Michigan Wolverines Basketball Recruiting: Several Deciding Soon
Michigan remains in the running for a trio of top 2020 prospects, and at least two of them are set to decide within the next week.
U-M already has pledges from two in Zeb Jackson and Isaiah Todd, hoping to sign both during next week's early signing period, and will find out soon about Moses Moody, Nimari Burnett and probably Hunter Dickinson.
Jackson has been solid with his commitment since Howard re-secured it. He initially pledged to coach John Beilein. Todd is still flirting with the idea of playing overseas, though he's said all the right things about spending a year in college since choosing U-M over Kansas.
Moody, meanwhile, will announce Nov. 9 in his home state of Arkansas.
Moody hung out with Razorbacks guard target Khalen Robinson, and many believe the two will both end up there.
“It was really cool,” Moody told ArkansasOnline.com. “He’s one of my best friends. He’s my guy. We got to spend time together and that was a positive.”
Moody was an All-EYBL honorable mention selection after averaging 17.7 points, 3.9 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.6 steals per game during regular-season play with Bradley Beal Elite.
Burnett remains at four with a Nov. 12 decision looming.
From Rivals:
Burnett is the definition of a do-it-all type that can fill a variety of holes in the backcourt. Possessing nearly a 6-foot-10 wingspan and with great instincts that he exhausts well on the defensive end, Burnett has the chance to impact the college game on both sides of the floor immediately next fall.
He has visited each of his finalists this fall with his latest being taken to Oregon two weekends ago. The native of Chicago, Illinois, Juwan Howard pin-pointed Burnett as one of his top priorities upon his hiring in the spring. Alabama boasting their own Midwest ties led by Nate Oats, have done just the same. However, it is Oregon and Texas Tech that have garnered most of the talk of late leading up to his decision.
Burnett will commit on Tuesday with plans on signing later in the week with the early signing period beginning just a day later. Both Michigan and Texas Tech hold top-35 commitments, while Alabama and Oregon have yet to strike in the 2020 class. On Tuesday, one of the four will walk away with one of the most versatile prospects in America with the five-star senior.
Dickinson might be the most likely to pledge. He has yet to set a decision date, but Michigan has been the constant here with Duke, Florida State and Notre Dame also in the final four.
From Rivals.com's Eric Bossi:
It's actually somewhat of a surprise that Dickinson hasn't announced a decision yet, and for a while it seemed like he had a new leader every few weeks. 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. 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.
Three-Star Jace Howard, Juwan's son, has been quiet, while five-star Josh Christopher is visiting Nov. 22 for U-M's game with Houston Baptist.
From Rivals.com's Corey Evans:
We can ponder which undecided five-star prospect is going to sign next month, but for Josh Christopher, there is about a zero-percent chance that he will do so in the coming days. Down to a final four for schools, Christopher has yet to take an official visit to any of his finalists, though he did visit Howard earlier last month, but that is about to change.
On Nov. 22, Christopher will take an official visit to Michigan. The Wolverines have done a tremendous job of prioritizing Christopher dating back to Juwan Howard's hiring. While the atmosphere might not be great for its game against Houston Baptist that falls during his visit, the trip will be more about getting a better feel for the school as a whole and all that Howard and his staff can allot.
Outside of Michigan, the others in pursuit include Arizona State, Missouri and UCLA. Visits dates are currently being worked on for each for later this winter. Of course, there are ties to all three as ASU is the place where Christopher’s brother is a freshman guard; Missouri employs his cousin as its strength coach; lastly, UCLA is the local program and he is relatively close with a number of its players.
A decision will be made in the spring and I wouldn’t be surprised if Christopher ends up being the last elite prospect to end his respective recruitment.
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