The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/315684
2014 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE games to see flashes of his potential. "He's a very good scorer who plays with a lot of confidence," he said. "He looks like a streaky shooter, but he also looks like he could be ready for the physical play in the Big Ten. He's a tough all-around kid." Dawkins, son of Stanford head coach and former Duke star Johnny Dawkins, capped the class 10 days later, choosing Michigan over Dayton. Formerly from Palo Alto, Calif., he opted for a fifth year at New Hampton (N.H.) Acad- emy to bolster his résumé. The prep year did him wonders, Bossi said. "He matured physically, showed he could play a little more against high- level competition," he said. "He's come out of his shell as a late bloomer. He's athletic in transition and on the base- line, and at least a respectable jump shooter. You've got to respect that part of his game." Beilein likened him to Tim Hard- away Jr., the former U-M guard now with the New York Knicks. "He's another perimeter player that can guard one through three, has a really good background growing up around college athletes and NBA-cali- ber players," Meyer said. "We just feel like he was a really versatile fit and does give you a little of that explo- sion we had with Glenn Robinson III — that's the hope. He just fit — right place, right time." Finally, Hatch's role is still to be de- termined — he continues to work hard to overcome a brain injury suffered in a June 2011 plane crash — but there's a place for him whether he can play right away or not. "He has really worked hard to put himself in a position, both in the class- room and with basketball, to transition to Michigan and fit in to what we're do- ing here," Meyer said. "We've known from day one his heart and desire to be a part of the Michigan program. We talk about kids running through the doors to get to Michigan — that's who he is." BEYOND THE RANKINGS Michigan might not bring in a five- man class like Stauskas, Robinson and McGary's 2012 group again, but it's never been about rankings with the U-M coaches as much as it's been identifying talent and developing the players they have. Some expecting a recruiting "bump" to the point that the Wolverines would land more five-star Head coach John Beilein's six-man recruit- ing class was ranked No. 23 in the country by Rivals.com. PHOTO BY PER KJELDSEN