The Wolverine

September 2020

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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SEPTEMBER 2020 THE WOLVERINE 43   BASKETBALL RECRUITING Finally, there's also an outside chance elite 2022 Skyy Clark (No. 16) will reclassify, Evans reported. Michi- gan isn't considered a favorite for the 6-2, 200-pounder, but the Wolverines did make his final eight along with Kentucky, Memphis, North Carolina, Oregon, Tennessee State, UCLA and USC. Clark told the North Carolina Ri- vals site he plans to stay in the 2022 class, but that is always subject to change. MICHIGAN LEADING WITH CLASS OF 2022 GUARD Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard has done well on the recruit- ing trail since he arrived at U-M, but he's still looking for a premium point guard pledge. Graduate transfer Mike Smith (Columbia) will likely share duty with senior Eli Brooks, freshman Zeb Jackson and others this year, but Howard has been looking for his 2021 and '22 point guards. U-M will take one in 2021, whether it's a freshman or a graduate transfer. They'll also look in 2022, and they're in good shape with one in particular — four-star Dug McDaniel. "Despite just standing at 5-10, McDaniel is one of the most skilled prospects in the 2022 class," Rivals. com national recruiting analyst Co- rey Evans said of the website's No. 35 junior nationally. "His feel and IQ for the game is elite, and his ability to make others better but also defend the basketball is a premium. "Likely to start all four years at Paul VI Catholic [in Fairfax, Va.], Mc- Daniel's pedigree will be second to none once he graduates and should have the chance to impact a high- major program immediately once his college clock begins in the fall of 2022." McDaniel played with Team Take- over AAU, the same program that produced U-M freshmen Hunter Dickinson and Terrance Williams. There have been rumblings that Michigan leads for him, and Evans recently put in a FutureCast for Mc- Daniel to wind up in Ann Arbor. "My FutureCast prediction for Mc- Daniel was not, in any way, saying that he was close to committing, but I do believe Michigan is the team to beat for the four-star guard," Evans wrote Aug. 12. "Michigan still has more work to complete the 2021 class as far as finding another ball handler and a big man goes, but McDaniel is one of their early priorities in the 2022 class. "Juwan Howard and his staff have been fairly consistent with their con- tact with McDaniel in recent months, but it does not hurt that their rela- tionship began well before Howard was named the head coach in Ann Arbor. "McDaniel played with Jett How- ard, Juwan's son, at various camps throughout the years, which allowed for him to develop strong in-roads with Howard during his pre-Michi- gan days. "Throw in the fact that he plays for the Team Takeover travel program … and the connections between the Big Ten program and McDaniel may be too difficult to overcome by whoever else tries to enter the mix." Georgetown, Kentucky, Florida and several others have offered, but McDaniel admitted several weeks back the U-M offer intrigued him. "I am close with [Howard], I played with his son and I like their style of play because he plays fast and I really like to get up the floor," he said. "They use a lot of screens and he really pumps his guys up. "They are going to be a winning program, and I really like what they are doing over there." Sources close to McDaniel have said he could decide as early as Janu- ary 2021. ❑ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan basketball recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Corey Evans noted in mid-August that he felt the Wolverines led for four- star 2022 point guard Dug McDaniel and even logged a FutureCast in favor of the Wolverines for the outlet's No. 35 overall prospect in the land. PHOTO BY BOB BLANCHARD/RJBSPORTS.COM Class Of 2021 Notes • Rivals.com's Corey Evans listed Michigan as No. 1 on four-star 2021 center Efton Reid's list recently, ahead of Ohio State, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Virginia and Georgetown (in that order). The seven-footer out of Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy by way of Washington, D.C., is Rivals' No. 24 senior nationally. "Juwan Howard may not have signed a remarkable 2020 class, but he did man- age to lure some of the best from the DMV to Ann Arbor, and while Reid isn't from the DMV, that could help the Wolverines in the end," Evans said, referring to the Washington, D.C./Baltimore area. "Reid played travel ball with DMV products [and Michigan freshmen] Terrance Williams and Hunter Dickinson last summer, and with Michigan facing a void in the frontcourt after the season, the Wolver- ines could do a lot worse than land the big seven-footer. "Howard has communicated with Reid that he can configure a way for him and Dickinson to share the floor together, which might make the idea of playing for the former NBA star even more intriguing whenever it comes down to making his decision." Fellow Rivals analyst Eric Bossi, however, insisted it was way too early to know for sure. "The Wolverines are definitely in there, but from what I can tell Reid's true inten- tions are about as clear as mud at this point," he explained. "Florida State does great with big guys like him, Ohio State has been on him hard and it is hard to bet against Virginia. To me, it's just too early to proclaim any definitive team to beat." — Chris Balas

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