The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/178977
basketball recruiting Much Changes In Class Of 2014 Recruiting L By Chris Balas ast year at this time, Michigan appeared to be in great shape for a number of their key targets. Recruiting, though, is unpredictable, and Normal (Ill.) University High wing Keita Bates-Diop (Rivals.com's No. 22 senior nationally) — once one of the top prospects on Michigan's recruiting board — proved it when he chose Ohio State over U‑M and Purdue, his perceived leaders, nearly out of the blue last Nov. 18. Michigan was thought to be a coleader for Indianapolis Park Tudor's Trevon Bluiett, as well, but neither the Wolverines nor perceived co-favorite Butler landed the 6-5 shooting guard (Rivals.com's No. 46 senior nationally). Instead, UCLA moved to the top of the pack and nabbed his commitment in August after Bluiett canceled an Aug. 31 Michigan visit in favor of the Bruins. All isn't lost, though — not even close. U-M coaches have since identified a number of other targets, hosting some for outstanding fall weekend visits and moving to (or near) the top of several of their lists. Among them is Donte Grantham (6‑7, Rivals.com's No. 66 overall player nationally) of Chatham (Va.) Hargrave Military Academy. Grantham and his mother were blown away on their Sept. 7 visit for The Wolverines are involved with small forward Jonah Bolden, a 6-8, 195-pounder from Findlay Prep in Henderson, Nev., who is rated by Rivals.com as the No. 62 player in the nation. Bolden has lived in Australia, but is originally from Southeast Michigan. photo courtesy rivals.com Notre Dame football weekend, with some predicting they'd cancel a weekend trip to one-time favorite Cincinnati the following week. They did go, but when the Bearcats received a pledge from Gary Clark, Rivals.com's No. 145 player in his class and a 6-7, 205-pound small forward, it seemed to many Cincinnati was on the outside looking in. That doesn't exactly mean a Michigan pledge is imminent. Clemson is still in the picture, and Grantham visited the Tigers earlier this fall and liked them. But we'd call U‑M a strong leader here and wouldn't be surprised at all to see the versatile small forward as U‑M's next 2014 pledge, joining Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot threestar big man Ricky Doyle (6-8) and three-star shooting guard Austin Hatch (6-6), now in California trying to make a comeback from a traumatic head injury suffered in a June 2011