The Wolverine

BASKETBALL RECRUITING on the court. That's going to be a big advantage when he gets to college. A lot of guys get it and go, but he's a very patient post player, very smart. He understands how to make other guys better. He knows when he does and when he doesn't have a shot." That was one of the qualities that intrigued Michigan coaches when they saw Doyle this summer. They watched several of his games after first noticing him in the spring. Head coach John Beilein watched Doyle work out at his school Sept. 26, while assistants Bacari Alexan- der and LaVall Jordan have also paid close attention. "The one thing they've done is kind of obligated to do the other schools. Financially, schedule-wise with school, and basketball-wise I think they've made a conscious de- cision not to take unofficials early. They don't want to go to one school and not the others. He's not going to make a decision now anyway, so there's no need to hurry it for him." When he does decide, however, Michigan will likely be a major player — should the Wolverines eventually offer. "I think Michigan is potentially "Once you take one visit, you're put in a lot of work," Herting said. "They've seen him play a lot. They saw him play several games at AAU Nationals with our high school team. The coaches have been down here a few times to see him play. I think the interest is very serious." The Doyles are just as intrigued by Michigan, he continued. "There are certain schools they are very interested in based on academ- ics and basketball fit," Herting said. "That list is a lot smaller than most people would suspect. They've elim- inated a lot of schools where they think either academically or style of play would not be a good fit, but I think they're very interested in Mich- igan." a very good fit for Ricky," Herting said. "He's only just starting his ju- nior year, so who knows where it's going to go from here. He'll very se- riously consider them, but we'll just have to wait and see what happens with it." Doyle holds offers from Boston College, Penn State and Creighton, and is hearing from Miami, Purdue, Kansas State, Washington, Stanford and USC in addition to Michigan. The schools involved have what he's looking for in terms of both academ- ics and basketball, with style of play a key factor. Several other schools have inquired, but many were elimi- nated before receiving consideration just because they weren't the right fit. Several others, meanwhile, have tize Franklin (Ohio) 6-5, 180-pound shooting guard Luke Kennard, a likely top-50 player in the 2015 class and frequent visitor, and they'll get him on campus again in mid-Octo- ber, likely on Oct. 13 when Michi- gan football hosts Illinois. Kennard already holds offers from West Vir- ginia, Wisconsin, Iowa and others, and he visited Ohio State in early September. • Other 2015 prospects, mean- • Michigan continues to priori- CLASS OF 2015 NOTES while, have also visited recently. Among them: — Center Grove, Ind., shooting guard Michael Benkert. The 6-5, 175-pounder is a bit unorthodox and not the most athletic player we saw over the summer at the Michigan camp, but he shot the lights out. He's been picking up more and more in- terest since the summer. — East Chicago (Ind.) Central tried to get Doyle on campus for un- official visits this fall, but no trips are in the cards. It probably won't be until after the season that he makes campus visits. "The pressure they've gotten to take unofficials has been overwhelm- ing, and we've only got a month left until we start our season," Herting said. "Guys don't miss practice once we start. When we're in practice, there are no unexcused absences, and he's also got studies. 76 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2012 Franklin, Ohio, shooting guard Luke Kennard, a likely top-50 player in the class of 2015 and a frequent visitor to U-M, has been a priority for the Wolverines. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM and never stops working. — Lansing (Mich.) Sexton forward Trevor Manuel. The 6-8, 195-pounder is lanky and raw, but he already holds a Michigan State offer and has tremendous upside. — Utica (Mich.) Eisenhower 6-9 point guard Hyron Edwards. He will be another priority in the 2015 class, and while the 5-10, 160-pounder loves Purdue, Michigan has made an impression. He holds offers from the Boilermakers, Indiana and Illinois and — as of right now — is leaning toward staying in the Big Ten. — Cincinnati Moeller center Nate Fowler. Head coach John Beilein has a good relationship with Moeller head coach Carl Kremer, having recruited the school when he was at West Vir- ginia. The 6-9, 235-pound Fowler has great upside, could grow to seven feet big man Justin Greason. He was one of the top 12 underclassmen at the recent Bank Hoops Underclassman Camp. "He has great hands and moves well without the ball," one scout wrote. "Not a finisher in terms of scoring on the block, but more of a finisher around the rim on hustle, scrappy, effort plays. He works hard on the court, but can sometimes get a little down on himself when things aren't going well or he makes a mis- take. I can live with that because it seems that the kid is driven to be a better ballplayer … He has a ton of potential and upside." — Bolingbrook, Ill., point guard Prentiss Nixon. Illinois and Purdue are a few of the others on this slen- der, 6-1, 150-pound ball handler, but he likes Michigan. That relationship should continue to build. u On The Web For regular reports on basketball recruiting, plus videos of all the top prospects in the nation and Michigan's commitments, visit TheWolverine.com.

• Cover