The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1451622
88 THE WOLVERINE MARCH 2022 BASKETBALL RECRUITING CLASS OF 2023 NEEDS COMING INTO FOCUS Recruiting a few years down the road is getting tougher and tougher for col- lege basketball coaches, especially with the transfer portal and how quickly ros- ters change. Juwan Howard has amassed so much young talent that he's never going to be certain who might leave early for the NBA and who might stick around. That's not a knock on him, of course. Kids develop at different rates — it's part of the deal. As of now, the 2023 scholarship chart looks like this: Potential 2023-24 Michigan Basketball Roster Hunter Dickinson, 7-2 C, Sr. Jace Howard, 6-7 PF, Sr. Terrance Williams, 6-7 SF, Sr. Isaiah Barnes, 6-7 SG, Jr. Kobe Bufkin, 6-4 SG, Jr. Frankie Collins, 6-1 PG, Jr. Moussa Diabate, 6-11 C, Jr. Caleb Houstan, 6-8 SG, Jr. Will Tschetter, 6-8 PF, R-So. Gregg Glenn, 6-7 PF, So. Jett Howard, 6-7 SF, So. Dug McDaniel, 5-10 PG, So. Tarris Reed, 6-9 PF, So. First things first — it's clear several listed here won't be on the roster when the 2023 season starts. This is very likely Dickinson's last year in Ann Arbor, and we'd also be surprised if Diabate and Houstan were still around. Either way, there are two glaring needs — athletic wings who can guard and big men, preferably one or two that can shoot. Many of those on the current roster will likely improve and provide help, of course. All of them were highly recruited with great potential. But those are the positions where it starts, and here are some of the top (and possibly most likely, at this point) candidates of- fered at each position to fill those roles. Wings J.J. Taylor: Taylor is a consensus five-star recruit and On3.com's No. 7 junior nationally, and arguably the top small forward his age, per On3. The 6-8 standout attended Kenwood Academy in Chicago before moving on to Donda Academy in California. Kentucky seems to be the team to beat, but North Carolina, Illinois, Kentucky, Duke, Texas, LSU, Florida, Michigan State, Michigan, Kansas, Bay- lor and others have offered. His recruit- ment is just getting started. M a c ke n z i e M g ba ko : T h e 6 -7, 185-pounder from Gladstone (N.J.) Gill St. Bernard's School likes Howard a lot. On3.com's No. 2 junior nationally has talked about a Michigan visit but has yet to take one. Memphis, Kentucky, Duke and Ohio State are his four visits. He said he would like to take a few other trips in the future but doesn't plan on deciding until after this summer. Big Men Cyr Malonga: The unranked 6-11, 205-pounder out of Louisville (Ky.) Evangel Christian came to the U.S. from Pointe Noire, Congo, in 2020 after his basketball coach in Africa saw an op- portunity for him to develop his game. "Despite only playing basketball for three years, the 6-11 big man possesses a nice combination of physical tools and defensive upside," ProInsight.com noted. "He is a strong rebounder and leverages his length well as a rim protector." He has only been playing basketball for three years, so he's still learning. "I think if I go to a place where I can play more and then the place where they can help me more like playing in the post, that'll be better for me," Malonga said. He's visited Michigan, Kentucky and Memphis and has a U-M offer. Matas Buzelis: The 6-10 big man plays more like a wing. In fact, he says he'd like to play point guard at the next level. The Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy standout (On3's No. 12 junior in the country) can shoot and pass. He does it all. Buzelis is thinking about going directly to the pros if he can. If not, Michigan will have to battle Kentucky and Duke for his services. He's taken official visits to Ken- tucky, Florida State and Wake Forest, and made unofficial trips to Purdue, DePaul and Kansas. "I hear from Michigan, Florida State, Kansas, Duke, North Carolina, Kentucky and Wake Forest the most," he said. ❏ Mackenzie Mgbako of Gladstone (N.J.) Gill St. Bernard's School — a 6-7, 185-pound small forward who is rated as a five-star recruit and the No. 2 overall player in the class of 2023 by On3 — reportedly likes U-M head coach Juwan Howard a lot. PHOTO BY DAN FRITZ