The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/510942
2015 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE and assume either NBA attrition or that possibly someone could go else- where. We keep our eyes wide open when it comes to offering scholar- ships and taking commitments, etc. We want to keep a lot of options open." There's been plenty of talk, too, that Beilein and his staff would change the way they recruit so as to not get caught in a state of flux similar to that created by the early entries. Though Beilein expected the Michigan brand to open doors on the recruiting trail when he first arrived, losing hordes of players to the NBA wasn't as big a consideration. Wisconsin, with two straight Fi- An Eye Overseas Though German power forward prospect Moritz Wagner (6-9, Rivals.com four-star prospect) announced his commitment to Michigan on Twitter, there was no official word on his addition to the 2015 squad as of mdi-May. Head coach John Beilein can't and won't comment until there is. Still, Wagner had great things to say about the Michigan pro- gram after visiting during the season. "The whole family thing is very impressive," he said. "It's a perfect system. Everybody touches the ball, and they have great shooting. I love the several cutting options and back-screen options. The three and four position is more or less the same." Beilein has long kept an eye overseas and likely will continue to. Several of his former players have gone on to careers in Europe, so he's befriended a number of their coaches. Surprisingly, though, Johannes Herber remains the only European he's coached. Herber was part of Beilein's West Virginia team that made the Elite Eight in the mid-2000s — he was slated to visit Richmond when Beilein was head coach for the Spiders, but chose to follow the coach to West Virginia instead. That one worked out well for Beilein. Herber averaged 9.3 points and 4.4 assists as a senior in 2005-06 and became a valuable, four-year contributor. Michigan has come close to adding European players twice under Beilein. In 2009, German Robin Benzing committed but wasn't able to qualify in large part due to the language barriers. German guard Patrick Heckmann was on the radar in 2011, but he committed to Boston College a week before Michi- gan guard Darius Morris decided to forego his last two years of eligibility for the NBA Draft. Heckmann averaged 8.4 points and 4.4 rebounds in starting 32 games for the Eagles in his senior season. — Chris Balas WAGNER