MBB: Lorenzo Cason Commit
He just committed to Michigan.
https://x.com/TiptonEdits/status/1782775205376434327
NEWS: Lorenzo Cason, a former FAU signee, will follow Dusty May to Michigan and has committed to the Wolverines, he tells @On3Recruits.https://t.co/QKEz3AU0zW pic.twitter.com/MqcAz4WYrd
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) April 23, 2024
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:29 AM ^
Also, Michigan is in a good shape with Goldin so that pretty much fills the scholarship limit assuming Nimari and Jace are part of it.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:31 AM ^
Was it just a week or so ago we were wondering if May would find enough players?
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:08 AM ^
Well when we think about it, all these players want is playing time, and with the portal rules, it's now easy to build a roster, with the playing time we have. Still was unnerving.
Yeah, I know we all get excited when UM brings in a high caliber transfer - like Gayle (OSU) - but the reality of it is that it's just a whole new game now with NIL and the TP. I've been travelling around the different B1G sites and teams like Indiana and OSU - while losing key players - are also bringing in some really good players for next year. Basically, it's now about playing time and $$$$$ - like it or not
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:25 AM ^
I'm assuming he's bookmarked the site
Well, of course! I assume ALL Michigan coaches start their morning with MGoBlog and consult it regularly through the day.
Where else could they get such sterlinig advice? Such comprehensive wisdom? Such speed in complaining about misbegotten titles?
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:36 AM ^
To me it is very surpriisng that Jace is still on the team. Maybe he feels he can get a great education and coaching even though his dad will not be on the sidelines. No hard feeling I guess, that shows a lot of maturity from both him and his dad.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:43 AM ^
Juwan has been nothing but class since the season ended. He had better be warmly welcomed back to Ann Arbor - just like Harbaugh has been - whenever he does come back.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:20 AM ^
My guess is Juwan told him to stay and get his Michigan degree. Everyone assumes Jace is just there due to Howard, but he also is all blue now and neither of them will let his dad’s firing get in the way of finishing what was started. All kids have some growing up to do and I bet he is once again the biggest fan on the bench with some decent hard played minutes.
April 23rd, 2024 at 12:12 PM ^
Has he not graduated? He’s finishing up his fourth year right now.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:28 AM ^
I cannot upvote this enough.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:09 AM ^
Why. Being a student there was great. I wouldn't want to leave either, even going to a Mac school and get more playing time. I hope he stays.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:32 AM ^
Ironically he probably has a clearer path to playing time on Mays team as opposed to Juwans. The only wings/4s are Walters and Tschetter. Whereas before there was Nkamhoua, TWill, Jackson, Tschetter, and Khayat ahead of him.
Right now if you have an injury and some foul trouble, Jace might get in there. The big 10 has a lot burly wings that could push around all these 6-4 guards on the roster.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:33 AM ^
I have no problem with Jace staying if he wants. However, couldn't he leave without being in the portal? He started college in 2020, so I'm assuming he'll be a grad transfer. The portal and portal windows don't apply to grad transfers, do they?
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:48 AM ^
Hoping we can move Jace to being a walk on and bring back in Rooths
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:03 AM ^
Be careful. I was suggesting this exact thing a little over a week ago on this board and multiple people got mad and were telling me that I shouldn't tell others how to spend their money.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:38 AM ^
Good to see you're not butthurt about it :P
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:57 AM ^
Lol maybe a little. It’s just funny how quickly the prevailing sentiment can change. I was downvoted into oblivion last week for stating that maybe a man who has made over $100 million in his career can pay for a semester or two of his sons college and now that same exact sentiment gets upvoted.
It was more annoying that people were claiming that I was “trying to tell others how to spend their money” as if a parent paying for their child’s education is akin to asking someone to give away their entire net worth.
Especially when the child wasn’t talented enough to deserve that scholarship in the first place and has already gotten their 4 years.
April 23rd, 2024 at 12:42 PM ^
I was about to give you an upvote until you earned a neg with your final sentence.
Truth hurts ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Doubling down....bold move Cotton.
Weird…you no longer seem to be mad about people suggesting that Jace should be a walk on…
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:35 PM ^
Weird... you seem to always upvote your own posts.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:41 AM ^
Hey! Sounds like you still are 🤣
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:58 AM ^
At this point Rooths feels like a luxury more than a necessity.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:58 AM ^
At this point Rooths feels like a luxury more than a necessity.
April 23rd, 2024 at 12:57 PM ^
I don't think it's a luxury. They still need a wing who can play the 4.
I have some questions about Rooths fitting what May wants so I think there is a good chance he doesn't commit. That said adding a Freshman forward would help the overall matrix of the long term roster.
April 23rd, 2024 at 12:06 PM ^
Dusty's gonna run into the 85 scholarship limit soon.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:31 AM ^
A nice pickup, though I'll be honest I have no real read on him beyond what they've said on the podcast and I've read about him. My assumption is he's going to be a developmental player but sounds like he has the athleticism to hang in the P5, which is a positive.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:56 AM ^
He has nice size for a combo guard at 6'3" and averaged 24.5 pts per game and over 7 reb and 6 assists.
What a difference this team is going to he with all of these guards that can handle the ball, shoot and defend. We'll be fresh at the end of games if May plays a lot of guys and/or if they earn it.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:12 AM ^
Yeah, the size jumps out as the positive, and if I remember correctly he was described as athletic but a bit of a late riser/developer so still room to grow. The HS numbers are nice but he apparently plays at a smaller school in Florida so you do always wonder a bit about competition levels. Sounds like he turned some heads on the HS camp/travel circuit, which is good to see.
I still assume he'll need to develop a bit before playing significant minutes but if he can get in 5-6 minutes a game consistently as a freshman that would be great.
April 23rd, 2024 at 12:17 PM ^
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April 23rd, 2024 at 11:19 AM ^
Was he the one that Brian was gushing about his defensive tape? There have been so many names for basketball thrown around over the last few weeks that I've lost track.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:58 AM ^
I think it was Ruben Jones. Ruben Jones is the best defender on the team. Gayle is good at defending as well.
April 23rd, 2024 at 12:42 PM ^
Rubin.
April 23rd, 2024 at 12:48 PM ^
But hey, if Cason emulates Jones' tenacity, then perhaps in future years we can rightly call his defense Rubinesque.
No, that was Elijah Elliot. This guy's a point guard who's a good scorer.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:38 AM ^
I'm really fascinated to see how competitive a team Dusty can field in year 1. Howard left the cupboard pretty damn bare after Beilein gave him a Final Four squad.
Is making the NCAA Tournament a realistic goal? If not, what is?
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:42 AM ^
I think an NCAA tournament bid is a realistic goal. There are a lot of average on paper teams that claw out enough wins to get a bid and this team is at least average on paper and maybe a little bit better. The portal is the reason it was always crazy when people on this board thought we were 3-4 years from a bid, you can turn a whole roster over in a year or two now. You don't need to build a roster up from the ground over the course of years anymore.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:45 AM ^
"...you can turn a whole roster over in a year or two now."
...you can turn a whole roster over in a year now.
FIFY.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:51 AM ^
Ive never seen a roster built (signed) in a week. Crazy crazy times. May is a beast.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:47 AM ^
Given the aggregate talent on the team, assuming Goldin comes, tournament is 100% a realistic goal. There were definitely teams in the field last year with less talent. Might take a little bit to gel when the season starts, but given that May is a good coach I would actually make a bet right now that this team makes the tourney.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:59 AM ^
The hurdle is probably going to be overcoming a lack of non conference wins because of the time it takes for them to find their footing.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:24 AM ^
I mean the good thing is given the average turnover in college basketball now, they will probably be playing teams still working on their chemistry somewhat too.
April 23rd, 2024 at 11:59 AM ^
Agree. It's too hard to say what this roster does in the B1G. I think it's more set up for 25 (with a couple other portal additions). An 9-11 B1G record can often get an invite so it depends on out of conference and if they gel quick enough.
For conference scheduling next season, you play everyone once and three teams twice. I'm guessing MSU and maybe OSU will be two of the play twice teams due to rivalries.
Because it is so hard to know what each team's roster will look like season to season now, using a basic "better than", "similar to", "not as good as" ranking based on recent history, portal additions, and coaching expectations here's how I think Michigan compares (with expected record against):
Better talent than (3-1):
Northwestern, Iowa, Penn State, USC
Similar talent to (4-5):
Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, OSU, Rutgers, Wisconsin, UCLA, Washington, Oregon
Not as talented as (1-3, I think you all know who that one is against):
Illinois, Indiana, MSU, Purdue
For single plays alone, that gets a record of 8-9.
Let's assume Dusty is as good as we are all hoping he is. If he goes 1-2 in the double play game, that gets Michigan to 9-11 with a good chance of bumping that up to 10-10 in year one in conference. Assuming the non-conference isn't a complete disaster, that puts Michigan on the safe side of the bubble going into the B1G tournament.
How on earth are you getting to the conclusion that MSU is a more talented team than Michigan with all of our additions? Holloman, Fears, Akins, Booker, and Cooper is going to be top 4 in the B10?
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:13 PM ^
Rutgers has 2 future top 5 NBA draft picks coming in. They're more talented overall for sure but they'll be reliant on freshmen so that will be an easy.
April 23rd, 2024 at 10:39 AM ^
we have so many guards now