The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
Issue link: https://comanpub.uberflip.com/i/666058
BASKETBALL RECRUITING "I love it there," he said. "Every time I come down it's a great trip. I talked to some of guys, and even though they lost they were still cool. I talked to the coaches and had a great time. I've very happy with the decision I made. I don't talk to anybody else. "Just the way the team was still able to play through adversity I thought was a huge factor to how they came back at the end of the year. With everybody they have coming back, I feel like they're go‑ ing to have a good, winning sea‑ son." He and the class of 2016 signees alone figure to make a difference, he said. In a year, he'll join Ohio Mr. Basketball and point guard Xavier Simpson of Lima (Ohio) High, 7‑1 center Jon Teske of Medina (Ohio), 6‑10 center Austin Davis of Onsted (Mich.) High and 6‑5 wing Ibi Wat‑ son of Pickerington (Ohio) Central. "I think the entire class, all five of us, we'll be really nice," Poole said. "We are going to make a huge run. We have all the pieces coming in … that five alone right there is already going to be something to stop. "Xavier, I love how strong he is with the ball. Him being able to penetrate and kick, finish at the rim. That's something not a lot of people know how to do." Poole lifts four days a week and has started focusing on college regi‑ mens so he can be stronger physi‑ cally when he arrives in Ann Arbor. NOTES • Senior signees Xavier Simpson (5‑11, Rivals.com's No. 86 senior nationally), Jon Teske (7‑1, No. 109 player in the land) and Ibi Watson (6‑5, three‑star pros‑ pect) helped lead Ohio's All‑Stars to a 94‑92 win over Kentucky in the annual all‑star game between the two states. Simpson finished with 12 points, Teske four (plus, unofficially, six blocked shots) and Watson two in the win. • Former Michigan 2016 target Derryck Thornton Jr. has announced he'll transfer from Duke. He wasn't used the way he hoped to be at Duke after reclas‑ sifying to the 2015 class — he expected more of the offense to be run through him via ball screens — and will now find a new school. Kentucky could well be an option, according to many. There had been no contact between U‑M and the Thorntons as of April 11, but he remained one to watch. • Another to keep an eye on — Columbia graduate transfer Grant Mullins. Syracuse is also after the 6‑4 175‑pound combo guard, who was a starter for the 21‑10 Lions this year and averaged 13.3 points on 47 percent shooting from the field, 44 percent from long range, and 83 percent from the free throw line. Mullins also put up 11.7 points per game as a sophomore and has knocked down a total of 147 three‑pointers over his three seasons at Columbia. He would be eligible to play immediately.