The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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OCTOBER 2022 THE WOLVERINE 59 BASKETBALL RECRUITING verines. Juwan Howard's style of play Collier describes as a 'pro-style' helped, and the five-star point guard has paid close attention to Howard's NBA ties. "At this point, UCLA has the feel they are fourth out of four, with the other three schools more in play. Southern California has the feel of a leader, with Cincinnati and then Michigan in the mix." At power forward, Zayden High remains the top option. The 6-9, 215-pounder out of Spring Branch, Texas, and now at Compass Prep in Arizona, appears to have a trio of teams on top in Villanova, Michi- gan, and North Carolina. High, On3's No. 64 overall prospect nationally, visited Michigan this sum- mer after seeing Villanova and will trip to North Carolina Sept. 30. Though he's played it close to the vest, it does appear U-M has a shot here. "I will look closely at the player de- velopment. I want a coach to get on me if I'm doing something wrong or praise me if I do something right," he said this summer. "It is always good to have a coach you trust and know has your back. "I'll be big on the individual work- outs and player development. I think the commitment date will probably be around the middle of the season, maybe around Christmas." Finally, Michigan appears to be on the outside looking in for four-star point guard Elmarko Jackson, a team- mate of Kante's at South Kent. The 6-3, 185-pounder is now On3's No. 23 pros- pect nationally after an outstanding summer and is one of the fastest risers in his class. The nephew of former Michigan All- America defensive back Marlin Jackson visited Miami officially in early Septem- ber, and the Hurricanes appear to lead. Per Texas On3, he's scheduled to make an official visit to Texas Sept. 30. He'll reportedly take a visit to Kansas the weekend of Sept 23-25. Villanova and Maryland are also under consid- eration, per On3, with no mention of Michigan as of now. CLASS OF 2024 VISITORS LINING UP Though Michigan coaches are still waiting for their first 2023 commit- ments, they've also been identifying and watching 2024 targets. They've al- ready doled out several offers, and sev- eral have lined up visits. The first, Wichita (Kan.) Sunrise Christian Academy four-star center John Bol, visited for the weekend of Sept. 9-11 for football's Hawai'i game. It was Bol's first official visit, and while he wasn't available for comment, several close to it believe Michigan is in good early position. Bol, originally from the South Sudan, started playing basketball about three and a half years ago while living in Nai- robi with his brother. He's a quick study, already the No. 17 overall prospect in the 2024 class. Texas, Texas Tech, Notre Dame, Mis- souri, Illinois, and others have offered in addition to Michigan, but Howard made an early impression. Bol was watching The Fab Five ESPN documentary earlier this year — a day later, Howard just happened to call and extend an offer. Before then, Bol had no idea who he was. "They've been talking to me for a while now," he told Kentucky Sports Radio (KSR) weeks ago. "It's actually fun with Juwan Howard, him playing in the league and being a big man, too. It's just a good fit for me. "The way he communicates with me, the way he talks with me, it's not always about basketball. Sometimes he'll be asking me about school, about other stuff, and building a relationship. He's a very good coach." Michigan hosted 6-foot-1 point guard Travis Perry, an elite shooter out of Ed- dyville (Ky.) Lyon County, the weekend of Sept. 17. Cincinnati, Kentucky, Iowa, Missouri, Ohio State, Nebraska, Purdue, Stanford and Wake Forest have all of- fered, but Perry told KSR he feels U-M is "prioritizing him" after he averaged 27.5 points per game last season. Kentucky could be tough to beat. Perry admitted he never expected to get an offer from the home-state school. "Really just being the best teammate and best player I can be," Perry said of his approach to his junior year. "I saw something today that why Steph Curry is so great is because of what he can do for other people. "That's the mindset I'm trying to take into the season, being the guy that makes other people look good, that makes the good come out in them … not worried about my stats or what I can do to look good." He tweeted pictures of him on his visit Sept. 18 along with words of thanks to the Michigan staff. "Awesome weekend on my visit to the University of Michigan," he wrote. "Thank you to Coach Howard and his staff, along with the players, for the warm welcome and the time spent in- troducing me to Michigan basketball!" On the weekend of Oct. 28-30, the U-M coaches will host Caleb Williams of Washington (D.C.) Sidwell Friends School. Michigan has had success in the DMV area, with Hunter Dickinson, Ter- rance Williams II and Dug McDaniel all hailing from that part of the country. Williams, a 6-7, 215-pound wing, is On3's No. 92 junior nationally. Villa- nova, Penn State, Maryland, Virginia Tech, Georgia Tech, and others have offered. He put himself firmly on the radar after an outstanding performance in the 2022 District of Columbia Class AA Championship when he had a game- high 20 points and 12 rebounds along with the game-winning shot at the buzzer — a reverse layup coming off an offensive rebound. ❏ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan basketball recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. Travis Perry, a 6-1 point guard from Eddyville (Ky.) Lyon County, visited U-M Sept. 17. On3 rates him as the No. 13 point guard and No. 66 overall prospect in the class of 2024. PHOTO BY LES NICHOLSON/KENTUCKY SPORTS RADIO