Michigan Basketball: Taylor Currie Knew It Was Going To Be Michigan
Clarkston (Mich.) High standout forward Taylor Currie grew up in Ohio and started his career at Worthington Christian before transferring last year, but he was raised in a Michigan household.
His mother’s dad went to U-M, and she grew up a huge Michigan fan in Marshall, Mich. Currie’s father hails from Albion, Mich., only 45 minutes or so from Ann Arbor.
Currie was so entrenched in everything Michigan, in fact, that he knew he would end up at U-M if offered, and that it wouldn’t take long.
He was offered at 1:00 June 15, the first day head coach John Beilein extends offers to rising juniors. He committed one minute later.
“Yeah, I did know [I’d commit],” he said. “I talked to my parents about it. I was hoping I’d get [an offer], and I knew if I kept working hard and improving there was a pretty decent chance they’d offer a scholarship.
“Everything turned out like I hoped.”
Currie helped lead Clarkston to the Class A state title, a win over Grand Rapids Christian, with a 16-point, 12-rebound performance. He’s averaging 11.7 points and 8 rebounds per game on the Nike EYBL16U circuit and was hearing from Michigan State and Wisconsin the most in addition to U-M, with Purdue and Iowa also in the mix.
Beilein already has plans for him, even though he won’t be on campus for another two years.
“They consider me a Moe Wagner type,” he said. “They see me as being able to score both inside and outside, rebound, defend, a lot of the same things Moe does now.
“Right now they see my coming in as a five, but they believe I have the ability to defend multiple positions, the four and even the three in some cases. A lot depends on how I develop, but they hope I can play the five, four or even the three for them.”
Currie is still only 16 years old, and he’s got plenty of room to fill out at 6-9, 205 pounds. He made six triples in one game at Spiece Run-n-Slam in May on his way to 33 points and shined in several other games this summer.
“Currie had a solid outing for All Ohio Red in a tough loss Saturday evening,” NY2LA reported. “Currie showed his range with a three-point bucket, hit some from about 15 feet and finished a couple plays inside also. He had 15 points.
“… He wrapped his weekend early, but impressed while he was there. A high major impact talent with a nice ceiling, Currie is skilled and instinctive and he pairs that with size and feel to make for a highly intriguing Division 1 prospect.”
GoldandBlack.com’s Brian Neubert told TheWolverine.com he was impressed after seeing Currie at Spiece.
“He plays his butt off,” he said. “He’s got long arms, can score … I like him.”
He’ll be even more effective when he adds some weight, but that’s not his only goal.
“I don’t try to focus on one area too much,” he said. “Yeah, I have to get in the weight room, get stronger, but I want to develop my all around skills, keeping working on what I do well, what I don’t do so well. Hopefully when I get to Michigan I’ll be a complete player.”
He’s in good hands at Clarkston playing for former Wolverine Dan Fife.
“We had a great year. Coach Fife is one of the best of all time in this state,” Currie said. “Winning is always fun, but I’ve really developed under Coach Fife and his assistants. He demands consistency, preaches defense … I saw major leaps in my game from the beginning of the season to the end.”
He’ll spend one more year with point guard Foster Loyer, a 2018 MSU pledge, and hopes for more titles before arriving in Ann Arbor. Today, though, he’s happy to be a future Wolverine.
“My family and I are all very excited,” he said.
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