Michigan Basketball: 3 NBA Draft takeaways for the Wolverines
Michigan gets more evidence that its elite
Certainly, I wish Jordan Poole and Iggy were still playing for Michigan basketball next season, but hey that’s how it goes. Yet, it was still great to see them get picked as high as they did and in the long run, it’s a good thing for Michigan.
It maybe doesn’t matter as much to have Poole and Iggy follow in the footsteps of other great players under Beilein. In fact, since 2013, only two programs, Duke and Kentucky, have sent more draft picks to the NBA. Michigan, thanks to Iggy and Poole is tied for third with UCLA.
Schools that have produced the most first-round #NBADraft picks since 2013:
— Zach Shaw (@_ZachShaw) June 21, 2019
1. Kentucky — 18
2. Duke — 16
3. Michigan, UCLA — 8
5. UNC — 7
6. Arizona — 6
7. Michigan State, Gonzaga, Kansas, Syracuse — 5
Juwan Howard is going to have to prove that he can recruit and develop talent like Beilein, who took a number of lowly-rated recruits and turned them into NBA first-rounders. Can Howard do that? Who knows, although, with all the Wolverines success, landing five-stars should be easier.
This marks four years in a row that a Michigan player has heard his name in the first round. That shows that UM is a legit path to the NBA. The resources, the exposure, everything that goes along with Michigan hoops can help.
Obviously, Howard has some work to do to keep that image. But with his NBA background and the current reputation of the Wolverines, recruiting should go well. And if he can keep that NBA pipeline going, big things could be in store down the road.