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Scranton, Pennsylvania was my destination over the weekend at the KYDA Invitational. The field was absolutely loaded, with several shoe-sponsored clubs taking the court featuring several Michigan offers/targets. 

In the first of three updates coming this week, we'll touch on the wings today.

Offer Cam Whitmore Now

Prior to the weekend I exchanged texts with a coach from a prominent prep school and Cam Whitmore was my reply when asked my preference for realistic wings (assuming no Jarace Walker) in 2022. And let me tell you, my stance was absolutely solidified based on the on-court performance over the weekend. 

It takes all of 5 seconds to see Whitmore is an elite athlete, but he's a lot more than that. Cam knocked down triples at a nice clip, hitting 4/11 during the three games I took in. He probably connected on 50% of his catch-and-shoot threes, which is likely the variety of three he'll take at the college level. He has a high release point, great arch and nice rotation on his shot. While he did connect on one pull-up triple, his percentage took a noticeable decline on those shot types, which is the case for most any prospect in the country. 

I really liked his ability as a passer/playmaker for others as a secondary shot-creator. On several occasions, he was able to force help-defense with dribble penetration and make the proper read + accurate kickout to the corner shooter. In transition, Cam thrived as a grab-and-go type that punished the defense after collecting defensive rebounds. The pass at the :22 second mark in the clip above is just plain filthy. Fitting a bounce-pass in that tight of window with zip was an eye-popper for sure. 

About that athleticism though. There are good/great athletes as projected at the college level and then there's this. Whitmore is an NBA-caliber athlete with elite quick-twitch explosiveness as a leaper, nice first-step acceleration and above average agility in a college ready frame. In all my years as an evaluator, I don't know that I've ever seen a HS prospect prevented from dunking because he was so high in the air that following through with the dunk attempt would've likely resulted in injury. Take a look at the clip below - I slowed it down and froze at the relevant moment. Cam is literally prevented from dunking because his head/face hits the backboard and he can no longer see. Even with his arms bent/clearly not extended, the ball is near the top of the square on the backboard. This is a 98-99th percentile athlete that is electrifying. That was a "wow moment" for me, and I don't have many of those. 

While Team Melo (Nike EYBL) plays him as a wing/forward, there were flashes of ballhandling that suggest he may have a future as more of an on-ball option in the future. This possession below stood out in that regard. Whitmore changes direction/speed twice in a tight space with impressive burst to place the defense in scramble mode and it eventually lead to a made three. That sort of ballhandling + spatial awareness simply cannot be taught. You either have it or you don't. 

As of now, Cam would be number 2 on my wings board, slightly behind Jarace Walker (more on him below). Conservatively, I would rank him in the top 25-50 range overall right now pending more live evaluations. Whitmore is clearly a tier (or two) above prospects such as Ty Rodgers, Colin Smith, AJ Casey and Gregg Glenn. Mainstreams ranking him in the 100-115 range is pure insanity. At worst, this a top-50 prospect in 2022.

Whitmore attends Archbishop Spaulding in the DMV-area, where assistant coach Phil Martelli has heavy connections. He's also a high-academic kid, with Notre Dame and Wake Forest both extending offers in the last two weeks. 

Speaking with Cam in Scranton, Michigan has picked up the interest/contact level since viewing him at the Team Final event via livestream a few weeks ago. After seeing him live this weekend, it's easy to see why. This seems like a no-brainer for Michigan. A superb talent from friendly grounds with a good academic resume at a position of need. If Greg Glenn doesn't get on board soon, Cam should be a Plan A priority for the staff. 

[Hit THE JUMP for the rest of your wingmen]

The greater DMV-area was the destination over the weekend, as I attended the Team Thrill Showcase  with intriguing matchups between the shoe-circuit powerhouses including Michigan-friendly clubs such as Team Takeover (Nike EYBL) in addition to the host Team Thrill (Under Armour) among others.

If there is one thing we've learned about Juwan Howard, the National Coach of The Year loves big wings and Michigan is in heavy with several blue-chippers. Let's see where we stand with the wing/forwards and dabble into the bigs as well.

Jarace Walker The Playmaker

The first thing that pops-out about 5-star Jarace Walker is the frame. At 6'8 and probably 230 pounds, Jarace looks capable of physically competing in the NBA, let alone college. And while his physical profile passes the eye test with flying colors, the athleticism displayed with his verticality off one or two legs in both the half-court and transition was more noteworthy. He's not the most agile kid out there, but at his projected position, he's most definitely going to have an athletic advantage against most opponents with his combination of size + strength + leaping ability. 

Walker really impressed with his playmaking for others off the bounce and from the free-throw line area. You simply don't find many HS prospects that size capable of facilitating offense. His handle can be a bit loose at times, but he does show the ability to change direction with a live dribble. Shooting is the biggest question I've had for Jarace over the last two years and he didn't do much to ease my concern in that regard. He didn't knock down any triples in the 2 games I took in and still has the same slow release. I've seen him knock down enough jumpers over the years to project him as a solid/average shooter but I'd like to see more development considering he's at a basketball factory in IMG Academy (FL). 

Nothing really new as it relates to Walker's recruitment. He's in no hurry and will likely consider the professional route given his positional size, skill and athleticism. Michigan will be in it until the end here with the all the IMG connections including Jett Howard and 2021 signee Moussa Diabate. 

AJ Casey Quickly Moving To The Top Of The Board

Things seem to be picking up with top-30 wing AJ Casey (Whitney Young HS/Meanstreets EYBL) out of Chicago. In an interview with Prep Hoops last weekend, Casey rattled off Michigan as a school he plans to visit in June once the dead period comes to an end. He also confirmed the same to Rivals a few days ago and had this to say about the Wolverines' pursuit:

"Casey has 17 scholarship offers and says Ohio State, Michigan State, Gonzaga, Purdue and Louisville are among the schools recruiting him the hardest."

Michigan should definitely be considered one of the 5ish legitimate options for AJ. Juwan Howard has heavy Chicago connections and former Wolverine football standout Tai Streets is the program director for the Meanstreets EYBL program. An added bonus - his teammate is 5-star big Jalen Washington (see below). 

On the court he's off to a tremendous start  on the travel-ball scene, consistently knocking down triples to compliment a combination of NBA size and athleticism at around 6'7 with a great frame. In my update a few weeks ago, I said AJ is challenging Jarace Walker as my top option at the wing spot and that sentiment is stronger today after watching some film from the Prep Hoops Chi Town Tip-Off. I plan on getting an updated live evaluation of Casey very soon. Pending that, he looks like the prospect I'd prefer the most at the wing/forward spot. 

[Hit THE JUMP for the full rundown on wing + big targets]

With a top 5 recruiting class in hand for 2021, Michigan is looking to put icing on the cake with a blue chip big and a 5star perimeter prospect to close out the class. All the latest in this week’s roundup below.

Harrison Ingram Closing In On A Decision

Brian Snow of 247 reports that 5star wing/forward Harrison Ingram could make a decision within days:

“We definitely won’t have to wait too much longer for a decision out of five-star Harrison Ingram. The versatile and skilled forward hasn’t officially set his announcement date, but it should be happening this week.”

I checked in with a source close to Ingram yesterday and was told that a decision should be coming within the next two weeks. So while an announcement may not come this week, its clear this recruitment will likely end within the next 10 days or so.

Nothing has changed in terms of Michigan’s standing. The Wolverines are still firmly in the mix along with Purdue, Stanford and North Carolina. While Harrison has essentially shut down communication with the respective programs recently, the Michigan staff does intend to get in touch with him in the coming days to gain clarity, make a final push and address any potential concerns.

I’ll reiterate that a source close to the recruitment indicates the program that sells Ingram on having the ball in his hands as a playmaker will best position themselves to land his commitment.

Harrison has kept things close to the vest, and not even the coaches at the four realistic options have a firm grip on what Ingram will do at this point. Mom loves the academic component at Stanford, but another well-positioned source doesn’t believe that will be the deciding factor if he doesn’t end up in Ann Arbor. Michigan’s academics are strong enough in tandem with the basketball component to overcome it, assuming we can convince him of being a focal point in the offense as a playmaker. Purdue is going all in on the “you will be a true PG here” pitch. While that’s probably not true, it sounds good and resonates with Ingram.

Thing are simply too close to project right now, but I will continue digging with multiple sources over the next few days. Hopefully the curse ends soon.

[After THE JUMP: the latest on 2021 bigs, new 2022 targets]