Michigan Basketball: What if Jalen Duren reclassifying becomes reality?

Michigan basketball was once seen as the top college destination for Jalen Duren but will that change if he reclassifies to 2021?

Jalen Duren is currently listed as the No. 2 overall player in the 2022 recruiting class, but there appears to be a chance of him reclassifying, which means he would be able to play next season as part of the 2021 recruiting class.

This was first reported by Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.com. He said that Duren was expected to reclassify and enroll for the upcoming 2021-22 season.

Here’s what Zagoria wrote:

"“Jalen Duren is expected to reclassify and enroll in college for the 2021-22 season, sources said. Duren lists Villanova, Michigan, Miami, Auburn, Alabama, Kentucky, UCLA, Penn State and Memphis as his top nine schools. He is also considering the NBA G-League and Australian NBL. One source said the NBA G League Select team is offering him more than $1 million to play there next season alongside Jaden Hardy and Mike Foster."

Yet, while Zagoria wrote that Duren is expected to make this decision, Travis Branham of 247 sports reported something that conflicted with that, saying that no decision was yet made.

"“While reclassifying is in consideration, it has not yet been decided if he will go the 2021 route and a definitive decision is not expected to be made in the near future.”"

What this all means for Michigan basketball

Duren is a 6-foot-10, 230-pound center that’s the best at his position in the 2022 class. As a big man, Juwan Howard and Michigan basketball would have some obvious appeal.

However, there are some questions.

It was said that if Duren went the college route, Michigan would be among the favorites. Yet, that was with the 2022 class in mind, not 2021.

The Wolverines don’t have any room right now in terms of scholarships unless Hunter Dickinson or Davonte Jones stays in the NBA draft instead of returning to college.

It’s always possible that Jace Howard could return to walk-on status for a year or the Wolverines could try to push out another player such as Adrien Nunez, however, you can’t force someone out.

But if Duren decided that he wanted to play for Michigan, it would be hard not to make that happen. At the same time, Juwan has built a tremendous culture at Michigan and one player isn’t worth adding if he would jeopardize that.

It’s just something to consider because right now, it’s not clear how the Wolverines would add Duren, even though they are among his favorites in college.