The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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AUGUST 2017 THE WOLVERINE 59 BASKETBALL RECRUITING pursuit, and IU and Providence both offered. Thompson will likely cut his list down to four or five schools at some point before making a decision and will pledge some time after the AAU season ends in July. Minnesota, Indiana, Iowa State, Baylor and Marquette were his top five as of mid-June, before he took his U-M visit. Minnesota's Rivals. com site believes Iowa State might lead. "Race Thompson has long been a priority of both Iowa State and Min- nesota. Iowa State may be the favor- ite — Thompson has built a great relationship with the Iowa State coaching staff," the website noted. "The high three-star grew up in the Twin Cities and his father Darrell, a former Gopher running back, is a radio analyst for Gopher football. "Thompson has maroon and gold in his blood, but … we don't believe his family connections to Minnesota are as influential as many assume." He's looking for comfort more than anything else. "I want to fit in the playing style, feel like I'm at home and feel like a family in the locker room," he said. "That's the main thing." OTHER SUMMER VISITORS C.J. Fredrick: The 6-4, 170-pound rising senior shooting guard out of Park Hills (Ky.) Covington Catho- lic is very high on Michigan, and hopeful he will earn an offer this summer. "I really like the tradition of the program and great coaching staff … also, how free they play," Fredrick said of Michigan. "It's a lot of mak- ing plays and finding shooters." He visited in early June, and Michi- gan will continue to watch him. "They were one of my favorite teams to watch in March," he said. "They said they had guys testing the NBA, and my recruitment with them was going to pick up. "They want to get to know my family better and watch me in July a little more." J a c o b P o l a k o v i c h : T h e 6 - 8 , 235-pound rising senior from Grand Rapids (Mich.) Catholic Central has Mid-American Conference offers, and interest from Butler and Purdue — and now serious interest from Michigan. The Wolverines don't have a need at his position, but his performance at their June team camp in front of Beilein earned him a preferred walk- on offer from the coach (meaning he could get a scholarship down the road). He's ridiculously strong, a great finisher and — though he didn't get much of a chance to show it — can shoot it a bit. Polakovich averaged 17 points and 12 rebounds per game as a junior. He plays extremely hard and is very physical. He's going to be a very good college player. Ryan Young: The Bethlehem (Pa.) Catholic product is another who has visited, though he still has work to do to earn an offer. The 6-8 standout has come a long way and will be a high major some- where. Richmond and others have offered, but if he's patient enough to wait until spring he'll have high majors on him. ❏ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan basketball recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. Park Hills (Ky.) Covington Catholic shoot- ing guard C.J. Fredrick is very high on the Wolverines and hopes to earn an offer this summer. PHOTO BY JORDAN WELLS/THEHOOSIER.COM Michigan Sportula $ 16 95 SALE! (Reg $24.95) Plus $6.50 S&H NC, IN & MI Residents add sales tax THE WOLVERINE PO BOX 2331 DURHAM, NC 27702 1-800- 421-7751 Visit our online store: TheWolverineOnDemand.com ON SALE NOW! Item #1220