With the 2020 class all set barring a late add via the transfer portal, Juwan Howard has turned his attention to the 2021 class having pulled in the top recruiting haul in the B10. With a handful of offers going out over the last week, I’ll provide a three-part overview for each position—guards/wings/bigs—in what is functionally more of a primer/evaluation tool than a recruiting update per se.

Prior to getting into the relevant prospects, I find it helpful to convey a shorthand guide to my positional distinctions. While there is obviously some fluidity depending on coaching preference/style of play, I don’t think these will be all that polarizing.

That said, my positional distinctions generally start with a fundamental question. Which position is a prospect likely to defend at the college level?

• Guard—moves well enough to defend the perimeter; generally a competent ballhandler/shot creator in a half-court setting; ideally a competent shooter, but not necessarily
• 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
• Big—has adequate size/length to protect the rim and/or rebound and/or not get bullied by traditional bigs in the B10; can ideally finish as a roll-man

PART I: Guards

Kennedy Chandler

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’0/6’5/170
• High School/AAU: Briarcrest Christian HS/Mokan Elite (EYBL)
• Offer Date: August 5, 2019
• Offers: Every blueblood in the nation and over 30 others
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 5star/top 25 overall

Scouting: Smallish PG with elite acceleration and open-court speed. Will surprise you with his vertical ability and body control at the rim when finishing. Outstanding vision, consistently finds bigs on dumpoffs once he gets into the paint and forces help defense. Below average shooter, mechanics not ideal. Has some real potential as lockdown on-ball defender that we typically see at Louisville. Projects to be instant-impact freshman as a shot creator off the bounce that gets into the paint and collapses the defense as a playmaker for others that scores in transition. Ideally paired with athletic finishers because he’s a downhill attacker that looks for dumpoffs, but isn’t really a shooter.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Took OV to Ann Arbor in February for win over MSU. Chandler says he’s cutting his list to 5 soon and Rivals’ Corey Evans expects the Wolverines to make the cut. While I don’t doubt Michigan will stay in the mix, I’ve been hearing Duke is the likely destination in the end, with home-state Tennessee being another potential option.

[Hit THE JUMP for the remainder of the current guard pool]

Jaden Hardy

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’4/6’8.5/190
• High School/AAU: Coronado HS/Vegas Elite (EYBL)
• Offer Date: September 19, 2019
• Offers: Kentucky, Kansas, UCLA, Oregon, Memphis, Arizona and over 20 others
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 5-star/top 10 overall

Scouting: Outstanding positional size and length with college ready frame. Excellent pull-up jumper from distance. A scorer first and foremost, but has solid playmaking ability for others that isn’t talked about enough. Versatile enough to play off the ball because of his shooting prowess. Bullies guards to the rim based on superior size/strength. Solid athlete, but won’t wow you with acceleration or overall athleticism. Projects to be instant-impact guard that is likely to be one of the top scorers in his respective conference as a freshman. Good enough facilitator that you can run offense through him. His physical profile and movements remind me a bit of Jrue Holiday. His playstyle brings back memories of former Colorado star Spencer Dinwiddie as a big guard with perimeter shotmaking ability that makes others better, but scoring is his preference.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Jaden is a Detroit native, and his father is very close with assistant coach Howard Eisley. Brother Amauri just transferred to Oregon. Michigan recently made his top 12. Was tentatively scheduled to visit in February for the MSU game, but that didn’t come to fruition. Hardy planned on taking a Spring visit, with family ties being a big appeal, but the global health crisis had other ideas. Michigan will likely stay in it to the end for that reason, but Kentucky is the favorite. With all 4 crystal ball in favor of the Wildcats and Corey Evans stating Hardy is Kentucky’s to lose just yesterday.

Jaden Akins

• Height/Wingspan/Weight: 6’3/6’5/165
• High School/AAU: Farmington HS/The Family (EYBL)
• Offer Date: February 8, 2020
• Offers: Louisville, Michigan State, Iowa, Xavier, DePaul, Missouri, Northwestern, Mississippi State, Georgia Tech and a few mid-majors
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 4star/top 40-60 overall

Scouting: Explosive, quick-twitch athlete that is electric in the open-court. Good pull-up game from both distance and midrange in isolation and high ballscreen action. Undervalued playmaker with good vision that creates easy looks for teammates. Solid handle, changes speeds well with the ball, first step acceleration and open-court speed allow him to get where he wants with the ball. Good verticality and body control as a finisher with both hands, but struggles to absorb contact with slender frame at this stage of development. Combination of size/length and athleticism allows him to be disruptive defender. Projects as high-upside lead guard that may need a year of strength/conditioning to add muscle mass before he’s ready for prime time. Once he gets to 185ish, he’s going to be an impact player that knocks down shots off the bounce and makes teammates better.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Akins has been on campus several times since last Summer before landing an offer in February. Jaden definitely likes Michigan’s style of play under Juwan Howard. Akins has the look of prospect that would likely blow-up with more national level offers during the live evaluation period, but the health crisis has cast serious doubt on the travel season. Assuming his offer sheet remains the same, you can expect Michigan and Michigan State to be two of the primary contenders. The ultimate decision will be heavily influenced by the depth chart.

Jalen Warley

• Height: 6’5/6’9 (self-reported)/185
• High School/AAU: Westtown HS/Team Durant (EYBL)
• Offer Date: April 25, 2020
• Offers: Louisville, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Oregon, Marquette, Xavier, Memphis, N.C. State, Creighton, Cal, Pitt, Penn State and a handful of others
• End of Summer Ranking Projection: 4star/top 40-60overall

Scouting: Good positional size and length at the college level. Solid handle, can create his own offense off the bounce. Above average shooter that knocks down most of his shots beyond the arch as a catch and shoot floor-spacer. Average athlete that doesn’t pop out as particularly quick or explosive, but uses his size to bully guards in a straight line to the rim in isolation and PnR. Projects as more of a two-guard based on the lack of pull-up game and burst, but his size/strength allows him to be a matchup issue at the college level where you can run ballscreen action for him. He can be very productive at the college level if the perimeter shotmaking proves to be legit. He may be a bit over-valued as a borderline 5star, as his film doesn’t necessarily have that sort of feel, but certainly an upper tier prospect. He’s been well-scouted by coaches, as Westtown is also home to top 25 junior Franck Kepnang and top 150ish senior Noah Collier.

Where Does Michigan Stand: Warley conducted a virtual visit with Michigan yesterday. The Wolverines appear to be a serious player with Jalen based on family ties to assistant coach Phil Martelli. The Philly-native plans to visit Michigan when the health crisis subsides.