Michigan Basketball: 3 Takeaways from 4-star Isaiah Barnes commitment

Will this lead to a Chicago pipeline?

Since Howard was hired to be Michigan basketball’s head coach, there has been talk of him establishing a recruiting pipeline from Chicago and the state of Illinois since he grew up there and has deep ties to that region.

During the 2020 recruiting cycle, that didn’t really work out. Howard and the Wolverines pushed hard for some Chicago-area kids, namely, Nimari Burnett, a four-star combo guard, who had a good rapport with Howard, but went to Texas Tech.

However, things have started to shift. In the transfer market, Michigan was able to get two players with ties to Chicago, at least for a little while. Mike Smith, who came from Columbia has ties to Chicago as did Nojel Eastern, who committed but wasn’t accepted due to grades.

Barnes is the first high school recruit to commit to Howard from the Chicago area, but that will be something to watch as U-M will likely keep trying to establish itself there, although the only other 2021 recruit Michigan has offered from Illinois in 2021 is Max Christie, who seems destined for Duke or Michigan State.