The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/1540586
58 THE WOLVERINE ❱ NOVEMBER 2025 M ichigan basketball coach Dusty May isn't afraid to take chances on recruits with upside who are still developing, having proven it many times over the years. His latest pledge, in fact — Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic wing Mala- chi Brown (6-foot-5, 196 pounds) — was just starting to pick up offers, having landed his first this summer from UC Santa Barbara. A day later he got his second — from Michi- gan, after Santa Barbara head coach Joe Pas- ternack, May's good friend, gave the Michigan head man notice of the under-the-radar pros- pect he felt deserved a shot at the highest level. "At 7 o'clock in the morning [one day in late September], here comes Dusty May through the doors. We're like, 'Holy crap … pretty cool,'" Knoxville Catholic coach Travis Mains recalled. "The kids had open gym, and all the stuff Coach May had been researching and seeing, he saw in person — Malachi dunking the ball, shooting the ball very easily from the three- point line. He just plays hard every second. "He could see stuff like his posture on his shot, getting his feet right, being ready on the catch, popping the basketball — he could see things that will help him get better just within three or four minutes of watching him play." May offered Brown a scholarship to U-M on the spot. Brown accepted almost immediately. "As soon as we broke down from our huddle, Dusty said, 'I came here to make you an offer,' and Malachi's stunned," Mains revealed. "It was pretty cool. His AAU coach was there to watch, and we were there, and he wasn't ready for that. He had one D-I offer from a day before, a school he didn't even talk to. "But in the morning, Dusty shows up, and you're talking about one of the top 10 pro- grams in the country. The dude is probably going to win a national championship in the next three or four years. It was pretty amazing." Brown started to earn notice from scouts this summer, including the Adidas All-American Camp in California while playing with Tennes- see Impact. His team won every game by 20 to 30 points, Mains noted, and while Brown didn't do much scoring, he stood out defensively in locking down other teams' top players and making plays for his teammates. "He's just a very strong team player," Mains said. "He's not a very vocal player yet, but he does all the things that make teams win. He's a modern day [former Duke and NBA stand- out] Shane Battier. … He's that type of player, and he's long. I'm always trying to get him to stand up straight, and he'll be 6-6. He's got a young face, young body. I think he may grow another inch or two. "An assistant coach for the Philadelphia 76ers called and said if I let him sign Division II before Christmas, he'll drive down here and get me fired. He's twitchy and has got big, giant hands like [Los Angeles Clippers star] Kawhi Leonard … and he's never really been in the weight room until he transferred to us this summer. … His best basketball is ahead." Brown averaged "around 12 points, 8 re- bounds, 6 steals and 5 assists per game last season," per Mains. "He does all the things to win," Mains said. "He has a very high IQ. Like Dusty said, they're recruiting him as a 'connector' type player. That's exactly what he does, but he does have a lot of room to grow with his potential — and he's a really good basketball player right now." — Chris Balas STANDOUT SHOOTING GUARD JOSEPH HARTMAN GOES BLUE Michigan basketball coach Dusty May has been a recruiting machine since he arrived in Ann Arbor, and he continued his success when he landed a pledge from Rivals Top 100 2026 shooting guard Joseph Hartman Oct. 1. Hartman visited in late September and previ- ously saw Minnesota, Iowa, Butler, and Dayton, but U-M made a great impression on Rivals' No. 61 player nationally. The 6-6, 185-pounder, son of Florida assistant Carlin Hartman, found everything he was looking for in Ann Arbor. "I chose Michigan because I want to win a national championship and become an NBA player," Hartman said after blowing up and moving up the rankings this summer. "I trusted this staff because we've built this relationship for a couple of years now." Hartman becomes Michigan's fourth commit- ment in the 2026 class, joining four-star Boston power forward Quinn Costello (No. 44 Rivals Industry Ranking), Knoxville (Tenn.) three-star small forward Malachi Brown (No. 182 overall player), and 7-foot-2 center Marcus Moller of Denmark (as yet unranked). Many questioned why the Gainesville (Fla.) The Rock School standout wouldn't join his father at Florida, but they'd both decided early Hartman wouldn't be going to the school that employed his father. "My dad asked questions around the industry. He talked to a couple of coaches who coached their sons as an assistant, and they said it's just difficult," he told the Gainesville Sun. "My dad and I just thought it would be best for me to move away from home and get something new. "[Florida] Coach [Todd] Golden and I, we're really good friends, and he cares about Joseph and cares about our family," Carlin Hartman added. "Things can get a little muddy, and I didn't want to put that kind of pressure on my son with me as an assistant on the roster. At the end of the day, as much as I love my job, I love my son even more." The younger Hartman was one of Rivals' fast- est risers this summer, moving up from No. 129 in the ranking after after a strong AAU showing. From Rivals analyst Jamie Shaw: "It was a natural maturation for him this summer. … He's someone who grew a couple of inches, added some strength, and became sturdier with his frame. With that, he slid into a role on his Aus- tin Rivers Elite travel team on the Adidas 3SSB Circuit that he was comfortable with. "Hartman is a secondary ball handler, a con- necting guard. … He's someone who is able to touch the paint, collapse a defense and make a play while also developing his ability to finish plays on the offensive end." This summer, Hartman averaged 13.9 points, 5.6 rebounds, 2.6 assists, and 1.2 steals per game for his travel team. He also shot 44.0 percent from three-point range. "He jumped 68 spots in the rankings and earned a scholarship offer from one of the fast- est-rising programs in the country," said Shaw. — Chris Balas ❱ BASKETBALL RECRUITING Michigan Lands Rising Wing Malachi Brown Brown is a 6-foot-5, under-the-radar prospect from Knoxville (Tenn.) Catholic. Rivals has him listed as a three-star small forward entering his senior season. PHOTO BY 5STARPREPS Hartman is a 6-foot-6 prospect from Gainesville (Fla.) The Rock School who Rivals rates as the No. 61 prospect overall and the No. 14 shooting guard nationally. PHOTO BY MATT MORENO/GOLDEN BEAR REPORT