The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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52 THE WOLVERINE AUGUST 2020 COMMITMENT PROFILE A few years ago, new Michigan basketball pledge Will Tschet- ter was hopeful he might be able to play college basketball at some level. He was just starting to come into his own as a scorer in a small league in southeast Minnesota, wasn't playing on the visible, high-level AAU circuit and wasn't sure he would be a high- major recruit. It was to the point that Northern Iowa, North Dakota State, James Madison and a few others had moved to the forefront in his recruit- ment, and he assumed one of them — or a school like them — would be his destiny. And then his junior year film got out. It made its way to Michigan head coach Juwan Howard's desk, cour- tesy of one of Tschetter 's coaches, and after the Wolverines evaluated several games they followed Arkan- sas and other high-major programs in offering. Many assumed Tschetter (pro- nounced "Cheddar") — who is listed as a three-star recruit, and the na- tion's No. 24 power forward and No. 140 overall player by Rivals.com — would end up in his home state af- ter Minnesota offered, but the Stew- artville (Minn.) High standout had other ideas. He committed to U-M July 6 after visiting the campus with his mom on July 4. "The big thing for me was the re- lationship and how fast it went with Michigan and the trust between the coaching staff and me," said Tschet- ter, a self-described farm boy who bales hay and literally spends hours working in the field. "I connected with them so well. Coach Juwan prob- ably called me around twice a week or so, and then Coach [Phil] Martelli reached out to me on a daily basis." The COVID-19 pandemic pre- vented the Tschetters from meeting coaches on their trip, but they did get to see the campus and look around. They peered in buildings and walked around the athletic campus, but never got to enter the facilities. "It was a little bit different from my prior visits [to other schools] because of the NCAA dead period, so we weren't able to see any of the coaches or anything like that, but I absolutely loved campus … I thought it was awesome," Tschetter said. "I've done the virtual visit tours, whatever you want to call them, got to see what was inside the buildings." Tschetter didn't come to Ann Ar- bor with the intention of committing, but he knew Michigan was high on his list. He left campus without any doubt. "I had a good idea of the schools I really liked. Michigan was one of them, obviously, and then I loved the campus," he said. "I felt like that was a big swing for me and where I wanted to be." In Tschetter, the Wolverines are get- ting a big man who can create mis- matches inside and out. He averaged an eye-opening 33.6 points per game and shot a whopping 45.7 percent from long range, showing off range well beyond the three-point line. He also averaged 4.0 assists, show- ing the ability to find the open man out of double and triple teams, and is still growing. Rivals.com lists him at 6-8, 225 pounds, though he estimates he is closer to 6-9 and has plenty of room to fill out. "He's a skilled big. He can shoot … he plays very, very hard," Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Eric Bossi said. "In watching film, the level of competition isn't that great, but he's very confident when he gets the ball. There's no question in his mind what he's going to do. He's very sure of himself. "Even though defenders are smaller and can't really handle him, he at least understands how to attack double and triple teams and make decisions out of those things. He doesn't just turn his head and bar- rel through guys because he's bigger and stronger than them. He makes good basketball decisions." "I love him. Love him," Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Corey Ev- ans added. "This kid is an athlete. He's 6-8, a quarterback … I love that he's a two-sport athlete. "He reminds me of Dean Wade, a kid that started at Kansas State the past few years [and is now with the Cleveland Cavaliers]. He has a simi- lar body and background, being from a rural farm town. He didn't play for a high-level sponsored travel team [on the AAU circuit]. "I just think Will is so well-rounded on and off floor that there's no way he doesn't succeed. He's someone that can fill that Isaiah Livers role of playing the three, playing the four." Tschetter has been working out with his football receivers, as well as his AAU and high school basketball teammates. He is excited for the day when he can actually come to cam- pus and see Michigan as it's meant to be seen, but he's 100 percent blue and ready to be a Wolverine. — Chris Balas Blossoming Big Man Will Tschetter Picks The Wolverines Tschetter, Rivals.com's No. 140 overall pros- pect nationally, averaged 33.6 points per game and shot 45.7 percent from three-point range as a junior at Stewartville (Minn.) High. PHOTO VIA TWITTER Rivals national recruiting analyst Corey Evans on Tschetter "I love him. Love him. This kid is an athlete. … I just think Will is so well-rounded on and off floor that there's no way he doesn't succeed."