UM B Ball has all the 247 Crystal Balls for SG Josh Christopher
With a decision seemingly near, Michigan amazingly has 100% of the 247Sports Crystal Ball predictions for 2020 five-star guard Joshua Christopher, the nation's number two shooting guard according to 247Sports analysts. I’m hoping Isaiah Todd doesn’t go overseas, definitely see a title before this class leaves.
February 26th, 2020 at 12:05 PM ^
5 star recruits don't seem to shoot all that well right away. They can bully opponents by being bigger, faster, and stronger so they go to the rim.
LeBron couldn't shoot when he got into the NBA. He's still not a great 3P shooter, but he has improved. When he came in he was a hyper-athletic guy who ran downhill at the rim. He was playing a league full of hyper-athletic guys (though not quite to his level even) so he had to start taking outside shots. He worked at it and got better.
1 and dones that come in with the mentality are great because the talent in college basketball is spread thin enough across so many teams that they can win games 8/10 times just on their ability to jump out of the building. When you get to a Final Four with other teams of similar athleticism, if you can't shoot you lose.
February 26th, 2020 at 12:20 PM ^
The Super Bowl is the hardest trophy to win.
Signed,
Every Detroit Lions fan
February 26th, 2020 at 5:03 PM ^
This is true because it's damned difficult to take a big group of elite players and mold them into a cohesive team. There's always only one basketball and usually too many ego's. Howard will have his work cut out for him next year if Christopher comes here.
February 26th, 2020 at 10:37 PM ^
WTF
Josh Christopher is known for being a well-liked, respected teammate who shares the ball.
February 26th, 2020 at 11:24 AM ^
definitely see a title before this class leaves.
Did I get lost and end up on a Kentucky board. Recruiting well means you have a chance, not a near certainty.
February 26th, 2020 at 11:35 AM ^
When is the last day for 2020 class to sign? I'm getting nervous now
February 26th, 2020 at 1:05 PM ^
Initial signing date is 4/15/20 and the final signing date is 5/20/20.... R-E-L-A-X
February 26th, 2020 at 11:47 AM ^
Thought him wanting to play with his brother at ASU would be a major hurdle to overcome... Oh well, come to Michigan! Has he set an announcement date yet?
February 26th, 2020 at 11:49 AM ^
No official date yet, but he tweeted a few days ago that he would be announcing the date of his announcement soon.
February 26th, 2020 at 12:06 PM ^
Did he announce a date for his announcement of his announcement date?
February 26th, 2020 at 2:00 PM ^
Christopher's brother rarely plays. He's playing even less than Bajema is here. There are rumblings that the family isn't happy with ASU's coaches.
February 26th, 2020 at 8:37 PM ^
What percent of posts on ASUs blog are calling for the coaches to just play the older Christopher and tank the season to get the younger do you think? There has to be a vocal minority yelling that into the screen every chance they get.
February 26th, 2020 at 8:41 PM ^
ASU is on a roll and leading the PAC-12.
February 26th, 2020 at 11:57 AM ^
If Livers comes back, and this entire class as projected actually sign, Michigan will be a serious title contender. You mix in the upper class leadership, shooting, defense and these type of athletes and you have an elite team.
February 26th, 2020 at 12:01 PM ^
This is old news
February 26th, 2020 at 12:05 PM ^
I would like to hear everyone's thoughts on the rotation and minutes for next year.
February 26th, 2020 at 10:39 PM ^
I'm going to wait until after the season to see who stays and who leaves so that my predictions are more accurate.
But that's just me though...
/shrug
February 26th, 2020 at 12:04 PM ^
May his balls remain forever BLUE!
February 26th, 2020 at 12:20 PM ^
I remember a few years ago when MSU had Miles Bridges, Jaren Jackson & company. They placed 5th in the BIG. It's all about playing together as a team and I think Juwan can make that happen.
Mr. Todd, if you're reading this, you'll get wayyyyyyyyyyyyy more than 10 mpg.
February 26th, 2020 at 5:45 PM ^
MSU won the Big Ten the only season Jaren Jackson was on the team, 16-2. Juwan will win with that kind of talent too.
Completely agree about Todd's minutes. Those predictions are nuts.
February 26th, 2020 at 12:43 PM ^
What's the under/over on how many Christopher threads there will be before his commitment?
February 26th, 2020 at 12:55 PM ^
Thanks for reporting last weeks news.
February 26th, 2020 at 12:59 PM ^
I’m here to help homeboy/homegirl.
February 26th, 2020 at 1:36 PM ^
With no early entries and the entire class enrolls:
1: Brooks-DDJ
2: Christopher-DDJ-Bajema
3: Wagner-Williams
4: Livers-Johns
5: Todd-Hunter-Davis/Castleton
Nunez and one of Davis or Castleton leaves, Howard redshirts, Zeb maybe redshirts
February 26th, 2020 at 2:04 PM ^
This begs the question, would you rather have a 5 star kid for one year or an improving player for a 5th year? I take the 5 star kid for every position except Point Guard. Steady, veteran PGs can take you far.
February 26th, 2020 at 3:02 PM ^
Depends on the PG! I would take 1 year of Derrick Rose over a 5th year of Tum-Tum Narin/Foster Loyer
February 26th, 2020 at 3:40 PM ^
Agreed, but the key word was improving. For arguments sake, would you take a 5th year Zavier or a freshman D. Rose?
February 26th, 2020 at 6:45 PM ^
I expect every player to improve.
PG is the one position where I value experience the most. I'd take Simpson over any freshman PG for that one season. That doesn't mean a freshman couldn't have a better year, but the odds are against it.
February 26th, 2020 at 5:19 PM ^
Brooks is not a PG, at least in my opinion. He doesn't have a good enough handle. He's a SG.
February 26th, 2020 at 5:18 PM ^
How awesome is it that Juwan Howard is on track to give us our best b-ball recruiting class since....Juwan Howard?
February 26th, 2020 at 5:31 PM ^
I see a good season next year, but freshman are not seniors, no matter how talented. Duke last year had three top 5 picks and lost to a more experienced team in MSU in the Elite 8. Duke also struggled greatly with UCF.
Basketball is a game of decision making just as much as it’s a game of athleticism. Freshman don’t make nearly as good of decisions as juniors and seniors. Todd, Dickinson, and Cristopher are ready athletically, but we will they be ready for the mental game? Usually it really clicks for guys later in their freshman year or their sophomore year. Some take until their junior year to be ready to play smart basketball. Experience comes at a premium in college basketball.
February 26th, 2020 at 6:51 PM ^
You can potentially have Sr. Livers, 5th Sr. Davis, Jr. DDJ, Sr. Brooks, Jr. Johns, Jr. Castleton... the freshman will not have to lead that team in any aspect.
February 26th, 2020 at 10:42 PM ^
Yep. That's what so exciting about next season's Michigan team.
I did an analysis of the composition of Final Four team going back 20 years. (Maybe I'll share it here as a diary.)
Conclusion: the overwhelming majority of final four teams are led by upperclassmen cores (re: 3 or more starters). There are exceptions like 2012 Kentucky, 2013 Michigan, 2014 Kentucky, 2015 Kentucky, 2015 Duke but they are the exceptions. But even those teams had a key player who was older. For instance, on Michigan we had NPotY sophomore Trey Burke and junior Tim Hardaway Jr.
Most teams resemble something like 2017 North Carolina, 2018 Villanova, 2018 Michigan, 2019 Virginia, etc.
So while Duke and Kentucky get OADs year after year, they aren't getting to the Final Four in recent years because experience wins out in key moments.
February 26th, 2020 at 11:28 PM ^
If any Freshman jump in and start (at some point) than Michigan we be deep....
February 26th, 2020 at 6:58 PM ^
"before the class leaves"
That will have to be next season.