The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2019 THE WOLVERINE 61 BASKETBALL RECRUITING College Park (Ga.) Woodward Acad- emy's Kessler (7-0, 235, Rivals.com's No. 19 senior nationally) will visit Gonzaga Oct. 5 and plans to take an unofficial visit to Auburn, and official visits to California, Duke and North Carolina. "Coach Howard obviously has the most experience of anybody on any of the coaching staffs at the pro- fessional level," Kessler said. "He played 15 years or so in the NBA at my positions. He's told me he wants to build it up big there, and I can be the start of it. "When I found out Coach Beilein was leaving, I thought I was done with Michigan. When Coach How- ard got the job, I thought it was good for him, but I wasn't sure it would be for me. "I started talking to him, and I re- ally liked what he was saying and how he was straightforward and honest about everything. I really like him." Auburn and Duke could be tough to beat. The latter is recruiting him the hardest of the bluebloods, Kes- sler shared. "Coach K [Mike Krzyzewski] has said he really believes in me," he said. "Coming from one of the top college basketball coaches, that means a lot. And with Duke, they always change their style of play de- pending on the players they have. "I trust that they would find a way to make it work." Others are still in the process of finalizing dates. Class of 2020 four- star Jaemyn Brakefield (6-8, 205, Ri- vals.com's No. 33 talent nationally) of Huntington (W.Va.) Prep is still working on his and hopes to have it nailed down soon. Brakefield received his offer in July and while he has strong ties to the South, Michigan will get a visit. U-M pledge Jackson is a friend and has been working on getting Brakefield to join him in Ann Arbor. "I haven't set an exact date for an official, but I am definitely looking to lock that in really soon," he said. "Zeb has been recruiting me hard, for sure." He sees plenty to like about the program, he added. "What I like about Michigan is the fit I think I have at an elite program who now has a former NBA player and coach," he said. "Being able to get knowledge from Coach Howard is definitely a plus." Ole Miss and Kansas are pushing hard, however, and it could be tough to keep him from playing further south. He plans to do more research and narrow his list, but he isn't in a rush. He's talking about waiting until April to sign. Four other offered players have the Wolverines in their top five and plan to visit: • Henry Coleman (6-7, 220, Ri- vals.com's No. 47 senior nationally), Richmond (Va.) Trinity Episcopal: Coleman released his final five of Duke, Virginia Tech, Michigan, North Carolina State and Ohio State recently, and has visits set to Duke, VT and OSU the first three weekends in September. "I like what Coach Howard is start- ing and how quickly they could be back on top," he said. "He is a guy that knows basketball inside and out." • Hunter Dickinson (7-1, 260, Ri- vals.com's No. 28 prospect in the senior class), Hyattsville (Md.) De- Matha: Louisville, Notre Dame and Purdue have received official visits, all three going against his junior year total per NCAA rules. That leaves him five more official visits, and he said in July he would like to take one to Michigan in late fall. He told Rivals.com's Evans (who believes Purdue leads) he is intrigued by Howard and the Wolverines. "Juwan Howard seems like a great guy, and I am very interested in what he is going to do in his first year there and what kind of style he is going to play," Dickinson said. "A true throwback to the days of massive, space eating centers, Dick- inson takes his time to set up on the block and does all of his damage on the interior," Bossi said. "He is strong, he is tough, and he has great hands and a soft touch. "You just don't see many guys like him in college hoops these days." • Josh Christopher (6-4, 200, Ri- vals.com's No. 11 player in the coun- try), Lakewood (Calif.) Mayfair: Christopher announced his favor- ites in July — Kentucky, Michigan, UCLA, Arizona State and Missouri. Brian Sitter of Vegas Elite, Chris- topher's AAU coach, told CatsIllus- trated.com he "fits the mold of the type of athlete that [Kentucky coach John] Calipari likes," and confirmed that Christopher had been eager to be recruited by Kentucky. He has forged a relationship with Howard, but he also has a brother at Arizona State. • Isaiah Todd (6-10, 210, Rivals. com's No. 13 senior prospect nation- ally), Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Christian Academy: The five-star standout is blogging for USA Today and had this to say recently: "I cut my list to Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis and Michigan. I recently got the offer from Michigan, and that was excit- ing. Coach Juwan [Howard] came to all my games and gave me the offer. "I have a visit set up for this fall for Kansas, and I'm working on setting up a visit to Kentucky." Kentucky and Kansas are thought to lead. ❏ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan basketball recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. Raleigh (N.C.) Word of God Christian Academy standout Isaiah Todd — Rivals.com's No. 13 overall player in the country — cut his list to Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Memphis and Michigan. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM