The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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basketball recruiting In more recent games, Irvin scored 30 points in a 66-59 win over Zionsville Dec. 15 and followed up with 33 in an 82-77 victory over Indianapolis North Central the following night. Hamilton Southeastern stood 9-1 and was ranked as the state's No. 7 team in Class 4A through midDecember. Derrick Walton And Mark Donnal Also Start Strong Class of 2013 standout Mark Donnal of Whitehouse (Ohio) Anthony Wayne started his senior year slowly in a Dec. 2 opening win over Toledo (Ohio) Start, getting into early foul trouble. The 6-9 big man didn't score his first basket until three minutes remained in the third quarter, in fact — but then the points came in bunches. Donnal notched 21-second half points and added five assists out of the post in leading a 61-29 win out of a 15-15 halftime tie. "I think he learned tonight you have to be mentally disciplined," Anthony Wayne coach Bryan Borcherdt told the Toledo Blade of Donnal's foul trouble. "We're pretty good when we can play inside-outside like that. … He benefits our team greatly when Notes he's on the floor." Donnal, Rivals.com's No. 107 player nationally and a four-star prospect, notched 17 points and 12 rebounds in a 66-51 win over New Riegel in Wayne's second game and has since scored 16 in a 50-45 victory over Northview and notched a double-double with 28 points and 17 rebounds in a 66-30 win over Napoleon Dec. 17. Harper Woods (Mich.) Chandler Park Academy point guard signee Derrick Walton (6-0, 175), Rivals. com's No. 47 prospect nationally, notched 27 points, seven rebounds, six steals and five assists in Chandler Park's season-opening 61-56 win over Cass Tech in front of U-M head coach John Beilein. He scored 17, including four triples, in a 58-52 win over Rochester Dec. 15. He is the Detroit Free Press' No. 2 player in the state behind Rochester's (and Kentucky-bound) James Young and is a leading candidate for Michigan's Mr. Basketball award. Finally, Fort Wayne (Ind.) Canterbury's Austin Hatch (6-6, Rivals. com three-star) has yet to be cleared for full practice. Hatch, now a 2014 prospect, missed last season with a • Michigan class of 2014 target Trevon Bluiett (6-5, Rivals.com No. 46 junior nationally) from Indianapolis exceeded 1,000 points in his career Dec. 8 during Park Tudor High's 79-37 road win over Covenant Christian (Ind.) High School. Bluiett recorded 25 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists in the win, one night after Park Tudor beat Beech Grove (Ind.) High School 91-33. Bluiett Notched 31 points in that win. Indiana has turned up the heat recently with Bluiett — the junior was in attendance for the Hoosiers' late-November win over North Carolina, but he's been quiet on the recruiting front. Michigan is still thought to be in a good spot. • Michigan head coach John Beilein was slated to watch Franklin (Ohio) Middle- Trevon Bluiett, a U-M target and town's Vincent Edwards Dec. 18. Edwards Rivals.com's No. 46 junior nationally, (6-5, the No. 63 junior nationally according tallied his 1,000th career point in early to Rivals.com) is likely to receive an offer if December. photo courtesy rivals.com and when he visits, but he has yet to make it on campus. Purdue is thought to be the main competition to land Edwards. • Class of 2015 standout Luke Kennard (6-5) of Franklin, Ohio, notched his first triple double of the year in Franklin's 100-65 win over Valley View Dec. 14. Kennard registered 24 points, 15 rebounds and 10 assists in improving Franklin to 4-0. Kennard remains an early priority in the 2015 class and has the Wolverines at or near the top of his list, having visited several times since his freshman year. head injury suffered in a 2011 plane crash and has since been granted an extra year of eligibility by the Indiana High School Athletic Association. Hatch was given clearance to return to practice with his high school team in November, but at this point is only partaking in drills, the Fort Wayne Sun-Sentinel reported. There's still hope Hatch will return to the court this year, and he still plans to attend Michigan after two more years at Canterbury. New Class Of 2014 Targets Continue To Emerge Michigan's basketball recruiting efforts couldn't have gone much better in recent years, as evidenced by a talented 2013 class that ranks No. 7 nationally. The Wolverines recently missed on 2014 targets Keita BatesDiop of Normal, Ill., and Jae'sean Tate of Pickerington, Ohio, who both committed to Ohio State, but they've made progress with another in Long Beach (Calif.) Poly's Kameron Chatman. Rivals.com's No. 38 junior prospect nationally, the 6-7 Chatman started conversing with Michigan coaches this fall. The high ceiling guard/forward, who is originally from Portland, Ore., has since strengthened his bond with the U-M staff, Poly head coach Sharrief Metoyer said recently. "They were out in the fall, and I know his father had some good conversations with Coach Beilein," said Metoyer, who is also Chatman's godfather. "There's mutual interest there, and I know Michigan is high on his list. With the season they're having, that's obviously helping. He likes the way they get the guards involved in the offense and the way they share the ball. It's a joy for him to watch." North Carolina is Chatman's dream school, but the Tar Heels have yet to show the same interest as others on his list. The Pac-12 schools, North Carolina State, Memphis, Connecticut and several others have joined the Wolverines as schools turning up the heat, even though Chatman has yet to play this year. He's appealed a decision that made him ineligible to play as a transfer at Poly this year, but hopes to play after the New Year. For now, Metoyer said, he'll have to be content to practice and travel with the team. January 2013 the wolverine 55