1/4/2020 basketball Edit

Michigan Basketball Recruiting: Josh Christopher, Greg Brown & More

Chris Balas • Maize&BlueReview

Senior Editor

Michigan head coach Juwan Howard continues to put in the work on the recruiting trail, having landed two top 100 players in the last month and making up ground for others. Here's the latest ...

Howard landed seven-footer Hunter Dickinson out of Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha in December, followed shortly thereafter by his AAU teammate, good friend Terrance Williams of Washington (D.C.) Gonzaga.

From Rivals.com's Dan McDonald:

"In the last column two weeks ago, I talked about the possibility of Juwan Howard adding two pretty important pieces to his program. Well, it happened, and it happened a little quicker than I thought it would as both Hunter Dickinson and Terrance Williams committed to Michigan.With the most recent additions, Michigan now has commitments from five-star forward Isaiah Todd and four-star point guard Zeb Jackson to go along with Dickinson and Williams, who are both four-star prospects.

"Dickinson gives Michigan a real presence inside. At 7-foot-1, he’s a capable scorer in the block offensively and he’ll do all the dirty work defensively on the boards as well as protecting the rim. Williams, a 6-foot-6 small forward, also brings a toughness to the program. He’s a very good athlete and will be a threat from three-point range as well.What the new staff in Ann Arbor has done in putting together the No. 4 overall class is nothing short of incredible. The only schools currently ranked ahead of Michigan are Kentucky, Duke and North Carolina.

"Most people expected Howard to recruit well because of his background and his personality, but I doubt many expected the only coaches to be ranked of him in his first year would be John Calipari, Mike Krzyzewski, and Roy Williams."

He might not be done yet. Rivals.com's Corey Evans recently put in a FutureCast for elite shooting guard Josh Christopher to Michigan.

Josh Christopher is one of the elite scorers in the 2020 class. (Nick Lucero/Rivals.com)

From Rivals.com's Eric Bossi:

"Of the remaining big-time prospects, the recruitment of five-star Josh Christopher is the most interesting. The explosive shooting guard from SoCal has family ties at Arizona State (brother on the team) and Missouri (cousin is the strength coach), Michigan is making a legitimate push under Juwan Howard and UCLA gets a lot of run because they are the local school and in a Los Angeles market that has appeal to somebody like Christopher who is building his off the floor brand.

"So far, Christopher has only been to Michigan and Howard officially and as of last check he’s not put into motion any other visits. When will he do so? Is he really leaning any direction? So far, I’ve been unable to get a good feel for him and the coaches recruiting him are pretty unsure as well. His story will be fun to follow over the next three or four months."

Christopher appeared on the Jalen and Jacoby show recently and seemed to hit it off with former Juwan Howard teammate Jalen Rose. It's clear Howard has his attention ... Christopher visited last month.

Michigan will also get a visit from five-star Greg Brown, another of the elite 2020 prospects.

"Greg Brown, the 6-foot-9 forward Vandegrift (TX) and Texas Titans, will begin his official visit to Memphis on Saturday and will then trip to Kentucky next weekend (Jan. 10-12), his father confirmed Friday with ZagsBlog.

"Brown also plans to take an official to Michigan the weekend of Feb. 7 for the MIchigan State game Feb. 8.

"Brown most recently visited Auburn in November."

Most believe he's Texas bound as long as Shaka Smart remains coach.

Pledge Isaiah Todd, meanwhile, continues to put up highlight after highlight. He recently notched 19 points and nine rebounds in a 57-49 win over Holly Springs.

Though he's still considering playing overseas next year, it's clear he's got the talent to be an immediate impact player if he does play in Ann Arbor.