Michigan Basketball: Breaking down new rankings, plus a new visitor

Michigan basketball hosted another 2022 recruit this week, plus a new rankings update and a possible new target for the Wolverines. 

There has been a lot of debate about Dug McDaniel, Michigan basketball’s point guard commitment in the 2022 class.

Some people would have probably preferred Seth Trimble. But the world of recruiting isn’t always that simple and Michigan basketball still got one of the best point guards in the 2022 class in McDaniel who also received a slight bump in the 247 composite rankings.

On the strength of being ranked 50th overall by ESPN in 2022, McDaniel moved up to 63rd in the composite rankings, despite dropping to 76th in the 247 sports rankings. He was previously 52nd according to 247 sports.

But, when you look at Rivals (75th), 247 sports, and ESPN, McDaniel is a consensus top-76 prospect according to all three and that’s a good sign. Plus, he’s an electrifying playmaker as evidenced by some of these highlights put together by UMHoops, along with a breakdown of his recent play.

In terms of some other top targets of Michigan’s in 2022, one of the biggest movers was Dereck Lively, a five-star center who jumped to third overall according to 247 sports. He’s ranked seventh in the composite rankings and with Donovan Clingan getting a crystal ball projection to UConn, he’s another attractive option at center, although Kentucky is viewed as the favorite.

Another 2022 recruit that moved way up the recent rankings update was Cam Whitmore, a 6-foot-7 forward out of Maryland. He was ranked 111th in the 247 composite rankings and now is all the way up to 57th, which is in part because 247 sports moved him up to 30th overall in its own set of 2022 rankings.

From the DMV, where Michigan basketball has had a ton of success under Juwan Howard with McDaniel, Hunter Dickinson, and Terrance Williams, the Wolverines should have a chance here and have been in contact more and more according to Endless Motor Sports.

Whitmore was offered by North Carolina and Alabama in June. It looks like a U-M offer could follow but at the very least, he’s a name to keep in mind.

A new visitor

Another big man to keep an eye on for Michigan basketball in 2022 is four-star center, Tarris Reed. The 6-foot-10 prospect out of Branson, Missouri, took an official visit to Ann Arbor this week.

Michigan State is in the mix and he visited the Spartans in June. Ohio State is another viable contender here. Michigan basketball has done a really good job with visits and I expect Juwan and company knocked it out of the park with Reed.

I’d expect the Wolverines to be right in the mix here, especially if they miss on Clingan and Lively, which right now, appears more likely than not.