Michigan Wolverines Basketball 2020s: Zeb Jackson, Scooby Johnson Dominate
Michigan class of 2020 pledge Zeb Jackson continues to tear it up on the hardwood. Plus, offeree Scooby Johnson and Benton Harbor beat frosh phenom Emoni Bates …
Starting with Jackson …
The U-M commitment put up 20 in a 47-40 win over Toledo Christian Jan. 25, and then notched a triple-double in a 94-41 win over North Baltimore Jan. 26, scoring 38 points and adding 15 rebounds and 12 steals. Jackson scored 27 points Jan. 28 in a win over Leipsic, another non-conference game.
Maumee Valley Country Day is now 12-4 behind Jackson’s 24.5 points per game.
To the offerees …
Scooby Johnson scored 38 points to lead Benton Harbor to an 86-83 win over Bates and Lincoln in Grand Rapids, Mich.
From Mlive.com:
Johnson, a 6-foot-6 junior forward who recently received a University of Michigan offer, managed only two points in the first quarter. But he was lights-out the rest of the night, with 15 points in the second, 11 in the third and 10 in the fourth en route to a game-high 38. Johnson let the game come to him. He rarely, if ever, forced the action. That kind of performance is nothing new for Johnson, who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in overtime in the Tigers’ Class B state-title victory over Grand Rapids Catholic Central last season.
We scouted Johnson (25 PPG) last week in a loss at Detroit Edison, Benton Harbor’s first setback of the year:
Updates on the other offerees:
Morton told us Monday he and his team had already clinched a playoff spot with three games remaining, adding he still keeps in touch with Michigan “a good bit.”
Morton notched 20 points in a 95-76 loss to Pine Richland Jan. 29. No. 5 Butler rebounded with a 71-55 Class 6A Section 1 victory at Central Catholic Feb. 1, with Morton scoring 18 points for the Golden Tornado (14-4, 7-2).
He's averaging 27 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists per game.
Kessler picked up a coveted North Carolina offer recently. From Rivals:
Walker Kessler,the No. 19 prospect in the updated 2020 Rivals150, has really ramped up with him taking official visits to Michigan, Vanderbilt and Virginia, and most recently offers coming in from Duke and North Carolina.
A big part of the reason for his recruitment becoming hot is the talk of him potentially reclassifying up into the 2019 class. That pushes up the sense of urgency with the schools involved with him. If he does move up to 2019, Michigan and North Carolina probably won’t have a spot for him. It could even make it harder for Duke because of the Blue Devils already having
Vernon Careycommitted, but it certainly doesn’t eliminate them because they do have a spot. Look for a decision on when he will enroll in college to be finalized soon.
If he stays in the 2020 class, which is absolutely still an option, his list opens back up a little bit. Duke, Michigan, North Carolina, Vanderbilt and Virginia are absolutely five schools to keep an eye on, but Auburn and Georgia are still trying to hang in there with him as well. Kessler takes his fourth official visit of the school year this weekend to Duke.
Loveday transferred to Huntington prep from Gallipolis (Ohio) Gallia Academy earlier this month. We expect this could be a Michigan vs. OSU battle, though Louisville and others are right in the mix.
Our article with him last week:
From the Dallas News, Feb. 1:
Four-star recruit Micah Peavy scored 21 points as No. 1 Duncanville beat No. 7 Richardson Pearce 58-52 in a showdown between state-ranked 6A boys teams. The win gave Duncanville (22-7, 11-0) a two-game lead over Pearce (22-8, 9-2) with three games left in District 8-6A, and Duncanville swept their two district matchups. Gonzaga signee Drew Timme scored 27 points for Pearce.
Timme is a former Michigan recruit.
Peavy is now Rivals.com’s No. 64 junior. From analyst Corey Evans:
One prospect that I am keeping an eye on is Micah Peavy. He has gotten bigger and stronger in recent months, and while he can be oftentimes overlooked in the loaded state of Texas, Peavy’s game should easily translate to the college game. He can play either forward spot, pass it when the opportunity is there and defend all over the court. He has a great intellect for the game, so I could easily see him in the top 10 at his position in the next update.
---
• Talk about this article inside The Fort
• Subscribe to our podcast on iTunes
• Learn more about our print and digital publication, The Wolverine
• Follow us on Twitter: @TheWolverineMag, @BSB_Wolverine, @JB_ Wolverine, @AustinFox42, @Balas_Wolverine, @DrewCHallett and @Qb9Adam.
• Like us on Facebook