Michigan basketball has received Zeb Jackson’s Letter of Intent, but head coach Juwan Howard is still waiting on five-star commit Isaiah Todd’s. He’s also waiting to see what four-star Hunter Dickinson is going to do.
Here is the latest:
Howard has two class of 2020 pledges, and one — Jackson — has already signed in the early period. He is hoping to add a few more, but the list dwindled a bit when a handful of his top prospects — Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy’s Mark Williams, Montverde (Fla,) Academy’s Moses Moody and Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep’s Nimari Burnett — chose other schools.
They'll also have to sweat it out until spring to see if Todd is going to sign or turn pro out of high school.
From USA TODAY:
"Isaiah Todd is the highest-ranked (No. 8 in the Chosen 25) committed recruit who does not plan to sign during the early period. Todd, a forward at Word of God Christian Academy (Raleigh, N.C.), said he 'can't wait' to play at Michigan next season, but isn't ready to sign."
Many still believe he'll play overseas next season.
Moody, a prep teammate of Jackson's, picked Arkansas Nov. 9 during a press conference in his home state. He also loved his Michigan visit, but the allure of playing for his home state school was too much to pass up.
U-M finished second, while Virginia also made a late push. He took official visits to Michigan, Arkansas and Ohio State … he has reportedly decided to wait until the late period to sign in April.
Williams opted for Duke several weeks ago in a decision that surprised nobody. His sister started on the Blue Devils' women's team.
Burnett never really seemed to have the Wolverines at the top of his list despite close family ties to Howard and his family. The five-star shooting guard was looking to be “the guy” with the ball in his hands, and with U-M already having Jackson, Burnett felt Texas Tech was the best place for him.
However, there are still some intriguing names on the board for U-M — Dickinson, Jace Howard, Josh Christopher, Kyree Walker and Adam Miller.
Dickinson is another with whom Michigan appeared in great shape, though he was keeping a lid on his intentions in the days leading up to Nov. 13 start of the signing period. He told us Nov. 8 he had no decision date in mind, though U-M, Notre Dame, Florida State and Duke were his constants.
Rivals.com’s Corey Evans said he was surprised Dickinson was dragging his feet.
“For a while it seemed like he had a new leader every few weeks,” Evans said Nov. 8. “He’s seen the four remaining programs and has been mulling a final decision for a few weeks now. The expectation is that he should choose early.”
He believed Michigan was in good shape, however.
“Coming down the stretch, Michigan looks to have the upper hand, and he could be the first high-end traditional big man to pick Juwan Howard,” Evans noted.
His girlfriend, Ziyah Holman, signed with Michigan Wednesday on a track scholarship. This has only strengthened belief that Dickinson will end up in Ann Arbor.
Howard’s son held offers from Dayton, Saint Louis and others, but he was closing in on a decision date as of Nov. 8.
“I should be deciding soon,” he said. “I’m just trying to find the date that works right with everything.”
He received a Michigan offer in September, and most believe he’ll join his father in Ann Arbor.
Christopher is visiting Nov. 22 for U-M’s game with Houston Baptist. He averaged 21.7 points, 4.8 rebounds and 5.8 assists a game for Vegas Elite in the Nike EYBL this summer and has already taken one visit — to tiny Howard. Christopher will visit Michigan, Missouri, Arizona State and UCLA over the next three months, and while Kentucky has been mentioned, he has no plans to visit.
“I’ve decided to focus on my high school season for now and take my visits,” Christopher told USA Today. “I’m not in any hurry. I’m giving Howard the same look that I’m giving the other four and we’ll just see what happens from that.”
He is expected to sign in the April signing period.
Miller recently announced via Twitter he’d been offered by Michigan and would visit for the Nov. 15 weekend during U-M’s basketball game with Elon and football’s Michigan State weekend. Miller is thought to be leaning toward Illinois, and has Arizona and Louisville among his finalists, but Howard is from Chicago and close with Miller's Mac Irvin Fire AAU program.
Arizona State, Kansas and Wake Forest are also on his list.
“Miller has seen the other finalists officially and his rumored favorite has changed a few times over the last three to four months,” Rivals.com’s Eric Bossi wrote Nov. 5. “However, the chance to replace former high school teammate Ayo Dosunmu and play for his home state at Illinois is starting to sound as if it will be too much to pass up.”
He will announce after the Michigan trip and plans to wait until spring to sign. Again, Illinois is the heavy favorite.
From Rivals:
"Walker, a four-star wing, left Hillcrest Prep in Arizona last month with the hope of enrolling in college between semesters. Word is that he is already fully qualified and that if he does choose a school in the coming weeks he would have two options. He could enroll and then redshirt for the remainder of the college season — similar to what Hamidou Diallo did three years ago — before seeing his eligibility begin in the fall of 2020. The other avenue he could take is to enroll and begin to play immediately, similar to what we saw with Austin Wiley four years ago.
"Arkansas has been the most discussed landing spots for Walker, but there could be a few others that could become involved including Kansas, Memphis and Michigan. It seems that, for now, the idea of choosing the professional path has come and gone for this winter, and his likeliest option is college at the turn of the calendar year."
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Watch our videos and subscribe to our YouTube channel
• Listen and subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Sign up for our newsletter, The Wolverine Now
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @Balas_Wolverine, @EJHolland_TW, @AustinFox42, @JB_ Wolverine, Clayton Sayfie and @DrewCHallett
• Like us on Facebook
