The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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BASKETBALL RECRUITING The 6-5, 185-pounder will continue to explore his options through his junior season and possibly beyond, his father, Reynardo, shared in early October. "Everything has been pretty much the same since summer," Reynardo Bluiett said. "Michigan has been down here with all three coaches. I would say they've done their job as far as letting him know how badly they want him. He is well aware of that." from the atmosphere and the fans the care they have for the program," he said. Coaches from just about every school that's offered went to India- napolis to see Bluiett play during the open period. He had games of 31 and 29 points during fall league play, Peegs.com reported. A versatile scorer, Bluiett starred on the summer circuit with Indy Spiece, leading the club in scoring with an average of 16.5 points per game in Nike's Elite Youth Basketball League. Bluiett is trying hard to get back to Michigan for a football weekend, but his parents both work on Saturdays. He hadn't been on any campuses un- til visiting Indiana in October. "He's kind of just checking things out, seeing what's what," his dad said. "I would guess definitely af- ter the season he'll start narrowing it. Right now he's concentrating on schoolwork, working out and open gym." impression. Michigan, though, has made an "He talks to Coach [John] Beilein and even more, Coach [LaVall] Jor- dan," he said. "He loved his visit up there. We spent about four hours on campus and got to see everything. It was everything he was looking for." Bluiett was on the Indiana campus for Hoosier Hysteria, the school's version of Midnight Madness. His former teammate, point guard Yogi Ferrell, will be a freshman at the school this fall. scorer, has no time line for a decision, though he continues to say Michigan will "be there at the end" since the U-M coaches have been there since the beginning. Finally, Pickerington (Ohio) Cen- tral small forward Jae'sean Tate (6-5, 200, No. 70), a former teammate of U-M freshman Caris LeVert and AAU teammate of Michigan sopho- more Trey Burke, was back on cam- pus for a September football game and is torn between the Wolverines and Ohio State. His father played for the Buckeyes, and the ties could be tough to overcome, Benji Burke (Trey's dad and Tate's AAU coach) said recently, but the longer it goes, the better Michigan's chances. Bluiett said Indiana didn't move up or down on list after the visit. "It stayed the same. I didn't make any evaluations," Bluiett said. "It was good to get down and see Yogi and everyone." The Wolverines remain strong with one of their first offerees, Moss Point (Miss.) shooting guard Devin Booker (6-4, No. 26). Booker reportedly vis- ited Missouri for its Midnight Mad- ness event after traveling to Alabama and Mississippi State for football weekends. He's planning on visiting LSU, Michigan and MSU this fall. Beilein stopped in to watch him in September, and he's already been on campus four times. Booker, a 23-points-per-game At one point, Tate seemed destined to be a Buckeye. The Wolverines have made up ground, however, and Tate has great relationships with the Michigan coaching staff. • Michigan is still evaluating other 2014 targets, and 6-9, 235-pound power forward Ricky Doyle of Fort Myers (Fla.) Bishop Verot remains one of those at the top of the list. The back-to-the-basket big man is young but athletic, boasts a 7-2 wingspan and would be a great fit at Michigan, Bishop Verot head coach Matt Hert- ing reported in September. Doyle isn't expected to take visits this fall — he doesn't want to put one school in front of the other in that respect, and he won't have time to take several trips — but it's clear the mutual interest is sincere and that this will remain one to watch. CLASS OF 2014 NOTES Irvin (6-6, 180, Rivals.com's No. 33 senior nationally) couldn't wait to get on campus for his official visit, one that coincided with Michigan football's game with Michigan State Oct. 20 weekend. Irvin hadn't been on campus since U-M's home win over Air Force, and the atmosphere was everything that he hoped it would be. CLASS OF 2013 PLEDGES MAKE OFFICIAL VISITS Michigan class of 2013 pledge Zak So was hanging out with fellow pledges Mark Donnal (6-9, 210, No. 106 senior player in the country) "I liked it a lot," Bluiett said. "It was the atmosphere. It was sold out. It was loud all the time. That's some- thing I really liked a lot, and you can tell the players really have a bond. It is like Coach [Tom] Crean said, everyone's a family." Bluiett confirmed relationships would be important when it came time to decided. "I want to see how the players re- late to each other, how the players and coaches relate. You could see U-M commit Zak Irvin, Rivals.com's No. 33 senior nationally, was on hand for the Wolverines' football game against Michigan State Oct. 20 and noted that he is poised for a strong senior campaign at Fishers (Ind.) Hamilton Southeastern. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM NOVEMBER 2012 THE WOLVERINE 97