Michigan Basketball: Last week in review, Wolverine hoops edition Vol. 2

In the second week’s edition of last week in review for Michigan baskeball: A commitment, some conversations, and a couple of lists trimmed.

At the beginning of the week, I’m going to cover the past seven days of Michigan basketball news. I know how much time it takes to keep up with high school kids interested in the program, offers, predictions, and what’s happening inside Crisler.

So instead of refreshing Twitter every minute, take a break and check out GBMWolverine as soon as you kick off your workweek.

Here’s the latest.

Frankie Collins commits to Michigan and boy was this the most important thing to happen for the 2021 class. Frankie will join Zeb Jackson and Brandon Wade at the position next year and now there is a lot less worry about depth at the point.

Most of the recruitment here took place behind the scenes. There’s what is told publicly and then there’s what happened.

In the background, Juwan Howard was working with his friend Monty Buckley, Frankie’s uncle, trying to get close to Collins.

Juwan knew Frankie is a borderline five-star and top-notch point man and he had to have him. Even without a visit, Frankie committed and he attributes his decision to the family atmosphere in Crisler.

“I just really felt more of a family atmosphere at Michigan,” Frankie wrote in a blog post about the commitment, “and I felt like it was the best place for me to grow as a person and as a basketball player.”

In that same post, Collins stated he was going to be recruiting others to the Wolverines, one of those being Chet Holmgren, a spectacular center that’s ranked No. 1 for the 2021 class. The other being a special player that will be covered later on.

What’s really cool is just before Frankie picked U-M over the many other suitors, I was able to speak with Frankie’s coach and I got phenomenal responses from one of the top high school coaches in America, Jeff Kaufman.

Q: Point guard Frankie Collins left Nevada for Arizona and is back again, this time on your roster. What do you expect from him during his first year under your tutelage?

A: “I have had the pleasure of knowing Frankie for several years.  Frankie plays a power-point guard position and is way above the rim.  He always wants to be on the court and just by watching him play, you can see the joy he gets from the game.   My biggest expectation for Frankie is that he become the best leader he can be.  I want to see him motivate his teammates and be a role model, especially for the younger guys.  In terms of performance, I would expect nothing less than for Frankie to average a double-double in scoring and assists this year, and I would certainly not be surprised with quite a few triple-double games.”

Q: I know he wasn’t on your team last season, but surely, you’ve seen plenty of Frankie’s tape. What are the biggest strengths and weaknesses of his game?

A: “I have watched Frankie play for years.  His biggest strength is his heart!  Frankie is fearless, regardless of whether he is trying to dunk in traffic or defend the other team’s best player.  Frankie has so many weapons that it is hard to categorize him.   Frankie plays 100% every minute of every game and practice.  Of course, he is a great passer and shooter and does all of the little things right, but as a coach, watching his intensity is very satisfying.

“What I intend to try and guide Frankie with this year is to get him to trust his teammates.  Frankie puts the weight of the world on his shoulders and willing to burden all of the responsibility.  There are times in a game as well as in life that you have to count on others to come thru for you, and as Frankie matures, he will understand this, only furthering his talent as a guard.”

Adam Zagoria reports Michigan is out there zoomin’ with Charles Bediako, the ultra-talented five-star Canadian who plays for IMG Academy in Florida.

With the point guard position now shored up, Michigan can concentrate on their next position of need: center.

From all accounts, the Wolverines have two names on their 2021 prospect board for the class. Bediako is one and his teammate Efton Reid is the other. Those who follow recruiting closely would probably say Reid is the main target, but this shows that Michigan hasn’t picked a favorite.