ESPN: Michigan Basketball's Recruiting 'Sales Pitch' Is Top Tier

ESPN.com staff writer Jeff Borzello, who spoke with anonymous college basketball coaches to help gain insight, is ranking schools in each top conference around the country based on the "quality of their enticements for men's basketball recruits," including the Big Ten, where the Michigan Wolverines were rated in the top tier. The rest of 'Tier 1' included Indiana, Michigan and Ohio State.

Indiana was listed as having the best 'sales pitch,' with the program's storied history being a main reason why. Michigan State was recognized as being closer to the Hoosiers than any other Big Ten program, because it is "basketball, through and through."

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"They can beat Michigan out for kids," an anonymous coach said. "I don't care how good Michigan is or how good [head coach] Juwan Howard is, they're still a football school."

"Michigan is still a football school. That's a challenge," another coach added. "Some will say that's a really good thing because they won't talk about you until late January. But people don't really pay attention until you hit it big."

However, some other coaches who were polled believe Michigan and Ohio State — "football schools" — are better jobs than Indiana and Michigan State from a recruiting standpoint.

"I feel like they're in a group of their own," a coach said of the Wolverines and Buckeyes. "They have prestige. Brand name, brand recognition. You can pick up the phone and call any kid in the country and there's gonna be interest because of the brand. There always seems to be NBA-level players in their home state, year in and year out. You're going to be, at worst, one of two in the state of Michigan, and in Ohio, one of one."

"What don't they have that Indiana and Michigan State have?" a longtime Big Ten assistant added.

It's not just brand name, either. Michigan has had more success on the basketball court over the last decade-plus than most other programs nationally. Since 2012, the Wolverines have won three Big Ten regular-season titles and two Big Ten Tournament championships, and have advanced to two national title games, two Final Fours, four Elite Eights and six Sweet 16s.

Howard and Co. are showing that the success was due to more than just his predecessor, John Beilein, who undoubtedly put the program on extremely solid footing before departing for the NBA in 2019.

Howard is continuing the winning, and he's recruiting perhaps even better (though it's a small sample size so far), with the nation's No. 1 recruiting class coming in for 2021.

"Juwan obviously has passion for Michigan," one coach said. "He's got a strong NBA background, an NBA career, both playing and coaching. He's energetic, he's a competitor, he's more of a fit for college basketball than the pros from the standpoint of how much an impact he can make on people, on young adults.

"He's got an excellent staff, but he's done an excellent job selling his passion for young people and the University of Michigan. You go back to that [introductory] press conference, and he's crying. Why? Because he loves Michigan. He's always embraced that."

Tier 1: Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State

Tier 2: Maryland

Tier 3: Purdue, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa

Tier 4: Nebraska

Tier 5: Rutgers, Penn State, Northwestern

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