The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1014905
SEPTEMBER 2018 THE WOLVERINE 61 BASKETBALL RECRUITING cinnati, have offered Jackson, and the lanky junior has also visited Michigan. He played well at the U-M camp this summer and is one to watch closely. "Schools that are recruiting me hard that haven't offered are Virginia, Xavier, Purdue, Iowa, Butler, Indiana, Michigan, Michigan State, and Maryland," Jackson said. "I am a scorer, and I try to use my length on defense. "I use my height as well. I try to make plays for my teammates. I create my own shot and play at a good pace." ISAIAH RIVERA 6-5 • 190 • SG Geneseo (Ill.) High Rivals.com Three-Star Prospect Rivera holds offers from only New Mexico, St. John's, Loyola and Drake, but Michigan coaches like him a lot. "Last summer, 2019 point guard D.J. Carton saw his recruitment start to take off while playing for the independent Quad City Elite program," Rivals.com's Eric Bossi said this summer. "I'm not say- ing that the 6-foot-5 wing is going to end up a five-star prospect like Carton has developed into, but with his size, balanced game, scoring and upside, I can definitely see Rivera turning into a nationally ranked player and a high- major target." GREG BROWN 6-7 • 190 • SF Austin (Texas) Vandegrift Rivals.com Five-Star Prospect No. 7 Junior Nationally Brown is a great athlete, but he's also an outstanding basketball player. He's got a smooth pull-up jumper and range, is an outstanding defender with his length and plays with great confidence. SMU, Michigan, Auburn, Florida and UCLA were the schools he mentioned this summer at the NBA Players' Asso- ciation Camp. "They just want to reach out to me and let me know that I'm on their list for recruiting," Brown said of U-M. "It's an honor to have that because there's a lot of great players that came out of Michigan." He kept a close eye on the Wolverines during the NCAA Tournament, and the run made an impression. "I was like, 'Wow,' because I never re- ally heard about Michigan during the season," Brown said. "I was like 'They must have a really good coach.' "Their players just played their hearts out. That's what I really like about them." JALEN TERRY 5-11 • 155 • PG Flint (Mich.) Beecher Rivals.com Four-Star Prospect No. 51 Junior Nationally Terry tore it up at the Michigan camp this summer, and he also shined at the Nike Elite 100 for underclassmen. "I don't think I saw many, if any, guards with more quickness than Jalen Terry," Rivals.com's Bossi said from the event. "The point guard from Flint is a great on-the-ball defender when he locks in, and he is very elusive off the dribble because of his quickness and ability to change directions. "He's also a bouncy athlete and was knocking down open looks from deep." The Class C all-state selection aver- aged 17.0 points, 5.3 assists, 4.4 re- bounds and 2.1 steals per game last year. Michigan State and Iowa are among many others on him. COREY WALKER JR. 6-7 • 205 • SF Hastings (Fla.) Bishop John J. Snyder Rivals.com Four-Star Prospect No. 38 Junior Nationally Walker visited Virginia and Georgetown in June, and said Michigan, Florida State, Florida, Auburn and West Virginia were among those who had kept in close con- tact. Auburn, Florida and Florida State might lead, Rivals.com's Evans said in late July, but U-M is certainly in the mix. "It is Michigan. It is a great school," Walker said. "I like the atmosphere there. They play hard and tough. They just made it to the championship, so they would expect a lot from me." Rivals.com's Evans loves Walker's game. "Walker is an ideal combo forward and can contribute on both sides of the floor," he said. "He can create his own offense but also score in traffic. "He would excel in many different systems thanks to his athleticism and multi-dimensional game." JABRI ABDUR-RAHIM 6-6 • 180 • SF Short Hills (N.J.) Blair Academy Rivals.com Four-Star Prospect No. 32 Junior Nationally Abdur-Rahim, son of former NBA player Shareef Abdur-Rahim, got a phone call from Michigan in June when the coaches could contact rising juniors. Kansas, Villanova, Arizona, Kentucky, Georgia, Seton Hall, Rutgers, Texas A&M, Michigan, Michigan State, Georgetown and others have been on him for quite some time. Abdur-Rahim averaged 17.7 points per game last year. He plans on taking unoffi- cial visits this fall, and U-M could get one. WALKER KESSLER 7-0 • 220 • C College Park (Ga.) Woodward Academy Rivals.com Five-Star Prospect No. 19 Junior Nationally Kessler's father played in the NBA after going to Georgia, and there are family ties to the school. Vanderbilt, Stanford, Georgia, Florida, Auburn, Wake Forest, Xavier, Cincinnati and others have of- fered, while North Carolina, Northwest- ern and Virginia have joined Michigan in showing significant interest. He's just starting to build a relation- ship with Beilein and his staff. "They had Moe Wagner," Kessler said. "He's kind of my playing style and he was skinny, too, but he came out to be a pretty big dude. It's all great, for sure." Michigan started recruiting him in late April, just after the Wolverines run to the NCAA title game. "It was awesome. I really liked what I saw," Kessler said. "I was bummed they lost, but Villanova's pretty good." ❏ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan basketball recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. Jalen Terry — a 5-11 junior point guard from Flint, Mich., who attended Michigan's camp this summer — is ranked as the No. 51 overall player in the country by Rivals.com. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM