DeJulius, Johns Both Finalists for Mr. Basketball
The five finalists for Mr. Basketball were announced today, and David DeJulius and Brandon Johns both made the cut. Good luck, young men!
The last Mr. Basketball winner to attend U-M was, of course, Isaiah Livers last year. Before that, it was Manny Harris back in 2007.
https://www.freep.com/story/sports/high-school/2018/02/28/2018-michigan…
February 28th, 2018 at 1:59 PM ^
February 28th, 2018 at 2:05 PM ^
Two MSU commits (Foster Loyer, Marcus Bingham) and a Purdue commit (Trevion Williams)
February 28th, 2018 at 2:30 PM ^
Foster Loyer just sound like a name I could cheer against for 4 years.
February 28th, 2018 at 3:35 PM ^
Have you seen a picture of him? You hit the nail on the head. Especially when he had the goatee last year.
February 28th, 2018 at 6:07 PM ^
Bobby Hurley and Christian Laettner
Love child?
February 28th, 2018 at 10:18 PM ^
This is going to be painful
February 28th, 2018 at 4:34 PM ^
"Foster Loyer" sounds like what Lionel Hutz would call himself.
February 28th, 2018 at 3:04 PM ^
between Loyer, Johns and DeJulius. It's a very tight race between the three but I think DD's performance against Clarkson should give him an edge over Loyer. However, Mr. Basketball is all politics so it wouldn't be out of realm of possibility that Loyer would win it. If Johns was a MSU commit, he'd be a lock to win it, but there are plenty of Lansing area HS coaches who are butthurt about Johns committing to Michigan instead of MSU.
To be honest, I think Bingham is overrated as a HS player. He has potential but he isn't better than Markesse Hastings or Lamar Norman from Godwin Heights. Godwin Height ran GR Catholic Central out of the building.
Also, Foster Loyer isn't 6'. He's closer to 5'10" than 6'. He's a fine HS player but will be a liability on defense in the next level. He's 160 lbs soaking wet.
February 28th, 2018 at 3:06 PM ^
In recruiting/scouting circles its the old 'player vs prospect' debate. Hastings and Norman are currently better players for sure, but Bingham is without doubt a better prospect (which correlates to rankings).
February 28th, 2018 at 3:17 PM ^
has Hastings in the fold and could potentially get his teammate Norman in as well. I like Norman better than Hastings but Hastings is a bulldog. Not sure if he can play SF in the next level.
February 28th, 2018 at 6:06 PM ^
I've only seen them once, but I thought Hastings had this cool confidence to his game, but knew he could just take over any time he wanted.
February 28th, 2018 at 7:59 PM ^
February 28th, 2018 at 2:02 PM ^
February 28th, 2018 at 2:04 PM ^
February 28th, 2018 at 2:04 PM ^
1982 - Robert Henderson
1983 - Antoine Joubert
1985 - Glen Rice
1986 - Terry Mills
1989 - Michael Talley
1991 - Chris Webber
1994 - Willie Mitchell (later transferred to UAB)
1995 - Robert Traylor
2003 - Dion Harris
2007 - Manny Harris
2017 - Isaiah Livers
February 28th, 2018 at 2:11 PM ^
DeJulius has this award locked up! Can't wait to watch him play for Michgan!!
Go Blue!!
February 28th, 2018 at 2:16 PM ^
Its a three man race between DeJulius, Loyer and Johns............with the first 2 garnering heavier consideration in my opinion.
If we're restricting the debate to the player with the most impressive season this year, there is no doubt in my mind that DeJulius is the guy. His individual performances have been nothing short of great, with the peak performance of 42 points, 5 rebounds and 5 assists coming against Loyer himself. Throw in the fact that East English is a Top 10 team in Class A and he gets my vote.
You can certainly make an argument for Loyer, the best player on the #1 team in Class A. He's had some great games and no doubt a great season, but simply has not performed at the level of DeJulius.............and when it mattered most he was simply abused by DeJulius in front of packed house and perhaps just as important, lost to East English/DeJulius.
Johns is sort of a distant third in my opinion, as Lansing area ball is extremely weak in relation to Detroit area basketball and his competition is just downright bad to be honest.
That said, politics (and another factor that I'm not going to mention) can play a part in these votes. It will be interesting to see how things shake out.
February 28th, 2018 at 2:25 PM ^
You are the best. I love your comments and posts about UM commits/targets and appreciate some of the inside info. Please never leave us because I've already dubbed you "Matt "Big" D"
February 28th, 2018 at 2:32 PM ^
I'm just a guy that loves hoops that watches frequently. Love being able to share information/analysis about prospects that are committed or being pursued by the staff here in the MgoCommunity.
February 28th, 2018 at 2:57 PM ^
I think I speak on behalf of all the commenters here that you are the most knowledgeable and helpful commenter in regards to basketball recruits. Also the fact that you trained Livers(I think? May have the wrong player) is awesome. He came in as maybe the most polished 2-way player we've had. Shot form looks really good, defensive positioning and instincts are already there, and overall demeanor is really promising. Perfect player to slot into this team with the incoming class and the vets already here.
February 28th, 2018 at 2:57 PM ^
I think I speak on behalf of all the commenters here that you are the most knowledgeable and helpful commenter in regards to basketball recruits. Also the fact that you trained Livers(I think? May have the wrong player) is awesome. He came in as maybe the most polished 2-way player we've had. Shot form looks really good, defensive positioning and instincts are already there, and overall demeanor is really promising. Perfect player to slot into this team with the incoming class and the vets already here.
February 28th, 2018 at 3:01 PM ^
while I was very close to his recruitment, I cannot take any form of credit in terms of his development. That's all hard work on his behalf and his HS/AAU/UM coaches.
I do train though, and one of my kids is an underclassmen prospect that UM is keeping tabs on.
February 28th, 2018 at 2:59 PM ^
Watching the head to head tape it looks like DeJulius is a little taller than Loyer. Can anyone confirm this?
February 28th, 2018 at 3:04 PM ^
Neither guy is close to their listed height. Loyer is a legit 5'8-5'9 without shoes while Dave is a legit 5'10-5'11 without shoes
February 28th, 2018 at 4:34 PM ^
Dave looked like he had to take more on his sholders based on the team around him. His shot is really smooth with a quick release. I saw some of his other highlights that showcased his passing ability and ability to read the floor. Really complete player, and although he may not be tall, he looks solid. His build and drives remind me a lot of Walton at the end of last year.
Loyer actually impressed me too. His vision, passing, and shooting are not things I've seen in MSU back court in a while. Reminded me of Spike and Burke.
February 28th, 2018 at 4:20 PM ^
Williams is a very good player, but this is supposed to be a high school basketball award, not the "5 best college prospects" and Brandon Wade (from Ann Arbor Skyline) has had a more impressive season than Williams.
Wade is averaging 23 pts and 7 assists a game and, more importantly, lead his team to a 19-0 record and the #2 ranking in the state. Williams' team is barely above .500 and has gotten blown out multiple times.
I'm sure Wililams got in the top 5 b/c he's going to Purdue and Wade is going to Duquesne, but again, that shouldn't matter.
February 28th, 2018 at 2:51 PM ^
February 28th, 2018 at 2:53 PM ^
February 28th, 2018 at 2:57 PM ^
February 28th, 2018 at 3:09 PM ^
I just wonder what DeJulius' height is, he's listed at 6'2" on espn and 5'11" in this article, obviously hope he's closer to 6'2", can anyone clarify please?
February 28th, 2018 at 3:11 PM ^
Dave is legit 5'10ish without shoes. I measured him at my camp personally.
February 28th, 2018 at 3:18 PM ^
you're the best my man, I really appreciate your input.
David certainly plays bigger than his height as he's almost averaging a triple double, do you think he's good enough to give Simpson a run for his money next season?
I'm really excited about this recruiting class!
February 28th, 2018 at 5:20 PM ^
Offensively, there is no question that Dave is superior at the same age in relation to Simpson, and quite frankly he's probably a better scorer right now. The change of direction, ability to get seperaton from his defender, and most importantly, his ability to knock down jumpshots in isolation off the bounce are what separate DeJulius from Simpson.
That said, it is is looking more and more likely that both Matthews and Wagner stick around for another year in conjunction with Poole likely taking on the #1 option on offense next year............and you may not need his scoring to the extent that it's needed this year.
My gut tells me that Dave will likely pass Eli Brooks at some point next year, as Brooks doesn't have the ballhandling/creation ability to play PG, and hasn't shown to be an adequate shooter just yet. It's just extremely hard to be a 5'11 SG without shot creation ability at the B10 level. I wasn't sold on Brooks as a HS prospect and he hasn't shown me anything to sway my opinion. Whether or not Dave is able to ultimately unseat Simpson will depend on his defense, as he's nowhere near the defender Simpson is at this point.
February 28th, 2018 at 3:41 PM ^
"Brandon Johnson". Should have known nothing good would come from a click to the Freep.
The disrespekt force is strong around the East Lansing area, capturing even Michigan recruits in its dark energy. Need to get the young man in Ann Arbor as soon as possible, out of the abyss...
February 28th, 2018 at 6:59 PM ^
February 28th, 2018 at 7:10 PM ^
How many Mr. Basketball of Michigan winners have we had officially? Do retroactively applied winners count or do we just have 11?
February 28th, 2018 at 7:24 PM ^
If DeJulius is 5'10 or 5'11, Foster Loyer is like 5'8 tops. No clue why they list Loyer at 6 foot now.
DeJulius is the clear choice here. Hope they don't screw it up.
February 28th, 2018 at 8:29 PM ^