Michigan Basketball: Analyzing offers to Lance Ware and Henry Coleman

Michigan basketball has offered three power forwards in recent days, including Lance Ware and Henry Coleman Tuesday. Here’s a look at what it means.

While Michigan basketball has been playing catch up with recruiting under new head coach Juwan Howard, the Wolverines are making progress and have been busy recently with a slew of new offers.

One of those was to four-star power forward Terrance Williams, the No. 82 prospect in the country according to 247 sports composite rankings. Then, Howard followed that up by offering two more power forwards Tuesday, possibly signaling new priorities at the position.

The first offer went to Lance Ware, as reported by Pat Lawless on Twitter. Ware is a 6-foot-9, 215-pound big man that is listed as the seventh-best power forward and the No. 2 player out of the state of New Jersey. He’s No. 41 overall in 2020.

Louisville, Providence, Georgetown and Georgia Tech are some of the top threats right now, which should put Michigan basketball in a solid position to land him. He has also visited Ann Arbor previously and attended the Wolverines Elite Camp last summer according to UMHoops ($).

Ware is an interesting prospect because he does most of his work close to the basket and in the paint. He’s not a stretch four and not a big that likes to pop out and shot the 3-pointer. Ware is much more traditional inside. Williams is sort of that way too, but he is also a solid perimeter shooter.

In terms of Coleman, the Wolverines would also be getting more of an inside presence. When you watch Coleman’s highlights, it feels like you are constantly seeing him attack the basket. That’s not a bad thing at all. At 6-foot-6, he’s extremely strong and athletic, which helps his cause.

The 39th-ranked prospect in the class looks like a Duke lean as the Blue Devils have both of his crystal ball projections right now but it’s possible Michigan is able to work its way into the mix.

While Coleman may not be a sharpshooter, he can jump out of the gym. He catches numerous lob passes in his highlight reels, which he then finishes for dunks. When he catches the ball on the perimeter, he attacks the closeout and puts his head down. He shows a strong ability to finish inside and looks like a very capable rebounder.

Occasionally, you will see him attempt a mid-range jumper to keep the defense honest, but neither Ware or Coleman should be confused for 3-point specialists. That’s just not their game.

And that’s a little different for Michigan basketball, which is used to guys like D.J. Wilson, Zak Irvin, Isaiah Livers, Ignas Brazdeikis and even Brandon Johns as their type of four. Moritz Wagner and Jon Teske are other examples of bigs that can shoot, especially Wagner, who even though he played mostly center, is the ideal shooting big man who excels in the pick and pop.

This doesn’t necessarily mean that Howard doesn’t value shooting. Many of his targets have been talented 3-point shooters and that’s an emphasis that every team in the country will continue to have.

However, with the 3-point line getting pushed back, the game should open up more, which could give more room for players like Coleman to work. Even traditional bigs could have more room to operate if the extended line can create more spacing. If guys can get easy buckets, that’s a good thing and maybe it’s something the Wolverines have lacked.

Mostly though, Howard is just trying to find good players. He certainly has been offering more five-star prospects and the idea that he would look for more traditional bigs isn’t that radical. Yet, with this being early in his first recruiting cycle, it’s way too early to proclaim any new trends.