Michigan Basketball: Previewing the starting 5 for Wolverines

Michigan basketball took a couple of massive blows over the past week, but with a stellar recruiting class and some experience returning, the Wolverines should be just fine.

There was the mystique about Juwan Howard once the fabulous five-star Isaiah Todd decided UM was the place for him, and when the crystal balls began flowing in for another talented youngster, Joshua Christopher. Michigan Basketball was no longer an experiment on how to develop no-stars into pro athletes; it turned into another one-and-done university.

That is until it wasn’t any longer.

Christopher, who’s 10th overall for the 2020 class, proved that no matter how many sources you have or ‘inside information,’ it truly is a guessing game with some prospects. Jaygup, as he’s commonly referred to, marches to the beat of his own drum.

After a whirlwind recruiting battle and several hours of misinformation, Christopher made his choice, and it wasn’t the one many predicted. He picked Arizona State, not Michigan.

There is some conjecture that recent developments weighed heavily in his decision. Before the virus spread like wildfire across the county and the world, the decision to pack up and move 2,244 miles away (the distance from Lakewood, California to Ann Arbor) didn’t seem so daunting. It’s a theory that only the Christopher family can prove or disprove.

Then the hammer fell.

Juwan’s first real recruit, the one that set in motion a series of commits, bumping the class from outside of the top ten to inside of the top five, decommitted and instead will turn pro.

“I want to be as prepared as possible when the times comes,” Todd told Sports Illustrated (it was later revealed he’s heading overseas). This was a no-brainer for me.”

The Wolverines class still remains with the top 20, sitting at 12 and first in the Big Ten. Some of those incoming freshmen are primed for significant playing time. Here’s how all the pieces could fit for the 2020-21 season.