Michigan basketball: More great news is on the horizon

More good news is going to be on the way for Michigan basketball fans with the likely commitment of a four-star big man this week. 

Over the past few days, Michigan basketball fans have received great news upon great news seemingly every day. It started with the NBA Draft, last Thursday, with Franz Wagner being selected 8th overall by the Orlando Magic.

It continued when Isaiah Livers, a very talented, but injury-prone wing, was selected 42nd overall by the hometown Detroit Pistons, a team he feels he can leave a positive impact on almost right away.

The good news just kept flowing out as, after the draft concluded, Chaundee Brown and Mike Smith were both able to latch on to NBA teams, the Lakers and Bucks, as undrafted players.
A few days after all of that occurred, Duncan Robinson signed the biggest contract by an undrafted player in NBA history, inking a 4-year, $90 million deal to stay with the Miami Heat. Not to be forgotten, Tim Hardaway Jr. also inked another huge contract, at 4-years, $74 million to remain with the Dallas Mavericks.

So, if you add up all of the madness that has happened over the last few days, and Michigan fans and former Michigan basketball alumni are really doing well right now.

More good news for Michigan basketball

As if all of that wasn’t enough, another piece of great news could potentially be coming to Michigan tomorrow, as 4-star big man Tarris Reed is expected to commit on Thursday, August 5th, his birthday.

If I had to give a percentage on Juwan Howard’s chances of acquiring him, I’d say it’s at 75-80%. Yes, there’s still a little bit of uncertainty, but unless the recruit up and comes out and says a certain school is his favorite verbally, it’s to be expected that nothing is ever given.

It’s a four-horse race right now, with Purdue, Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State all in it. Ohio State is probably out of it now that they got their presumptive big man.

Michigan State hasn’t really shown me enough in their 2022 recruiting efforts thus far to warrant that much concern, as I believe they don’t even have any 2022 commits yet, so I believe the race is down to Purdue and Michigan, with Michigan leading in my opinion, obviously.

Reed is 6-foot-10 who is surprisingly nimble and graceful with his body. He is a dunk machine (a definite lob threat), and will probably put several opposing players on posters in the near future in college.

Additionally, Reed has a variety of post moves and is able to shoot from the post over both shoulders effectively. He has decent ball-handling skills for a big, a lot better than Hunter Dickinson, and he can create his own shot, even being able to extend to the three-point line and make some threes occasionally.

Reed is a much better rim protector than Hunter Dickinson, getting tons of blocks, and he looks like he will be able to stay with faster guards at a higher level than Dickinson at the college level. Ant Wright does a great job of breaking down his strengths and weaknesses right here. 

You never know what can happen in the world of recruiting, because to be honest, recruiting is weird and doesn’t always go as planned, even when a commitment to a certain school looks like the obvious choice.

Overall, though, because Michigan basketball missed on Donovan Clingan, Juwan Howard had to find someone else quick, and, until he proves me wrong, I trust Juwan Howard and know he’ll come right back and hit a home run with another recruit.

Michigan basketball fans have to feel awesome right now with how things have played out with news lately, especially because the football team seems to be underwhelming with recruiting right now. There has to be something to look forward to, and it’s becoming the basketball team more and more lately.