Michigan Basketball trending in wrong direction with key 2023 targets

Isaiah Collier and Papa Kante have been top-tier targets for Michigan basketball in the 2023 recruiting class but things are trending in the wrong direction. 

It’s hard to believe but it’s officially Michigan basketball season. The Wolverines held their first practice earlier this week and in terms of the 2023 recruiting class, the timing is important.

The early signing period opens up in November and that’s when basketball recruits are allowed to sign. As of now, Michigan basketball wouldn’t have any signees as it has zero commitments.

Papa Kante was looking like a good bet to commit over the summer. The Wolverines were the leader after his official visit but Memphis, Pitt, and Rutgers are all squarely in the mix. He said he wants to visit all of his finalists again and Michigan basketball is one of them, but it feels like it’s trending in the wrong direction with Kante.

That’s evidenced by the recent offer to 6-foot-10 forward Baye Ndongo. He’s a lower-rated prospect right now but has tons of potential and is ranked 185th overall in the 247 sports composite rankings.

Ndongo is expected to take an official visit to Michigan and that could lead to a commitment but he’s not necessarily the big guy the staff wanted. Kante could still be a take too, but the Wolverines would need to find a way to regain the momentum they lost.

The latest on five-star PG Isiah Collier

One of the other top targets has been five-star point guard Isaiah Collier. He is THE top target for the Wolverines but USC is starting to trend as the favorite. When On3 recruiting expert Jamie Shaw ranked the contenders recently, the Wolverines were second, which is promising.

A decision is coming soon according to what Collier recently told On3, and it just feels like he wants to be out West. It’s not over until it’s over in recruiting, especially when Juwan Howard is involved and that’s something you can say about Kante too, but I’m not optimistic about either.

The way things are going with Collier is also probably why the Wolverines are being more assertive in the recruitment of George Washington III. He included Michigan basketball in his top five and now, he’s set to take an official visit.

He’s ranked 76th overall according to the 247 sports composite rankings. He’s also got the ability to play both guard spots, which might not be a bad thing. Christian Anderson looks like a stellar point guard in the 2024 class and Dug McDaniel looks like a multi-year guy.

Point guard depth is still going to be a need but Washington could help meet that need if he’s able to be a true combo guard. At any rate, things are trending down with Collier and Kante, while also trending up with Washington III and Ndongo.

We’ll see if it’s all related. Right now it seems to be.