Michigan Basketball: Last week in review, Wolverine hoops edition Vol. 1

Predictions and committing and offers and…

Frankie Collins, a four-star point guard who transferred from Nevada to Arizona and is now back in Nevada playing with fellow Michigan target five-star Jaden Hardy, is predicted to pick Michigan when he commits. For the 2021 class, there is no more significant position of need outside of PG and center, and Frankie seems interested in filling one of those roles.

Speaking of Collins, Frankie announced via twitter that he will be committing on Wednesday.

Brandon Weston, a 6-foot-5 four-star from Morgan Park High School in Chicago, Illinois, included UM in his top six schools. Illinois, Pitt, Seton Hall, Wake Forest, and Western Illinois were the others to make the cut.

https://twitter.com/BWest233/status/1295390787002404864

Weston is ranked 63rd for the 2021 class and the 11th best wing.

Michigan already has two capable guys to play the wing from the same cycle, so this doesn’t make much sense unless Juwan feels like there are going to be several scholarships opening up by next year.

Hunter Sallis and Bryce Hopkins earned offers from Ann Arbor recently. Both are from the 2021 class, but that’s about all they have in common.

Hunter is a five-star point guard, and he is as good as his rating. The kid can score from anywhere on the court, and he’s got an extremely high motor. Very few will be able to defend him at the next level.

Hopkins, who’s ranked 33rd nationally, is very talented as well. The former Lousiville commit defected and opened up his recruitment. Michigan reached out to the four-star power forward and shortly thereafter sent over an offer.

Duncan Robinson, Duncan Robinson, Duncan Robinson. My of my have you grown into a tremendous athlete. Not only is Duncan dominating the NBA with unparalleled accuracy from deep, but he’s also an effective defender from inside the bubble.

Ben Cohen, a sports reporter for the Wall Street Journal, discovered an interesting statistic:

"The complete list of NBA players who shot at least 44% on 8+ 3s per game in a season: 1. Stephen Curry, 2015 (MVP) 2. Stephen Curry, 2016 (MVP) 3. Duncan Robinson, 2020"

At just 26-years-old, Robinson has quite a few years ahead of him to set some more records.

Coaches and others are optimistic about the season. The looming decision over whether or not to continue with the current basketball schedule has been overshadowed by the news surrounding college football.

Since the Big Ten and the PAC 12 have shifted to the spring, college football parents everywhere have spoken out against the lack of communication and frustrations with the decision that many have called premature. The overwhelming narrative is most of the kids want to play.

With this much outcry, there is hope that basketball might go on as planned, especially if the other conferences are able to pull off a truncated season.

That’s it for last week in review. If you think I missed something, email me at helmkampmc@gmail.com or DM me on Twitter @MattHelmkamp and I’ll include it next week. And follow me on Twitter for the most up-to-date Michigan basketball news and recruiting.