The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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SEPTEMBER 2022 THE WOLVERINE 55 BASKETBALL RECRUITING and a Nike EYBL circuit-leading 6.0 as- sists per contest before getting hurt and shutting down. High, meanwhile (6-9, No. 40 in the On3 Consensus and the No. 8 small for- ward in the class) has visited Villanova and become a higher priority for North Carolina after a mid-June offer. He's kept it close to the vest, but Michigan still seems to have work to do on this one. CLASS OF 2023 NOTES • Elmarko Jackson of South Kent (Conn.) School, nephew of former Michigan football All-American Marlin Jackson, might already be in the class had U-M offered earlier. The Wolver- ines waited, however, and now it seems they're playing catch-up. Jackson had a huge spring and sum- mer and is now On3's No. 23 senior na- tionally. The 6-3, 185-pounder might visit Texas Sept. 17, and he has yet to set up a Michigan trip. Maryland and Miami are locks to get visits, and they're the ones being mentioned most with him. Jackson told ZagsBlog.com that Maryland, Texas, Miami, Villanova, Vir- ginia, UCLA and VCU were recruiting him hardest, but he has no official visits scheduled yet. "I want to utilize all my five visits, but I don't want to waste any," he said. "I want to make sure all mine are accurate with the schools I really want to focus on, and the schools that are focused on me." He plans to cut his list to "about seven" in the weeks to come. 2024 PLEDGE CHRISTIAN ANDERSON SHINES ON THE INTERNATIONAL CIRCUIT Weeks after leading Germany to a bronze medal in the European Youth Olympic Festival, Michigan basketball class of 2024 pledge Christian Ander- son was back dominating again on the international stage. He led Germany to a FIBA U-16 European Championship in Bulgaria, putting on another shooting display in the process. FIBA listed him among the 10 play- ers to watch in the B Division, and he didn't disappoint. He led Germany to three easy wins to start the tournament, averaging 16 points per game. That in- cluded 22 points in 19 minutes in a win over Ireland. Anderson scored 14 in a victory over Ukraine, and in the quarterfinals was in- volved in 18 of the last 20 points to lead Germany back in a crazy five-minute stretch. He finished with 25 points and 5 assists, while making 5 of 6 3-pointers. He posted 15 points — going 3 of 5 from long range — with 4 assists in a semifinal win over Belgium, and added another 15 points and 4 assists in a finals win over Finland in which he made an- other 5 of 6 triples. Overall, he shot 48 of 84 from the floor (57.1 percent), including 24 of 44 from 2-point range with an incredible 24 of 40 accuracy (60 percent) from 3-point land. He also made 12 of 14 free throws (85.7 percent). Anderson averaged 16.5 points, 2.8 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals in eight games en route to being named the tournament's MVP. Anderson, an Atlanta Lovett High standout, pledged to Michigan last year. Though he was only 5-foot-8 at the time (he's now a reported 5-10), head coach Juwan Howard knew he had to have him after seeing him in person. He averaged 30 points per game in high school last year as a sophomore. CLASS OF 2024 NOTES • Michigan class of 2024 five-star target John Bol of Bel Aire (Kan.) Sunrise Christian will visit U-M for the Sept. 9 weekend, he confirmed on an Insta- gram story. The 7-foot-1, 190-pounder, No. 16 in the On3 Consensus, has been offered by Illinois, Iowa, Texas, Butler and others in addition to Michigan. He first heard of Juwan Howard through ESPN's documentary on the Fab Five. He loved that Howard reached out to extend the offer only a day later. "I did not know about Juwan. I did not know about Michigan," he said. "I had no idea. I didn't know a lot of things when I came to the United States [from the Sudan, Africa]. "The next day when Juwan Howard called me and offered me a scholarship, I was super excited. … Knowing Juwan Howard also played in the NBA, being coached by him and being under him, I would gain a lot of knowledge." • Michigan also has offered 2024 Qin- gfang Pang, a Chinese standout who plays for Middle Village (N.Y.) Christ the King Regional, after an outstanding August visit. Rutgers, Illinois, Oregon, St. John's and Rhode Island are among the offers for the 6-9, 230-pound power forward. ❏ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan basketball recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. Michigan 2024 commit Christian Anderson was named MVP of the FIBA U-16 European Championship in Bulgaria while leading Germany to the title. He averaged 16.5 points, 2.8 assists, 2.1 rebounds and 1.1 steals in eight tournament games, and shot a remarkable 60 per- cent (24 of 40) from 3-point range. PHOTO COURTESY ON3.COM