Michigan Basketball: Where Wolverines stand with key 2020 targets

Michigan basketball hosted some key recruits for the second straight weekend and here’s a look at where things stand.

While much of the focus is on football, this past weekend was big for Michigan basketball too with key targets visiting such as Nimari Burnett, Hunter Dickinson and Lance Ware, as well as Jace Howard.

Of course, most people expect Juwan Howard and Michigan basketball to land his son Jace, who is listed as a three-star recruit. It took a minute, but the Michigan Insider finally placed a crystal ball for Michigan with Howard, so it seems like things are trending towards a commitment.

But with the others, it’s harder to tell. Zeb Jackson seems to have a solid relationship with Juwan so that feels solid. Burnett is another guy that has ties to Howard and his visit over the weekend seemed to go well ($) according to the Michigan Insider

It sounds like he developed a rapport with Zavier Simpson and also had a previous relationship with Ware and Dickinson. The five-star combo guard would be a perfect fit next to Jackson of all the five-star prospects, it seems like Michigan basketball has the best chance with him.

Ware is another guy that’s intriguing. He seems to be leaning towards Duke, but it’s possible his visit in Ann Arbor has Michigan more in the running. Dickinson is another big that seems to be fond of Howard and his ability to coach big guys.

Speaking of big guys, Walker Kessler might be the most important target in the frontcourt for Michigan and Sam Webb of the Michigan Insider ($) is reporting that Howard is going to visit Kessler after the five-star heads to Duke.

His visit went really well and according to Webb, he was impressed with how Howard spent time in practice working the post players while allowing Phil Martelli to generally run things.

If we read between the lines, it seems like Howard and the Wolverines feel like they have a legitimate shot at Kessler. We’ll see if they can sway him to choose UM over Duke but it makes sense as to why he would visit the day after Kessler meets with Coach K.

UM may be playing catch up with some of these guys, but it feels as though Howard is making progress with all these guys, as well as Jaden Springer.

Hopefully, Jace Howard isn’t the only one of the group to eventually commit to Michigan basketball and in the end, I’d be surprised if Howard didn’t land one of these bigs or Mark Williams, another prospect that the Wolverines have expressed interest in recently.

In terms of the process, Howard seems to be doing everything right. The recruits have had good things to say about him and the staff and Michigan typically sells itself.

Recruiting seems to be doing in a positive direction, but until Howard reels in another big commitment, it’s just hard to tell exactly how it’s being received.