The Wolverine

June-July 2012

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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SOMETHING SPECIAL I Three Former AAU Teammates Are Part Of Five-Man 2012 Class With Talent And Chemistry ing with their peers, and there are many instances in which it's been a winning combination for the lucky school that lands them. BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE CLASS OF 2012 Players program is a pipeline to Michigan, though, isn't exactly an accurate depiction. Yes, four of his former players are now Wolverines, including class of 2011 signee Max Bielfeldt — and yes, Brumm has taken some heat for it from some coaches in the Big Ten region. He'd be the first to point out that Saying that Wayne Brumm's SYF t's not uncommon that former AAU teammates end up in the same collegiate program. Kids are often comfortable play- BY CHRIS BALAS there's one reason in particular so many of his kids are at U-M — Wol- verines head coach John Beilein and his staff know how to do their homework. The 6-8 Bielfeldt, a bruising power forward, wasn't on anyone's radar even after he averaged 22.5 points per game as a junior for his Peoria (Ill.) Notre Dame team. Class of 2012 standout Glenn "Tre'" Robinson III (6-7, 210), now Rivals.com's No. 11 player nationally and the son of the Purdue '90s great of the same name, was deemed "too soft" by his dad's alma mater when Michigan was among the first to offer. Northfield (Mass.) Mt. Hermon Robinson was rated the No. 2 small forward in the nation and the No. 11 overall player in the class of 2012 by Rivals.com. point guard Spike Albrecht, who prepped after an outstanding career at Crown Point (Ind.) High? Brumm told plenty of folks the 6-0 floor general was a Division I player, but Michigan was literally the only Divi- sion I staff that genuinely listened. Only Wolfeboro (N.H.) Brewster Academy's Mitch McGary (6-10, 255), Rivals.com's No. 3 prospect na- tionally before slipping to No. 30 in April, might be considered a recruit- ing victory in the traditional sense, 20 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2012 Brumm said of Beilein and assistants Jeff Meyer, Bacari Alexander and La- Vall Jordan in early May. "I'm catch- ing the heat because all these guys are going to Michigan, but let's talk about that for a second. There's only one kid out of the four I've got there that had another high major offer when they committed to Michigan. "Max did at the end when Illinois with Michigan beating out Duke, Florida and others to land him. Even then, it was McGary's ties to the program as a former teammate (in Chesterton, Ind.) and good friend of departing captain Zack Novak's that helped the Wolverines sign him. "It's a tribute to Michigan," PHOTO BY EMMA ROGERS surmised Michigan was going to of- fer. They only did because Michigan did, and could have two years earlier. Spike didn't have high major offers, though he should have. "Michigan just talks to me, and they trust me. They don't believe ev- erything I say, of course, but they check and double check, screen it through their processes. How can anyone else be upset if they didn't notice these guys?" inson, catching a glimpse of him on a visit through Indiana during FROM SLEEPER TO SUPERSTAR Meyer was the first to watch Rob- GLENN ROBINSON GOES

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