Juwan Howard's No. 1 Class, & U-M's Recent Success On The Recruiting Trail

Rivals.com is set to release its final rankings update for the class of 2021 tomorrow, and it looks like Juwan Howard's No. 1-ranked Michigan Wolverines basketball haul may be in for some more good news.

The outlet gave a brief preview of what to expect when it revealed its updated top 10 this afternoon, and the Maize and Blue's top signee — Montverde (Fla.) Academy five-star small forward Caleb Houstan — climbed two spots in the rankings and is now rated as the No. 6 overall player in the country.

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Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star power forward Moussa Diabate (U-M's next-highest rated signee) may also be in for a slight boost, if what Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Rob Cassidy said in late-January is any indication.

"I’ve long been impressed with the motor and defensive prowess of Michigan commit Moussa Diabate," Cassidy wrote Jan. 21. "That said, the display he put on during his IMG Academy team’s The St. James NIBC Invitational still managed to blow me away.

"We’ve long known the big was a rim protector that changes shots underneath and defends the high post, but at the St. James Event, he consistently stayed in front of five-star guard [and Tennessee signee] Kennedy Chandler when he was forced to switch on to him.

"Diabate may not be the single most dominant defensive player in the class, but he’s the most versatile."

Diabate is already rated as the top four-star and the No. 26 overall player nationally, so a bump up to five-star status wouldn't necessarily be significant from a numerical standpoint, but pleasing to the stargazers nonetheless.

Even after tomorrow's rankings update, Michigan's class is likely to remain No. 1 in the nation in the team rankings. It is also set to be the best haul the program has signed since … dare we say, the Fab Five days?

Former head coach John Beilein (2007-19) signed some very impressive classes as well during his 12 years on the job, but none of them realistically compare to Howard's 2021 crew.

In fact, the highest-rated class Beilein reeled in — from a rankings standpoint — was his 2012 crew, which was headlined by a five-star in small forward Glenn Robinson III, and a pair of four-stars in center Mitch McGary and shooting guard Nik Stauskas.

That class' final placement in the team rankings? No. 7.