jalen warley

There’s been a flurry of activity over the last week with announcement dates, top lists and the like being released. With the pandemic still in full swing, these sort of abrupt recruitments are going to become the new normal. Your weekly rundown below. 

Jalen Warley Set to Announce Sunday

I will be committing August 9th via Instagram and CBS sports pic.twitter.com/1caPMWRgTL

— Jalen Warley (@jjwarley) August 1, 2020

4-star wing Jalen Warley will make his commitment on August 9th from a final 6 of Michigan, Florida State, Memphis, Virginia, Miami and Oregon.

As one of the few people that have a direct line of communication with Warley, I’m not confident the Wolverines will be the pick this weekend. Jalen sent out a “Not So Fast” tweet last night that provided a glimmer of hope, but I wouldn’t read much into that. 

It was a tough decision that he went back and forth with between 3 schools, one of which was Michigan, but I think he’ll spend his college years elsewhere barring a last minute change of heart.

Making The Cut

Final 6? pic.twitter.com/knDisCktjA

— Harrison Ingram (@Harrisoniingram) August 1, 2020

5-star forward Harrison Ingram included Michigan in his final 6 along with Stanford, Purdue, Howard, North Carolina and Harvard.

Ingram plays things close to the vest so getting a proper read on things has proven difficult. Visits are generally indicative of interest level to a certain extent, but the health crisis has precluded that method of discernment. 

What we can say is that academics appear to be a serious factor in this recruitment. While Ingram is probably a bit overrated as a top 20 prospect, he’s certainly valuable enough to have his pick of schools in the South. No slight to any of the following programs, but the fact that schools such as LSU, Alabama and Memphis aren’t involved likely translates to Harrison placing a higher premium on education in relation to his peers. 

In terms of a timeline, Ingram isn’t showing his hand. He essentially told Rivals and 247 that a timeline doesn’t exist and a decision could come at any time. 

[After THE JUMP: Update on Jaden Akins and bigs.]

Michigan has two wings in the fold with 4-stars Kobe Bufkin and Isaiah Barnes. While Bufkin can certainly handle some on-ball duties offensively, he’s more 2/3 as opposed to a true combo-guard. Barnes is a pure wing that may create offense in spots depending on the matchup, but is further removed from being a lead guard than Bufkin. 

The Wolverines need an additional playmaker or two in this class. Let’s examine the current offers and targets and I’ll lay out a few prospects that I’d like to see the staff pursue.

Tier 1

Jalen Warley

4-star guard Jalen Warley has Michigan in a final 10 along with Virginia, Florida State, Oregon, Maryland, Miami, Louisville, LSU, Memphis and Ohio State. 

Rivals’ Corey Evans placed a Future Cast in favor of the Wolverines on Tuesday despite naming Virginia the number one contender just four days earlier. Yesterday, Evans seemed to imply the Cavaliers are the favorite yet again. 

As someone that speaks with Warley, we’re not at a point of naming a clear frontrunner. Michigan is in a functional top 5 along with Virginia, Oregon, Florida State perhaps Miami. The Wolverines are in a good spot because of family ties with assistant coach Phil Martelli. 

Scouting: I love his size, as he’s much closer to 6’6 than reported heights of 6’4 – 6’5. That said, I’m considerably lower on Warley in relation to the mainstreams. I’d probably have him in the 45 – 65 range as opposed to a top 25 type. Athletically, he doesn’t move all that well and doesn’t possess any quick twitch ability. In terms of skill, he’s much closer to Wing than Guard.

In half-court settings he attacks close-outs, hits catch and shoot jumpers, bullies smaller defenders in the paint and mixes that in with occasional straight line drives in isolation and ballscreen action. You just don’t see very many pull-ups or dumpoffs after collapsing the defense with dribble penetration. Those are two primary attributes you want to see from a lead-guard type in contemporary basketball.

That’s not to say I wouldn’t want him at Michigan. A 6’6 wing that can be a secondary creator while hitting jumpers at an acceptable clip is a great thing to have. But I am saying that I don’t view him as a primary on-ball playmaker at the next level. I’ve been trending toward this for quite some time, but I’m moving Jalen Warley to Wing for evaluation purposes. 

[After THE JUMP: the remaining offers/targets and my preferred expansion]

Michigan secured a third 2021 commitment last week when 4-star wing Kobe Bufkin made it official. Full analysis, film and projection in the Hello Post. With fellow 4-star wing Isaiah Barnes and 3-star big Will Tschetter also on board, the Wolverines are solid at the wing spot for this cycle and are off to a decent start with bigs. Michigan is turning the heat up for guards and things may move quickly in light of the health crisis precluding visits.

The In-State Option

Top 6? pic.twitter.com/GFtBx2QRwk

— Jaden Akins (@JadenAkins3) July 20, 2020

4-star guard Jaden Akins announced a final 6 yesterday of Michigan, DePaul, Michigan State, Northwestern, Florida and Mississippi State. 

I’ve gone on record multiple times to say that style of play is the appeal for Michigan and Jaden confirmed the same yesterday:

“Michigan – Coach Howard is a good player’s coach. It’s a good system with pro-style sets, that’s interesting to me that he comes from the pros and brings that knowledge and experience.”

While Northwestern is definitely more of a threat than people realize, their pursuit has cooled a bit recently as they’ve ramped up things with 4-star guard Tamar Bates. Florida is relatively new to the party, but might be a school to watch because of that reason. In the end though, I see this as a classic Michigan/Michigan State battle. 

Rivals has been claiming that Akins is a near lock for Michigan State since at least May, but nearly three months have passed without Jaden making a commitment in favor of the Spartans. I’ve countered that by saying the Wolverines are in the hunt based on depth chart and play style. Michigan is absolutely a serious option here folks. 

The initial plan was to take official visits, see the how season plays out for the respective finalists and get a better feel for roster composition accounting for likely NBA departures. But it feels like the health crisis may expedite the process here and a decision might come prior to the Fall. 

Look, MSU is unquestionably in good standing. But there is a clear path to early playing time in Ann Arbor and that is attractive.

[After THE JUMP: the Beilein play, even more guards, Will Tschetter highlights, this week’s edition of not happening.]