Early indications regarding the future of Michigan basketball recruiting see a familiar name in the crop of 2029 rankings. Former Michigan guard Jamal Crawford's son has been identified as the No. 1 overall player at the age of 15 by ESPN. Jamal's son is attending the same high school as his father did some three decades ago. Can Dusty May and Michigan lure the young Crawford to Ann Arbor for his college career? Time will tell.
Jamal was the assistant coach, turned head man on his high school alma mater's staff that won the state championship last season. He is currently being courted by Kentucky to join Mark Pope and company on the sidelines in Lexington. Perhaps May should do the same thing to help secure the services of his son.
Handicapping Michigan's chances in the JJ Crawford sweepstakes
JJ Crawford of Seattle is only a freshman in high school, but is already piquing the interest of many as the next hoops prodigy from a Pacific Northwest basketball factory. Crawford's high school teammate is Kansas commit Tyran Stokes, and the duo will be expected to win the state championship and presumably go undefeated in the process, later this winter.
As far as JJ is concerned, he does not hold a Michigan offer yet, but that will change. His father only played one season in Ann Arbor and knew he wanted to go to Michigan by the time he was a teenager. Jamal went eighth overall in the 2000 NBA Draft after scoring about 16 a game as a freshman. His son was topping off at 19 per last season. The USA basketball men's junior national team invited him to their camp, among with seven other standouts.
JJ Crawford takes the No. 1 spot in the debut of the SC Next 25 player rankings for the Class of 2029 👀🔥 pic.twitter.com/VmRwwew5Vb
— SportsCenter NEXT (@SCNext) May 27, 2026
Coach May has already offered one of 2027's highest-acclaimed recruits in Marcus Spears. Landing him, Brandon McCoy, Lincoln Cosby, and reigning over the college basketball landscape as the national champions, only helps his cause to catch the eye of the Crawfords.
When Jamal chose Michigan, the Wolverines were a decade away from the last championship and endured the controversial times of the Fab Five era. This time May has Michigan in a way better place to offer JJ an endless amount of NIL incentives and guaranteed lottery pick status when he's ready to depart his college destination. Building a strong relationship with the Crawfords is paramount to JJ choosing Michigan like his dad did at the turn of the century.
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