The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1371232
JUNE/JULY 2021 THE WOLVERINE 27 2021 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE Like many in their youth, he knew the program from afar, but when the recruiting process started to heat up during the winter of 2019-20 and he was able to make it to campus in early February to see the Maize and Blue handle in-state rival Michigan State in person, he was all the more impressed. "Growing up in Michigan, I've al- ways known them to be the standard," he raved of U-M. "Then, going up there the few times that I did, it was just amazing to see how they operate as a program and how they make you feel like family every time you come up there. That just really stood out to me." Head coach Juwan Howard was just in the midst of his first season on the job, before it came to an abrupt finish due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In late April 2020, Howard extended a scholarship offer to Bufkin, and three months later, he decided to make his pledge, turning down the likes of the Spartans and fellow rival Ohio State. "The personalities that mix on that coaching staff make them very appeal- ing," Bufkin said, noting that most of the contact came from Howard and assistant Saddi Washington, the lone holdover from former head coach John Beilein's staff. "That's somewhere where you want to be. It's just a family — it has always felt like home. "Coach Saddi and Coach Juwan Howard both have a similar balance of when to have fun and when to get down to business. Coach Saddi, as a person, is just very easy to talk to, a joking guy when it's time to be, but when it's time to get down to busi- ness, he does, and I appreciate that out of them." An athletic and long backcourt and wing player at 6-4, 185 pounds, Bufkin excels offensively as a scorer and passer, has the ability to switch on defense and can disrupt opposing offenses with his length. The latter end of the floor is where he has made the most improvement over the last year, according to his prep coach, and if it weren't for a wrist injury forcing him to miss the final few months of his senior season, he would've been able to put it on display even more. "Kobe has great instincts, and he anticipates well," Grand Rapids Christian head coach Eric Taylor said. "I can't even count how many times he jumps a passing lane and gets a dunk. He's got active hands. We coach a lot to 'get your hands active,' but he's got that long wingspan and he's always touching the ball, getting a deflection or getting a steal, which I think is one of his better assets. "Once he continues to get better defensively and bring that game to- gether, I think you'll see a really good player at Michigan next year." When asked to describe his own game, Bufkin was adamant about talking defense first. "I feel like I'm a great perimeter defender, and able to guard one through four," he noted. "I'm very good at communicating with my guys, very talkative on the court." But he earned his ranking as the No. 49 player in the class of 2021 by be- ing able to score at all three levels — from beyond the three-point arc, in the mid-range and at the hoop. Though he broke his wrist in the first quarter of his sixth game as a senior, he aver- aged 27 points an outing in the first five contests and was still named first- team All-State by the Associated Press. "I feel like I'm a playmaker," he ex- plained. "I can get a basket when we need a basket, and get my teammates involved as well. "Just being flexible and being able to adapt to whatever Coach Juwan or Coach Washington need me to do is my main goal when I get on the court." The biggest thing he might have going for him when he gets to Ann Arbor — outside of his talent, in- stincts and high basketball IQ — is that he exemplifies "positionless basketball," something Howard has stressed ever since arriving back to his alma mater to lead the program. That versatility could help him see the floor early on in his career. "Whatever pieces to the puzzle that we have are what we'll use," Bufkin said. "Just get in where we fit in. As a team, we got a couple good guards right now, but I feel like we'll fit in well with each other, based off the film that I've watched on all these guys." Regardless, Bufkin knows he will have to put in the work, saying How- ard and Co. didn't make any prom- ises on playing time or future posi- tion in the recruiting process. "When I come down there, I'll just compete my ass off and just do what I need to do to get on the court," he said. "Whoever the coaching staff feels like are the ones that need to be on the court, that's who we'll go with." It's only a matter of time. June 25 is the move-in date, and Bufkin is "very excited" to finally be a Wolverine. "I'll be ready to go," he said. ❏ STAYING HOME Michigan Has Always Been 'The Standard' For Kobe Bufkin Bufkin was rated as a four-star, top-50 pros- pect by all three major recruiting services — Rivals, 247Sports and ESPN. PHOTO COURTESY PRO'S VISION Bufkin on Michigan "That's somewhere where you want to be. It's just a family — it has always felt like home." BY CLAYTON SAYFIE S ome were surprised when Grand Rapids (Mich.) Christian four-star shooting guard Kobe Bufkin, the top-rated player in the state according to Rivals.com, began trending toward the University of Michigan. But they shouldn't have been, given Bufkin grew up in a "Fab Five household" — just two hours away from Ann Arbor — that loves the Wolverines.