Michigan basketball landed its first commitment of the 2021 class in Isaiah Barnes and here are three takeaways.
For Michigan basketball and four-star wing Isaiah Barnes, things moved quickly. The Wolverines offered him a little over a month ago, but soon after crystal ball picks started trending for U-M, Barnes announced on Twitter that he was committed, 110 percent.
It’s the first commitment of the 2021 recruiting class and a nice win for Juwan Howard and Michigan basketball. Barnes is a consensus four-star prospect and ranks 106th according to the 247 sports composite rankings, as well as 86th in the 247 sports specific rankings. Rivals has him as a four star too.
For a scouting report on Barnes, here’s Dylan Burkhardt of UMHoops ($):
"Barnes is a long and athletic wing who projects to be able to play multiple perimeter positions — primarily the three and two — at the next level. He’s known for having a streaky jump shot, and his consistency is critiqued fairly regularly, but his ability to rise and shoot over smaller defenders makes him a valuable offensive weapon. At the college level, he projects as a wing who can serve in a three-and-D role and slide into a secondary creator role. He isn’t afraid to get downhill and attack the rim off of a couple of strong dribbles, or in transition, but his offensive game is predicated on his pull-up jump shot."
For more of an in-depth breakdown of Barnes’s game, we have much more here. But, also, let’s take a look at what this commitment means in the bigger picture with key takeaways.
How Barnes will fit in
Interestingly enough, when I watch Barnes shoot the basketball, he reminds me a lot of Isaiah Livers, who led Michigan basketball in 3-point percentage last season. Barnes is a streaky shooter but he shows the ability over and over again to spot up and release the ball quickly, even when his shot is contested.
While he reminded me of Livers, his willingness to shoot, even with guys in his face, reminded me of another Wolverine — Jordan Poole. Obviously, it might seem weird to compare a guy to both Livers and Poole, but I see a little of their games in Barnes, a 6-foot-7 wing who could play the two or the three down the road.
Barnes needs to do a better job of creating more scoring opportunities going to the bucket. You also don’t see him doing much in the ball-screen game. Poole didn’t really either. He was more of a catch-and-shoot guy. Like Poole, Barnes likes pull-up jumpers too.
Barnes is obviously longer than Poole and I’d expect him to be a better defender. He’s also a guy with tons of upside and he didn’t get the chance to showcase himself this summer on the shoe circuit, so it wouldn’t be surprising if he rose in the rankings again, after going from unrated to a four star.
Like Poole and Livers, who will also end up in the NBA, Barnes is a guy that should play a few years in Ann Arbor, with pro potential down the road if he gets more consistent with his shot and finds a way to create more of his own offense against elite competition.
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.
What does Barnes commitment mean for rest of 2021 class?
There are a few things to like about Barnes as the first addition to the 2021 class and one thing is that he will fit well alongside just about any other player Michigan basketball wants to add.
Barnes can play the two or the three, he can shoot the ball, he handles fairly well and if he can improve as shot creation, the Wolverines could really have something. And since Michigan could have as many as seven scholarships available in 2021, it stands to reason U-M would want a couple of wings who can shoot, as well as a point guard and combo guard, each.
If Chaundee Brown is eligible to play this season and Franz Wagner breaks out as many expect him too, those two would join Livers, Austin Davis, Eli Brooks and Smith as players leaving the program. Since Michigan has one open scholarship already that would leave seven total openings.
The backcourt would also be thin on depth and experience. Zeb Jackson and Adrien Nunez would be the only guards with previous playing time. Williams, Brandon Johns, Hunter Dickinson and Jace Howard would be the other returning players, but none of them handle the ball.
Williams is a solid 3-point shooter; Johns too. But adding wings and guards has to be a huge priority in this class, with likely multiple at each spot. Barnes is just the beginning, but his commitment is a very good place to start.