Johnell Davis

Dusty May didn't waste time securing his first HS commitment as Michigan's leading man, as Justin Pippen pledged to the Wolverines today. This is a nice pickup given how late in the cycle May came to Ann Arbor in tandem with an extremely small pool of available HS prospects. 

GURU RANKINGS

247 is the most bullish on Pippen, placing him just outside the top 60. Rivals essentially concurs with the national standing, slotting him top-75 in their most recent rankings update. On3 and ESPN are a bit lower on Justin, as they both go with what amounts to a 100-150 ranking. There is  consensus in terms of size, as all services agree on 6'3 and 180 pounds.

I have no basis for ranking any individual in the 2024 class, as I haven't seen enough of those prospects to have an informed opinion. But from a holistic perspective across years, I'd likely lean toward On3 's take here. Pippen has the look of a kid you typically see in that 100-125 range. Admittedly though, the distinction between 60 and 125 is nearly moot these days, so I'm not sure it matters functionally. 

SCOUTING

Though I have sifted through full-game film, I have not evaluated Justin Pippen live. As someone that has scouted professionally for years, multiple live viewings always generate the most informed evals, so caveats apply and my word is certainly not gospel here. With that out of the way, let's get into it.

First and foremost, Pippen is a perimeter shotmaker with legit range. The shot mechanics are very good, with superb balance and nice arc. Justin isn't restricted to stationary shooting, as he knocks down jumpers via pull-ups from midrange and distance with some regularity. From an evaluation/projection perspective, the fact that he maintains excellent balance on the pull-up attempts is really enticing. There is almost zero unnecessary motion and he nearly lands in the identical spot of the initial elevation. 

[After THE JUMP: the full scouting report]

The Howard Interview. Juwan Howard sat down with Brendan Quinn for what Quinn says is his first one on one interview in two years. That, in and of itself, is part of the issue. This section is kind of like… well… I mean…?

In the end, Howard says he wishes he’d opened up more. He wishes people knew junior forward Will Tschetter keeps a garden in his backyard, where he and Jenine grow jalapeño, kale, bell peppers, lettuce. He wishes he’d been more open about his feelings on going from one-game shy of the Elite Eight in March 2021 to outcast in March 2022. He wishes he hadn’t been so reticent about his heart surgery. He wishes people knew that, during the interview, former captain Eli Brooks called to check in on him.

He says he wishes he let people get to know him.

One of the issues with hiring a first-time head coach is that sometimes they don't know the shape of the job. They've seen it, they've been around it, but being it for the first time is something different. Especially when you come from a Miami Heat organization where all that stuff is minimized because you have a long-term, secure coach in a well-run organization. Beating the bushes is not a thing that Howard ever had to do.

The other main takeaway from the interview is that Howard should not have coached this year:

Doctors set his recovery time at 6-12 weeks. He spent 15 days in the hospital post-op.

Howard told assistant coach Howard Eisley, a lifelong friend, that he would return in two weeks. He saw doctors’ recommendations as races to win, not timelines to live by. And he suffered for it.

“I thought I was a Marvel hero, but this was real life stuff I was dealing with, and I was extremely naive,” he says. “I was impatient with the process.”

Howard wasn’t fully recovered when he returned to the Michigan bench for a November trip to the Battle 4 Atlantis in the Bahamas, he says. Multiple complications emerged throughout the season. He rarely slept through the night. Doctors advised him to step away and undergo another surgery to address an atrial flutter that sapped his energy and caused severe discomfort. He was scheduled to undergo a 7 a.m. procedure following a Jan. 23 road game at Purdue, but heavy snow grounded Michigan’s return flight. Howard’s surgery was canceled and he declined to reschedule it in-season, against doctors’ recommendations and to Jenine’s displeasure.

The surgery is scheduled for April 19.

There is a timeline where Howard does not get Terrence Shannon and Caleb Love spiked into the earth by admissions (and Shannon, uh, settles down with a nice poli sci major in Ann Arbor); a timeline where he does not have health issues. He likely still has his job, and Michigan might have been really good through year five. That is not this timeline, but it is so close that it hurts. Howard's issues were only half of his own making.

[After THE JUMP: basketball roster stuff, hockey items]

This is what happens when a couple of UV bullets turn into their own post, Larry.

One assistant secured. Matt Norlander:

Coaching scuttle: Former Oklahoma State coach Mike Boynton Jr. is soon expected to join Dusty May's staff at Michigan as an assistant, sources tell @CBSSports. Boynton has other options at the high-major level, but May has put a high priority on Boynton in Year 1 in Ann Arbor.

— Matt Norlander (@MattNorlander) April 3, 2024

Boynton was as South Carolina with Brad Underwood when Underwood was named the head coach at Stephen F Austin, spent four years there, followed Underwood to Oklahoma State, and then got the head job when Underwood bounced after one year.

His tenure at Oklahoma State was meh on the surface, with one bid in seven years and two other NIT appearances. Glancing at analytics is more encouraging since Boynton largely fielded solid teams in an increasingly brutal Big 12. His teams went #59, 83, 53, 33, 34, and 46 in Kenpom before bottoming out this year. He did plant a Kenpom flag: after Underwood's single year at OSU saw the Pokes finish 155th in defensive efficiency, Boynton had a two-year build, then a four-year run of top-50 defenses, the latter three all top 20. He could be this staff's Yaklich.

[After THE JUMP: Cade Cunnningham mentioned, portal update]