The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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RISING STARS Michigan's Class Of 2013 Pledges Make Up One Of Rivals.com's Top Groups In The Early Going M to jump on board in full force. All four of the Wolverines' rising se- nior pledges committed within a five-week span from late June to early August in 2011, and the group landed at No. 2 in Rivals.com's early 2013 team rankings released Feb. 13. ichigan's class of 2012 hadn't even signed let- ters of intent yet when the 2013 prospects started BY CHRIS BALAS BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE CLASS OF 2013 ten themselves a nice class," Rivals. com's Eric Bossi reported at the time — and they might not be done yet. Three of Michigan's four commit- "The Wolverines have already got- ments are playing some of the best basketball of their careers in the early spring. Harper Woods (Mich.) Chan- dler Park Academy point guard Der- rick Walton (6-0, 175, Rivals.com's No. 72 rising senior nationally), Fish- ers (Ind.) Hamilton Southeastern small forward Zak Irvin (6-6, 180, No. 64) and Whitehouse (Ohio) An- thony Wayne power forward Mark Donnal (6-9, 210, No. 116) have all earned praise for their play on the AAU circuit and could be primed to move up in the rankings. The best news, though, is the con- tinued recovery of Fort Wayne (Ind.) Canterbury shooting guard Austin Hatch. He has made great strides since suffering a catastrophic head injury in a June 2011 plane crash that 24 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2012 As a junior, Walton averaged 24 points per game, and he is rated the No. 72 player in the class of 2013 by Rivals.com. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM