Michigan Basketball: Wolverines need a shooter like Lester Quinones

Four-star guard Lester Quinones has scheduled a visit with Michigan basketball later this month, giving the Wolverines a chance to add shooting for 2019-20.

Michigan basketball has already added one of the top wings from the 2019 recruiting class but after four-star guard Lester Quinones set up an official visit with the Wolverines later this month, they have a chance to land another.

Quinones is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard that ranks ninth at his position nationally according to the 247 sports composite rankings and 65th overall. Quinones is a top-50 player according to Rivals.com which was the first to report that one of the top unsigned prospects would visit Michigan basketball April 29.

When it comes to Michigan head coach John Beilein, visits are important and generally, he doesn’t have players in to visit unless things are serious. Quinones has 67 percent of his crystal balls projecting him to Memphis, yet LSU, Maryland and Indiana are also in the hunt.

Rivals is also reporting that Quinones will take a visit to Indiana April 12 but that Michigan basketball will get the final visit at the end of the month. He is expected to make a final decision sometime in May, which could coincide with NBA draft decisions at some schools.

While landing Quinones would be ideal because he is a talented shooter with a mid-range game, it’s hard to see how it would work because the Wolverines are already pushed up against the scholarship limit.

Charles Matthews is expected to leave and then the program will be at capacity unless someone like Austin Davis transfers. Unfortunately, Michigan probably won’t get that lucky. However, if Jordan Poole or Ignas Brazdeikis goes to the NBA draft, that would create an opening, either for a recruit like Quinones or Franz Wagner, who is considering the Wolverines or a graduate transfer.

It would be great if Michigan could find a way to add a player because the Wolverines desperately need more shooters and Quinones shot 39 percent last season on 7.7 attempts per game, while also averaging 17 points overall. He also shot 40 percent or better in three different mid-range spots on the floor. He shoots 48 percent from the top left of the key, 40 from the right and 58 percent from the right baseline. (Shooting numbers courtesy UMHoops.com ($)

Getting a shooter like that is exactly what Michigan basketball needs and adding Quinones to a class that already includes Jalen Wilson and Cole Bajema would only add to the trove of young talent that currently exists.

Beilein has earned a reputation for being one of the best coaches in the country. Michigan has been sending players to the NBA at a really high hate, especially guys like Quinones who aren’t the future lottery-pick type of players.

Ignas Brazdeikis came to Michigan as the 40th ranked player and now is getting hype as an NBA draft pick. A few years back, D.J. Wilson came to the Wolverines as the No. 123 player and he was a first-round pick. Moritz Wagner, Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway Jr., Caris LeVert and Nik Stauskas all share similar stories.

So if Quinones wants to win games and develop enough game to play in the NBA, he should commit to Michigan basketball, which needs his shooting ability just as badly, which is why he and the Wolverines would be a perfect fit.