Hoops Recruiting Wishes Upon a Wing
Last week we covered the existing offers in the primer series for 2021 with Guards, Wings and Bigs. Yesterday my Wish List series kicked things off with the Guards. Today, we’ll take a peek at some Wing prospects that I’d like to see the staff pursue moving forward.
As with yesterday’s, the wish list is based on a combination of Michigan’s needs (playmakers off the bounce), Juwan’s preferred physical profile (size and/or good athlete) and my evaluation/projection.
As a refresher, here is my general blueprint for designating wings:
Wing—has adequate size/length to defend the wing; ideally a competent shooter or plus defender; ideally a secondary shot creator that can attack a closeout at minimum
Number One with a Bullet
Eric Van Der Heijden
- Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’8/NA/200
- High School/AAU: Millbrook HS (NC)/Team Wall (Adidas)
- Current Composite Ranking: 3star/#140 Overall
- My End of Summer Projection: 4star/Top 50-75 Overall
Scouting: good pull-up jumper off the bounce and has the look of a knockdown floor-spacer off the catch. His vision looks superb, he makes timely passes that are accurate and lead to easy buckets. That’s a hard quality to find for a kid with his size. His handle is solid for a bigger wing, as he can change direction with a live dribble with relative ease. He’s an above average athlete with fluid movements. Not explosive, but certainly not sub-par. He projects as a mulit-year college player that has some pro-potential once he adds muscle mass in a high-major strength and conditioning program. 6’8 wings that can shoot off the bounce, make plays for others and put the ball on the floor with plus athleticism don’t grow on trees. Eric would be my #1 target because his size/skillset is compatible with any style of play and any roster combination. He’s versatile and skilled with a ton of upside.
[Hit THE JUMP for this edition of “Who Dats”]
Who Dats?
Josh Minott
- Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’8/NA/175
- High School/AAU: St. Andrews School (FL)/Nightrydas Elite (EYBL)
- Current Composite Ranking: NR(!)
- My End of Summer Projection: 4star/Top 50-75 Overall
Scouting: its nothing short of ludicrous that Minott isn’t currently in the top 100 at minimum. He’s a great athlete that combines fluidity, body control and some quick twitch explosion. Elevates with ease when jumping off 1 or 2 legs, which is less common than you think. Superb finisher that contorts his body to create clean looks at the rim before converting with either hand. Handles the ball like a guard, changes direction in tight spaces and strings together multiple change of speed/direction dribbles. He flashes the ability to hit pull-ups from distance, but his shot mechanics are poor. Definitely has a Lonzo-esque swingshot and a low shot origin. That said, it does go in. Good helpside rim protector that can block/alter shots based on his size and leaping ability. Projects as multi-year college player with pro-potential once he adds muscle mass. Absent concerns regarding his shooting mechanics, Josh may very well have been my #1 target. His two-way ceiling is phenomenal. Even if his shooting doesn’t allow him to be more than an average-ish shooter, his size/athleticism/handle will make him a real matchup problem at the college level in what will likely be a versatile role on both ends of the court.
Jordan Nesbitt
- Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’6/6’7/210
- High School/AAU: St. Louis Christian Academy (MO)/Brad Beal Elite (EYBL)
- Current Composite Ranking: #134 Overall
- My End of Summer Projection: 4star/Top 75ish Overall
Scouting: has the most polished guard skills in today’s pool. A perimeter shotmaker that hits pull-ups as his bread and butter. Has the ability to run pick and roll action as the ballhandler. Has made improvements as a playmaker for others off the bounce, but is still most comfortable as a scorer. Above average ballhandler that can bully smaller guards and finesse slower wings off the bounce. Plays mostly on-ball, but definitely shoots well enough to be a floor-spacer as well. Solid athlete but doesn’t have more than adequate acceleration or elevation. Developed physical frame that bodes well in a conference like the B10. Projects as an instant impact college player that is productive and likely to stick around until he’s an upperclassmen. Close to physically maxed-out and lacks ideal size/length/athleticism to garner much NBA attention unless he’s producing at a very high clip. He will help a college coach win a fair amount of games over multiple years.
Quincy Allen
- Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’6/6’8/175
- High School/AAU: Maret School (DC)/Team Takeover (EYBL)
- Current Composite Ranking: #46 Overall
- My End of Summer Projection: 4star/Top 50-75 Overall
Scouting: good positional size and length for a wing. Has a plus handle and can change direction/speed with a live dribble. Outstanding form on his jumper with good lower body balance and a nice release point. Hits pull-ups from three easily and it looks effortless when he’s shooting off the catch. Good athlete with fluid movements that elevates easily off 1 leg. Not a real playmaker for others at this stage in his development. Projects as a low-floor/high-ceiling prospect that will definitely need a year of strength/conditioning before he’s ready for heavy rotational minutes. Shooting appears to be his strongest facet at the college level and he may be a secondary shot creator, as he does have some ballskills to work with. Has some pro potential if he’s able to hit 3s at a high clip based on his size/length/athleticism. I tend to be skeptical about kids like this that come in with a high-profile. They typically give you 10-15 solid games before bolting for the pro-route based on potential. Return value may not be good, but he’s definitely got some talent.
Jordan Hawkins
- Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’5/NA/170
- High School/AAU: DeMatha Catholic (MD)/Team Durant (EYBL)
- Current Composite Ranking: #62 Overall
- My End of Summer Projection: 4star/Top 50-75 Overall
Scouting: very good shooter off the catch with some of the best shot mechanics you’ll see. No unnecessary motion with good elevation and a balanced lower body. Just a really clean shot. He’s got some real pop as a leaper. Hawkins can really get up off 1 or 2 legs and is a high-level finisher in transition and on lobs because of it. His handle needs to improve, he can attack closeouts or in a straight line, but doesn’t really have any shiftiness/wiggle. Not a playmaker for others at this point. Projects as multi-year college player in a 3&D specialist role, but absolutely requires 20-25 pounds of muscle mass prior to getting heavy minutes. His athleticism means he has a chance to be a good defender on the wing, particularly at the college level where 6’5 is adequate. His shooting prowess looks extremely promising and I think he’ll be a very good shooter at the next level.
Alex Fudge
- Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’7/NA/185
- High School/AAU: Lee HS (FL)/Team Parson (Adidas)
- Current Composite Ranking: #78 Overall
- My End of Summer Projection: 4star/Top 50-75 Overall
Scouting: the epitome of the word upside. Fudge has NBA caliber athleticism and is explosive in general. His verticality pops out to anyone watching, his head is approaching rim-level when elevating off 1 or 2 legs. He moves very well with good straight line speed and a quick second jump. Good shot mechanics and has some real potential as a catch and shoot threat from the wing. Ballskills need further development, as his handle is loose. But he shows flashes of changing speeds with the ball to freeze defenders. Projects as multi-year college player that has pro-potential with further skill development. Biggest upside may be on the defensive end, where he has great positional size and athleticism. Could defend up to 3 different positions at the college level. His shooting ability will ultimately determine his productivity, but he will score in transition, on putbacks and lobs regardless. Elite athlete that can be very productive at the college level based on motor and developing skillset.
Van Der Heijden's game seems to resemble Wagners game to me.
Even though I'm trying not to over-react to the Bajema transfer....THESE are the types of guys that I'd like to see the coaches at least start talking to early in the cycle. I think typically the higher-ranked guys draw things out to the end but the 75-150 guys sign earlier. I'd like to have a couple of them on the hook while we wait out the big fish....especially since we're oozing scholarship vacancies right now.
I'm always scared of athleticism when a 6'8" dude has an entire highlight tape without a single dunk.
That does tend to set off an alarm. Usually an indicator that there is a lack of explosion or power that limits production at Big 10 level.
Who are you referring to?
On the other end of the spectrum, one of the guys was touted by Matt as having a good shot and I watched a minute of his video and it was just dunks.
There is certainly a distinction between touting a prospect as a good shooter and assessing one's shot mechanics.
"Good shot mechanics and has some real potential as a catch and shoot threat from the wing"
Van Der Heijden
Did you watch his tape? He has multiple dunks in it...
I missed the first half.
He can dunk... barely. Not much bounce for a 6'8" guy.
He dunks like I did in HS... as a relatively unathletic, 6'2" guy.
Literally the first two plays from where Matt has the start tag on the video are dunks lol.
You dunked like this in HS? Good for you!!!
ಠ_ಠ
He has 6 dunks scattered throughout the video, including the very beginning and very end.
Does this clip make you feel any better?
EDIT: Love his high school's symbol right there. I feel like I've seen it somewhere before...
So....you didnt watch any of his tape then and made a comment? Because if you watch the tape from the beginning, the very first play is him dunking. And if you watch it from where MattEM starts the video, the second play is him dunking. There are multiple dunks in it....
I can assure you that Quincy Allen is a good athlete with great upside.
You've got two dude listed at 6'8"
Quincy Allen is neither of them.
And both of the 6'8 prospects clearly have dunks in the footage. One can only deduce that the lone clip that doesn't feature a dunk is what's actually being referred to.
No, he was talking about Van der heijden, but he didnt watch the tape at all and is talking out of his butt
Both guys listed at 6'8" had multiple dunks in their highlight tapes...
Before anyone agrees with him, the player he is referring to has multiple dunks in his tape, including literally the first play.
I like that you've identified a bunch of guys that seem will out-play their ranking. I'm wondering if there are others in the top-150 that you just haven't seen, you think are on our list but you're not excited about, etc.
Also, is there any way to know if Michigan is sniffing around these guys?
A friend of mine has a daughter headed to Clemson for soccer. Clemson hadn't actually talked to her for a long time but on her Hudl page she could see that the Clemson coach was watching her film. So she knew there was interest and started trying to contact them - boom, scholarship.
The aforementioned prospects are the kids that fit your description above - essentially underrated but extremely talented.
No way that I (or anyone else for that matter) can truthfully claim to have seen every 2021 prospect in America. But I've seen the overwhelming majority of high-major kids in 2021 and these are the kids I'd like to see the staff pursue.
Who cares. I'm still trying to process how 3 kids with high minutes in front of them walk from a Big Ten Basketball program. They're not Latin scholars? They only care about playing and not school? So go pro go G league. Someone whorped these kids minds. GO CINCY GO FLORDIA GO TBD ... great future.
GO away, then
ps- the word is spelled warped
As a fan, it is frustrating to see guys leave early - especially when the program hasn't actually recruited over them and has tons of minutes to offer. We also probably over-rate them based on all we've read and invested in them as prospects. So from that regard, I share your frustration about all of these guys choosing to (possibly) be a sit-out transfer at a lesser school and hope to compete for minutes instead of trying to take those minutes with Michigan.
However, we have no idea what's happening behind the scenes. We don't know what was discussed between the coaches and players, what happens in practice, how they're doing in school, whether they're homesick, what role the pandemic is playing, etc. Besides, two of the three guys didn't play last year. We like to think Bajema and Castleton would improve this year and be in the rotation, but clearly the coaches weren't comfortable playing them last year so what reason do we or they have to expect otherwise this year? The only guy that truly surprised me was DDJ. I suspect there was a clash of expectations with him and the coaches, but the guy was a 22mpg rotation piece last year and would have been that at WORST this year even if JC had shown up. I wish him luck....I also wish he had stayed and so had the other guys. No reason to trash them on the way out.
With the exception of Nesbitt, it seems to me that these players are ranked where they are because they need a college strenght and conditioning program. I didn't see anything wrong with Nesbitt, and a lot to like. A guy who works hard on his body in H.S. and still looks fluid is someone to go after as he's very likely to continue to work hard on his game.
Serious question, would it be out of line to send these suggestions to the coaching staff, your scouting seems fairly in-depth and may provide some leads that haven't been identified yet.
I wish Matt worked as a scout for Juwan tbh. Over the past few years, he's been proven right over and over again. He identifies players every year who always make major jumps. Identifying talent early is key to building relationships and jumping on prospects before lots of other teams can be the key to getting kids to commit
Juwan Howard has forgot more about basketball than I’ll ever know. I do appreciate the kind words, however. I’ll always maintain that my only advantage is a commitment to watching live events as frequently as possible.
Will these kids bail on the program at the first sign they'll have to compete for starting minutes?
appreciate your research on these guys. doubt we can pull a NC guy but one can hope.
Comments