dj carton

recruiting is the book of Job [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

It's not your imagination. That was the biggest basketball recruiting nut punch of ALL TIME (alllll time):

Michigan manages to appear twice on this list despite almost never recruiting top ten talents during the existence of the crystal ball, and this doesn't even cover the Tyus Battle/Josh Langford double whammy. If you've obliterated this from your memory: when Battle committed, Beilein dropped Langford because he refused to oversign by one, Langford committed to MSU, and Battle flipped to Syracuse.

At least this debacle had a silver lining:

Michigan scrambled for Ibi Watson in the aftermath. Watson was indisputably the best of the three in 2019-20, because Langford sat out with injury (again) and Battle was in the G-League after leaving Syracuse to go undrafted.* You could argue that he's actually the best player of the three after a 20% usage, 121 ORTG season with Dayton. Even if that's… uh… aggressive, Watson would have been a heck of a consolation prize if Michigan had stuck it out with him.

So let's survey potential consolation prizes? Michigan's options follow.

*[Battle is a classic example of a guy who probably would have stayed in college if he had his name and image rights since "Syracuse star senior" is probably more lucrative than "Iowa Wolves rookie".]

[After THE JUMP: screw it get the Dutchman?]

good news for my odd couple sitcom treatment [Marc-Gregor Campredon]

How will I know if Practical Jokers is still on air? Reality sinks in.

Stop eating pangolins please.

Our coping mechanism is going to be streaming a rewatch of the 2017 Oklahoma State game at 7. If you're okay with having your eyebrows burned off again please join us.

Saddi stays. Western Michigan came open for Saddi Washington, an alum, and Washington turned them down. Sam Webb:

Sources tell The Michigan Insider that Wolverine assistant Saddi Washington has decided to remove himself from consideration for the head coaching job at his alma mater, Western Michigan.

Washington was reportedly at or near the top of the list for the position made vacant by the firing of longtime Bronco headman Steve Hawkins. The decision to remain in Ann Arbor is said to have been largely shaped by an extreme comfort with his current situation. Washington’s salary increased to $330,000 this season (Hawkins’ salary was $385,000), the first season of Howard regime was a success, and the Wolverines have put together a top five recruiting class that could grow even more impressive in the coming weeks.

That's a stark illustration of the gap between the haves and have nots these days. Washington is Michigan's lowest paid assistant and after he gets his obligatory you-stayed bump he'll probably be on par with what Hawkins was making.

Continuity is good, and it's particularly good in the immediate aftermath of a head coaching change. I can't remember exactly where this came from but earlier this year Phil Martelli did tell someone in the media that he intended to get a head coaching gig in the near future; if that happens this offseason it would have been rough replacing two thirds of the staff one year in. It's also nice that Washington wants to stay despite having been hired by Beilein originally.

[After THE JUMP: maybe we can stuff the grad transfer underneath the seat in front of us]

NJAS [Photo: Marc-Gregor Campredon]

THE RINGMASTER. There are more prominent Wolverines in this year's NBA Summer League but if you think I'm not starting with Defensive Stopper Duncan Robinson then, well, you probably thought there was breaking news on Jordan Poole or something. This is for my %#*&ing city.

Robinson has averaged double-digit points on nearly 60% shooting while playing alongside his former point guard, Derrick Walton. In what has to be considered a remarkable testament to Robinson, John Beilein, and Luke Yaklich alike, those on the Heat beat are openly wondering if a two-way contract—the same way Walton got onto Miami's roster last year—will be enough to prevent other NBA teams from poaching The Ringmaster:

Remember, Earl Barron once stood as the all-time scoring leader of the Orlando Pro Summer League. But considering how much shooting range means in today's NBA, even if Robinson is the second coming of Steve Novak, that still could be enough to get him a contract somewhere, if not here. At this point, I'm not sure that a two-way contract is enough to keep him. It may instead take a standard deal, with a potential six-figure guarantee.

Who will play minutes in a real NBA game first: Former Division III Player Duncan Robinson or Former Kentucky Transfer Charles Matthews? That is a real question with a very uncertain answer at the moment. The "john beilein says there's gold in them thar hills" tag has been deployed.

[Hit THE JUMP for DJ Carton's final three, Laker Moe, freshman numbers, and more.]

ESPN lives! For basketball at least! Moe Wagner has a bad day! Poole is on NBA draft radars! Please, Vancouver, give me one more year of Quinn Hughes, I beg you!

now that we've all exhaled a week's worth of air, what's next?