The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BASKETBALL RECRUITING U-M, Big Ten Recruits Setting The Stage For Future Conference Success BY CHRIS BALAS A sk coaches what it takes to win on a consistent basis, and most will say the same thing — recruiting is the lifeblood of the program. There are other factors, of course, and Michigan head coach John Beilein's past success with the absence of four- and five-star prospects is evidence that the X's and O's are as important as the Jimmys and Joes. For the most part, though, teams with better players will win more than their fair share. The good news for the Wolverines is that if their current recruits pan out as projected, they'll have both the coaching and the players to win in the Big Ten over the next several years. Beilein and his staff have recruited extremely well, landing point guard Trey Burke (a candidate for Big Ten Freshman of the Year honors) in 2011, a 2012 class that currently ranks No. 5 nationally according to Rivals.com and four in the class of 2013 that to- gether rival the top conference classes, as well. U-M isn't alone, however. The Big Ten as a whole has recruited well over the past few years, with Indi- ana trumping Michigan's 2012 haul as Rivals.com's No. 2-rated class nationally. "There's no question the league is set," Big Ten Network analyst and former Northwestern player Shon Morris said. "All that stuff is so cycli- cal. Every four or five years you hear, 'What's wrong with League X?' Then they land a great group of recruits and that league goes up, and another one goes down. Certainly the way Ohio State, Michigan and Indiana, among others, are recruiting, the Big Ten seems to be on its way up." Even that is relative, Morris noted. "Last year was supposedly a down year, and all they did was put seven teams in the NCAA Tournament," he said. Of Michigan's seven 2012 and 2013 pledges (three seniors and four ju- niors), six are off to great starts. The seventh, Fort Wayne (Ind.) Canter- bury three-star shooting guard Aus- tin Hatch, will miss the season while 46 THE WOLVERINE JANUARY 2012 Nick Stauskas, the nation's No. 79 player according to Rivals.com, was averag- ing around 19 points per game for a 6-1 Southborough (Mass.) St. Mark's team. PHOTO BY JACEY ZEMBL continuing to recover from injuries suffered in a June plane crash that claimed the lives of his father and stepmother. Hatch has been unavailable for in- terviews, and his future playing sta- tus is unclear. He was in Ann Arbor recently for Michigan's Dec. 17 home win over Alabama A&M, however, an awesome sight. As for Hatch's future teammates — most are living up to their rankings. Here's a player-by-player look at how they've started. Class of 2012 NICK STAUSKAS, SG 6-6 • 200 Southborough (Mass.) St. Mark's Rivals.com No. 79 senior nationally Stauskas broke his thumb Friday, Dec. 9, but that hasn't kept him out of the lineup this season. He scored 22 in an 18-point win over Brimmer and May Dec. 9, and poured in 19 in an 18-point victory over Hamden Dec. 10, leading all scorers despite playing less than three quarters due to the lopsided scores. Stauskas scored 17 in St. Mark's 65-40 win over Lawrence Academy Dec. 14, posted 15 in a 71-55 loss to Tilton Dec. 16 and notched 19 in a 72-56 vic- tory over Vermont Academy Dec. 17. He was averaging around 19 points per game for his 6-1 Southborough team. GLENN ROBINSON III, SF 6-6 • 205 St. John (Ind.) Lake Central Rivals.com No. 34 senior nationally Robinson was averaging 22 points per game through six games. He scored 21 and added seven rebounds in a Dec. 9 win over Crown Point, approached a tri- ple double with 16 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists in a 66-47 victory over Chesterton Dec. 13 and recorded 22 points on 6-of-18 shooting (9-of-15 from the foul line) in a come-from-be- hind, 66-60 overtime win over Merrill- ville Dec. 17. The Indians overcame an 11-point deficit with three minutes to play in the latter to improve to 5-1. "Our defense wasn't very good in the first half, and they were making a lot of their shots," Robinson told NWITimes.com. "We were coasting. I told the guys in the locker room after the game that we can't expect to get down like that and come back. "I had kind of an off night. I couldn't get the rolls. I've got to give them credit." Robinson added 12 rebounds in the victory over Chesterton. Head coach Dave Milausnic said after the Crown Point win Robinson is start- ing to mix well with his fellow Indians. "We did some things better tonight than we did in our first three games," Milausnic said. "Glenn is starting to trust his teammates more, and that's good." MITCH MCGARY, PF 6-10 • 250 Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy Rivals.com No. 3 player nationally and No. 1 power forward McGary, playing on a loaded team, is working to back up his lofty ranking earned over the summer. Rivals.com's Jerry Meyer said after catching McGary in action earlier this year that he wanted to see more of him before committing to keeping him that high, adding that the big man would have to play better to remain among the top three players nationally. But there's no questioning the effort.