Michigan Basketball: Rankings improve for slew of 2021 signees
ESPN and 247 sports released updated rankings for the 2021 recruiting class and several Michigan basketball signees took leaps. Here’s where they rank.
The focus for Michigan basketball recruiting has already shifted to the 2022 class. With the recruiting dead period ending this June, recruits can actually take visits and things should start picking up in terms of 2022 commitments.
But with the spring signing period also still ongoing and just opening up on April 15th as we saw with 2021’s top overall recruit committing to Gonzaga on Monday, both ESPN and 247 sports released updated recruiting rankings this week for the 2021 class.
It’s well-known that Michigan basketball signed the No. 1 recruiting class after the early period but after the rankings updates and the Zags adding Chet, Michigan is still ranked No. 1.
Ultimately though, the rankings of each recruit are probably more important than the overall team ranking, which really doesn’t matter much in the end.
However, Michigan basketball fans can be very excited about the fact that the Wolverines signed four of the top 38 recruits in ESPN’s updated 2021 rankings.
Four future Wolverines inside the top-38:
— Maize n Brew (@MaizenBrew) April 21, 2021
6. Caleb Houstan
11. Moussa Diabate
36. Frankie Collins
38. Kobe Bufkin https://t.co/99UZVMKZZK
Caleb Houstan checked in at No. 6 overall, while fellow five-star prospect Moussa Diabate is No. 11 overall. Yet, the rankings for Kobe Bufkin (No. 36) and Frankie Collins (No. 38) might be even more exciting as they continue to rise.
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Bufkin did earn McDonald’s All-American honors along with Houstan and Diabate, but maybe Collins should have too. All four of those guys are expected to play at least some role next season for Michigan basketball and hopefully, a few of them will stay for multiple years.
The rankings update also changed some things in the 247 sports composite rankings for 2021 where Houstan is also ranked sixth overall and according to the article is the highest-rated commit in the Big Ten since Romeo Langford in 2018.
Since 2010, Houstan is the fifth highest-rated recruit to sign with a Big Ten basketball program. Diabate dropped slightly but is still ranked 18th overall in the 247 composite. He’s the third-best prospect in the Big Ten behind Houstan and Michigan State’s Max Christie for this class.
Bufkin also got a slight bump in his ranking up to 41 overall in the composite, while Frankie Collins (No. 51), Isaiah Barnes (No. 108), and Will Tschetter (No. 145) didn’t change.