Hoops Recruiting: The Weekly Wing Edition
Michigan has a bevy of wing-forwards in the stable, but recruiting never ceases in the portal era where programs have to functionally re-recruit their own players and deal with the possibility of mass attrition.
With several targets coming off the board in recent weeks, let's take a look at where things stand heading into the June live evaluation periods.
Andrej Stojakovic
Height/Weight: List heights are in the 6'6 - 6'7 range with the weight between 165 - 190. Eye test says 6'6 and 190 sounds about right.
High School/AAU: Jesuit HS (CA)/Adidas 3SSB Compton Magic (CA)
Mainstream Ranking: 4-star/20 - 65 Overall
EM Ranking/Evaluation: I have yet to see Stojakovic live, but he looks to have the projected impact of a top-30 level prospect that can provide some real offensive punch as a freshman. The diversity in his scoring package is absolutely elite. A true three-level scorer, Andrej hits pull-ups from distance and midrange with consistency. He's just as potent in an off-ball role, easily hitting jumpers off movement via down-screens. Throw in a face-up + post game that can hurt smaller guards and you have a real bucket-getter. The handle isn't elite by any means, but it is solid for a wing. He can change direction/speed with a live dribble and can beat ball-pressure and get to the rim. The thing holding him back from 5-star status is the athleticism. Stojakovic isn't stiff, but also doesn't possess ideal agility/range of motion that projects well on the defensive end of the court. Still, I like Andrej a lot as versatile scorer that can potentially play the 2-4 spots and be compatible with any lineup combination.
Recruitment: Michigan extended an offer yesterday. Has visited Stanford and is currently on campus at UCLA. Says UConn, Virginia and Texas will get OVs, with Indiana, Kansas and Kentucky also involved. Obviously too early to ascertain where Michigan stands here, but hopefully Juwan Howard's NBA connections are viewed favorably to Andrej's father, former Sacramento Kings great Peja Stojakovic. Would absolutely love to have him.
Justin Edwards
Height/Weight: List heights are in the 6'6 - 6'7 range with the weight between 165 - 190. Having seen Edwards in person multiple time, I'd say 6'6 + 180.
High School/AAU: Imhotep Institute (PA)/Nike EYBL Team Final (PA)
Mainstream Ranking: 5-star/Top-15 Overall
EM Ranking/Evaluation: Projects to have the impact of a 5-star, but maybe not the Paolo Banchero, Chet Holmgren, Jabari Smith variety where we're talking All-Conference level stuff. Think a tier below, where the productivity in year one looks something like 10-12 points per game with 4-5 rebounds. Every time I've watched Edwards live, the comparison that immediately comes to mind is former Duke standout Rodney Hood. Good positional size/length with a good pull-up game and overall shooting prowess while needing to add 15-20 pounds of muscle mass. Justin isn't the shiftiest prospect you'll see, but his handle is solid enough to create space in tandem with his combo of size/length/athleticism. Projects to be an above-average defender at the point of attack while being somewhat disruptive in passing lanes. May get bullied occasionally with the lack of sheer weight though. Edwards is a no-brainer one-and-done kid, as he checks the positional size/length/athleticism boxes that NBA GMS covet while being a good perimeter shooter. He won't come close to reaching his full potential at the college level.
Recruitment: Received a Michigan offer over the weekend. Previously released a top-7 in late April consisting of Kentucky, Auburn, Tennessee, Kansas, Villanova, Maryland and the G-League. Has visited Kentucky and Tennessee, the two programs seemingly ahead of the pack. Auburn seems to be emerging recently after Edwards confirmed his recruitment was down to Kentucky and Tennessee last week. I probably don't need to spell it out for you here. When Kentucky, Auburn and Tennessee are primary contenders, Michigan is likely an afterthought.
Happy Trails
As expected, 4-star wing Gavin Griffiths committed to Rutgers after he was blown away on his OV and never made it to Ann Arbor for a scheduled visit on June 14th.
Fast-rising wing Mayar Wol made a surprise commitment to Charleston over the weekend (surprising to the public, anyway). The real story to this is Wol's former AAU coach at Adidas Team Loaded NC, Thomas Carr, was hired by Charleston in late May and the rest is history. That's a monster pick-up for the Cougars, as Mayar has some serious upside. I wouldn't be surprised if Carr lands an assistant coaching job with a high-major program next year and Mayar just happens to come along. I've conveyed that relationships are much more important than on-court criteria in the world of recruiting and this certainly backs that up.
Top-10 overall prospect Matas Buzelis left Michigan off of his final five in favor of Kentucky, North Carolina, Florida State, Wake Forest and the G-League. This was always a long shot, but the staff felt they had some traction recently.
Could Juwan's NBA connections be bolstered by Chris Webber being Peja's former teammate?
Nevermind
Appreciate the info as always. Big change on the board with our targets, but the new guys look promising. Here's hoping Juwan can work some magic in reeling them in.
Regarding Wol, obviously kids committing based on coaching personal connection happens a lot, but typically it seems to hurt the prospect, especially at these small schools. Brings to mind Baldwin Jr who committed to his dad and then watched his stock tumble outside of the lottery entirely. Or 5 star Makur Maker who went to Howard and basically completely vaporized. We'll see with Wol but can't help but feel that it's not the smartest move development wise.
Any thoughts on transfer portal pursuits? With 2 open scholarships Juwan has to have something in mind right? Joey Baker visited recently and Emoni is speaking with Juwan/trending away from Louisville but outside of those very uncertain situations it seems like there's little buzz at this point. Any ideas of the plans for these openings?
I looked up Maker to see what he's been doing. He played 2 games at Howard before they canceled their season due to Covid. He tested the draft last year but withdrew. This past season he played for the Syndey Kings of the NBL. Kings won the NBL and Maker averaged 7.8 and 5.9 on 43/36 shooting in 16.8 mpg. He's prepping for the draft but it seems unlikely for him to get drafted.
Peja Stojakovic(sp?) was one of the deadliest shooters and most underrated players in NBA in the last 30 years. His kid would be an awesome pick up for the program. GO BLUE!!
I like that you (sp?) a guy who's name was in the above article
Well, technically his son's name is in the above article. ;)
Damn. Image didn't work. But Peja's name is absolutely in the article
Eh I couldn't remember and didn't want to scroll back up
Matt , any insight into the Pete Nance situation? There were rumors out there that he isn't going to transfer to any big ten school.
Pretty sure there's almost zero chance he comes to Michigan. He's making an official visit to UNC this week. Seems like all but a done deal.
So Akot + Baker is what we're hoping for now?
Please please pick up young Stojakovic. We've had some success with former NBA players children.
Certainly CWeb should be able to help with Peja's kid
i'm sorry, but that dude is way too similar, in name and build, to immortal mid-80s human victory cigar, steve stoyko.
Since when did Auburn and Tennessee become programs that Michigan can't compete against? I wouldn't have assumed their involvement relegates Michigan to afterthought territory (UK, sure). Especially given that Juwan's 2021 class was better than any Auburn or Tennessee has ever had. Is this a recent NIL development?
Certainly didn't mean to convey that Michigan cannot compete with Auburn and Tennessee in a given recruitment, moreso that when its the case that a particular prospect has Kentucky/Auburn/Tennessee as the focal points, that's probably indicative of a certain type of recruitment that Michigan isn't equipped to win in most cases.
If the tagline for centers is “Centers of Attention”, wouldn’t these be “Hot Wings”?
Andrej seems to be a little less athletic than Gavin but he seems like a perfect possible replacement. Might be a little more well rounded offensively. I really hope we can get some of these wings.
I understand recruiting is about relationships, but Charleston? That's making a decision that is obviously not in his best interest
If you believe that Charleston is the end game, I'd tend to agree. I was a bit more subtle above, but I'm not inclined to believe Charleston is the end game, but rather a stepping stone.
Recruiting under Howard has become a nightmare to follow.
But at least its supposedly more fun for those tracking than what Beilein did.
Not sure I follow the logic here. Michigan's worst recruiting class under Juwan Howard was ranked #14 nationally, and that wasn't a full cycle. Since then he's reeled in a #3 class and #10 class. I'd say things are ok in terms of recruiting.
I get what you mean. The strike out rate is definitely higher, but it's always like that in recruiting. Beilein had issues of identifying kids early and they would blow up and go to a bigger name school or something. This is a little different, it's more like football recruiting.
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