workout Warriors” team of the top 5 hardest workers at the camp. In a tournament that was loaded with super star guards, McCallum at the very least proved that he can play at that level despite a couple of more athletic point guards getting the best of him at times:

Joe Jackson (No. 19 scorer at 10.6 ppg)- Jackson had an impressive fourth session against Ray McCallum. Jackson brought the fight to the match up and gave McCallum problems with his pressure defense and then consistently penetrated the lane on the offensive end.

More links: Detroit News feature, McCallum recaps overseas trip ($)