The Michigan Wolverines' 2021 basketball recruiting class currently sits at No. 6 in the country, and with four commits already in the fold, is looking to add two more to finish off what is expected to be a stellar six-man haul.
The question now becomes who those final two pledges will be, and whether or not head coach Juwan Howard can reel in any of the elite prospects he's after. The Maize and Blue have positioned themselves to finish with one of the best classes in the nation, with just one more big-time commitment likely sealing that status.
Will Howard and company finish the deal and sign a top-10 class next spring when it's all said and done?
TheWolverine's Austin Fox and Clayton Sayfie provide their takes below.
Austin Fox — Buy
Michigan has already filled most of its needs in the 2021 recruiting class (point guard, shooting guard and power forward), but one position Howard and company will still be looking to add to is at center.
With Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star center Charles Bediako fading a bit, his teammate — four-star center Efton Reid — appears to be the primary target remaining at the position.
Rated as the No. 24 overall player in the country, Reid would certainly qualify as a "big fish." Howard was bit in the last recruiting cycle by his pursuit of five-stars Isaiah Todd and Josh Christopher, but as the old saying goes, "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger."
He is undoubtedly learning which elite prospects are worth pursuing and which ones aren't (AKA, those looking for nothing more than a massive payout), with recruits such as Reid and Dallas St. Mark's five-star small forward Harrison Ingram, for example, falling into the former category.
Six-man recruiting classes are rare for schools who don't pursue one-and-dones on a consistent basis, but quantity alone should help U-M's '21 haul finish in the nation's top-10.
If one of the program's final two commitments is a player rated inside the top-40 (or so) nationally, it will likely cement the 2021 class as a top-10 haul. Again, we've seen Michigan strike out late with five-stars numerous times in recent years under both Howard and John Beilein prior to that, but the school's pursuit of high-level prospects has a different feel to it this time around.
The fact that U-M has a realistic chance of landing such a high number of elite recruits means it's bound to pull in at least one or two of them (in our opinion). With that in mind, we'd be very surprised if Michigan doesn't sign its first top-10 recruiting class since the outstanding 2012 group that finished No. 7 in the country, and featured Glenn Robinson, Mitch McGary, Nik Stauskas, Caris LeVert and Spike Albrecht.
Clayton Sayfie — Sell
It’s early in the process for the class of 2021, and while Howard is off to a solid start in the class, with all four of his pledges being Rivals150 recruits, there’s a ways to go. The Wolverines are looking to add one big man and one “best-available” prospect.
If the Wolverines are able to close with Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star center Efton Reid, the No. 24 player in the country, they’ll likely move into the top-five of the rankings — for the time being.
But when it’s all said and done, it’s hard to imagine Michigan with a top-10 class, considering 25 of the top-50 recruits in the country are still undecided. Whichever schools lands those players are bound to vault up the rankings. Keep in mind, a recruiting power like Kentucky has a class that currently sits at No. 46 in the country, due to it only having one pledge. That’s going to change between now and April, and it won't just be the Wildcats moving up.
In addition, Michigan having four commits is propping its class up right now, with the Wolverines' average star rating of 3.75 being the lowest out of any team with a top-eight class.
Now, if the Maize and Blue were to nab Reid and land Dallas St. Mark’s five-star guard Harrison Ingram, for example, then Michigan will likely finish with a top-10 class, due to sheer size and the fact that two of the top 24 players in the country would be committed to Michigan. While Michigan is certainly in the mix for the Texan, expecting both he and Reid to end up in Ann Arbor is a bit of a stretch, especially with recent history in mind — last season’s two strikeouts with five-star prospects Josh Christopher (Arizona State) and Isaiah Todd (G-League).
One thing is true: The Michigan staff has done a commendable job with this 2021 class thus far, since it had to be a big one. They’ve landed their point guard in Frankie Collins, and they’ve also filled every other position of need outside of the center position — and it’s only August. There’s plenty of time for Howard and Co. to finish strong.
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