Michigan Basketball: 5 Incredibly talented targets for 2020 hoops

Hunter Dickinson

One of the kids that Juwan Howard is aggressively targeting is Hunter Dickinson, and he is feeling the love.

“I was interested in Michigan before the offer, before Juwan Howard was there with Coach Beilein,” Dickinson said at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam. “Now that they’ve hired Juwan Howard, I’d say my interest is if not the same, probably a little more. Because I feel like he’s like a 6-10 big man, he says he can get me to the league. He’s got the connections and the abilities to get me there. I feel like that’s a really good option for me.”

Hunter went on to say that his decision will come down to the relationship with the head coach and that coaches ability to produce NBA big men. Although Howard was never a head coach, he is the perfect head coach to produce NBA big men.

Dickinson is a 7-foot-2-inch giant from Hyattsville, MD where he plays for DeMatha Catholic and the AAU squad, Team Takeover. Hunter is ranked 2nd in-state, the 6th center, and 30th nationally. His composite rating is 9878 and he currently holds four-stars.

“Big body who can occupy space. Not an explosive athlete. Good basketball IQ and positional defender and rebounder. Effective in the high/low game,” 247Sports Jerry Meyer wrote. “Knows how to seal his man and can also deliver a pass from the high post. Has reliable jump hook with his dominant left hand. Can make a face-up midrange shot. Should end up being a second-round draft choice.”

Meyer compared Hunter to Denver Nuggets center Thomas Welsh but his game is exactly in line with Michigan’s starting center Jon Teske.