The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/201975
basketball recruiting Blackmon, a five-star prospect, was committed to Indiana for three years before decommitting in late summer. His father, James Sr., played at Kentucky, but a great visit to U-M — after which he talked about being a great fit with the program — gives Michigan hope. Blackmon is an outstanding scorer and team player, Rivals.com analyst Eric Bossi said. "He's arguably the top shooter in the entire class of 2014," Bossi reported this fall. "Blackmon has a smooth jumper that features excellent mechanics and deep range. "Underrated as a north-south athlete and a ball handler, he projects as a guy who could put up big numbers in college." Booker (6-6, No. 30 overall player nationally) took his fourth and last planned official visit to Missouri Oct. 18 and returned to the school a week later for an unofficial with his father, Melvin Booker, that included a ceremony honoring his dad's 1993-94 Elite Eight team. Booker told GulfLive.com he hopes to decide before the beginning of the NCAA's early signing period Nov. 13. "I can't really base my decision on my official visits, because all of them were great," Booker said. "I think it's more what I've learned throughout the process, because whenever you go on a visit, you always feel like that's the place. That's what official visits are supposed to do. "Right now, I'm just trying to talk with my parents to figure this thing out soon. I want to get it done before the signing period ends, but I'm not going to force myself. [Kentucky point guard pledge and good friend] Tyler Ulis keeps bugging me about it, and he's trying to get me to go to [UK] with him. And since I've been on my visits, the Kentucky players have made me feel welcome, too." Michigan was once considered the strong frontrunner for Booker. He said as much after the Wolverines offered last summer, just after his sophomore year. The Tigers, though, have been recruiting him almost as long. "Missouri has been recruiting me since the eighth grade, so that's a big deal, also," he said. "And I've got a hometown connection with the Michigan schools, so that's why this decision is so tough. I want all my family from Michigan to be able to come down here, so we have to come up with a date that works for them." His mother still lives in Grand Rapids, Mich., and has long been thought to be in Michigan's corner. ESPN talked about broadcasting the announcement live, but Booker decided he didn't want the pressure of pledging on television. "Booker projects as a big shooting guard who can use his size and strength to counter more athletic wings," Bossi reported. "He's very effective as a catch and shoot guy, and he's hard to take the ball from because of his size. Quicker, athletic wings cause him problems at times." In other 2014 news, Columbus, Ohio, three-star Javon Bess, a Michigan Plan B target, committed