Michigan Basketball: Wolverines still a contender for 4-star Jaden Akins

Michigan basketball remains a contender for the services of four-star Jaden Akins, an in-state PG from Farmington.

Michigan basketball is still a contender for one of the best players in the country. According to 247 sports internal and composite rankings, Jaden Akins is second-best in the state of Michigan, top 100 nationally, and, per Akins twitter post, the Wolverines made Jaden’s trimmed list of six universities.

The Wolverines are competing with Michigan State, DePaul, Northwestern, Florida, and Mississippi State.

Here’s a look at his highlights:

Here’s what Akins told Endless Motor Sports about Michigan and Juwan Howard:

"“Coach Howard is a good player’s coach. It’s a good system with pro-style sets, that’s interesting to me that he comes from the pros and brings that knowledge and experience.”"

My scouting: Solid defender when he’s engaged. Sometimes relaxes and watches, especially on the boards, but when he’s got one-on-one action, it’s tough to see anyone score on him, even at the next level.

Offensively, Jaden has NBA range. Can create his own shot, although he doesn’t bring high energy to the offense off the ball. Also a great distributor, but he occasionally telegraphs a pass; however, his passes are so quick and accurate that staring down his teammate won’t matter.

Jaden played on a talented Farmington team last season and this year, he joins a cast of characters that could compete on the college level.

Akins is transferring to Ypsi Prep Academy where he will team up with the nation’s best recruit from the 2022 class, Emoni Bates. There are also several others on the team that will eventually play at a power five. One of them that I’ve covered significantly is JaVaughn Hannah, who is easily one of the best scorers for the 2022 class. It’s criminal that he remains unranked.

Bates is a Michigan State commit and Jaden is trending in that same direction. Both Rivals and 247 sports are unanimous with their prediction, sending Akins to East Lansing.

The recruitment of all the Ypsi Prep basketball stars must become a priority for the Michigan basketball staff. If not, the newly formed college prep school could become a pipeline for MSU.

For AAU, Akins plays for The Family, based out of Metro Detroit.

Other recruiting news

Juwan’s son Jett Howard committing to Michigan no longer seems like a possibility, as it has moved into the realm of a foregone conclusion. Akins might be trending towards the Spartans, but Jett has a healthy stream of FutureCasts and crystal balls sending him to Ann Arbor.

Jett is a top-60 recruit in the 2022 class and he may rise even higher than that by the time his high school career is over. Possibly within the top 20 or 30. Jett is a tall shooting guard that already possesses the size required to compete in college and the skills to match.

If you listen to Ron Oliver, a former Wolverine, talk about Jett, you might start to think he’s the next Kevin Durant.

“Jett is one of the most talented individuals I’ve ever been around. Absolutely,” he said. “And now it seems like he’s gotten taller. You’re talking about a 6-7, 6-8 kid who can do it all offensively. Name it, he can do it.