Michigan Basketball: Breaking down Juwan Howard’s latest offers
Michigan basketball coach Juwan Howard offered a pair of 2022 recruits on Monday and here’s what to make of it for the Wolverines.
Much of the focus around Michigan basketball recruiting right now is focused on the 2020 class and whether high-profile recruits such as Joshua Christopher or Greg Brown are going to commit.
Christopher announced his top four Friday, which included Michigan basketball. He also said he would announce his decision soon and with the next signing period coming up in April, a decision shouldn’t be far away.
Right now, the Wolverines have 100 percent of the crystal ball projections from 247 sports for Christopher, which is usually a good sign of where things are trending. But with recruiting, you never know until the kid is signed. Isaiah Todd has been committed for months and he still doesn’t feel like a sure thing to play at Michigan next season.
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At any rate, there has been some talk about who Juwan Howard and the Wolverines will focus on in 2021 and it certainly seems like point guard will be an emphasis but the latest offers from the U-M head coach went out to 2022 prospects Jalen Duren and Justice Williams.
Duren is the kind of player Michigan basketball rarely targeted before Howard but now, it seems like just another offer even though Duren, a 6-foot-9 center out of Philadelphia is the No. 2 prospect in the 2022 class.
Duren also has offers from Penn State, Maryland, Auburn and Miami but he hasn’t taken any visits up to this point. That’s where an early offer could possibly be advantageous for Michigan basketball especially if guys like Christopher and Todd end up coming to Ann Arbor.
Not only that, the Wolverines are playing really well right now and guys like Franz Wagner, a freshman and Isaiah Livers, are looking like NBA-caliber prospects. Others such as Austin Davis, Brandon Johns, Eli Brooks and David DeJulius have taken strong steps forward under the direction of Howard and the Michigan staff.
Howard also offered Duren’s teammate, Williams, who is a top-30 guard in 2022. Like Duren, he’s a five-star prospect and already has a list of offers from Power-5 teams. He’s a 6-foot-3 shooting guard and another recruit that Howard will look to get a foothold with early.