Post-Camp Notes: Morris, Lubick, Douglass and More
Camp week has come and gone and Darius Morris did not commit. However Darius did enjoy himself and plans to stick to his end of summer decision date. Scout also has a diary feature with Darius (also here on GBOA?) that began today. I still feel good about this one but the danger is if August passes and Darius doesn’t make a decision, then we are looking at a Tory Jackson 2.0 situation (Short version: Tory told the coaches repeatedly he was coming and “planned to commit” several times but it never happened as he strung Michigan on for far too long). But at this point he has taken a visit to Ann Arbor and loved it and it’s time to just wait it out. With CJ Harris off the board it appears that Carl Jones is the plan-B target for a point guard in a class where it’s hard to fathom Michigan not signing a point guard.
The other star of camp week was clearly Nate Lubick, the big fella really impressed all week in Ann Arbor and at this point has to be the top 2010 target on the board. Rivals already has Lubick listed as the #6 PF and #30 overall player in the class of 2010 and I can only see that ranking going upward. The competition for Lubick will be fierce with tons of high majors after him but Lubick is very familiar with the Michigan program and has been to campus multiple times.
Stephen Bell wrote a good piece listing ten intriguing in-state prospects at Michigan camp. The most promising junior names for U-M fans to keep an eye on are: Alex Gauna (left camp early due to injury), Sultan Muhammad, Matt Kamieniecki, Michael Talley and Maurice Jones. LaDontae Henton is also a freak athlete in the class of 2011 who is already drawing a lot of attention. Michigan will only have 2 open scholarships in 2010 (if they use their two remaining 2009 scholarships) and I would assume they have to take at least one big guy.
There has been a lot of talk about the starting line up again now that people got a look at the freshman in 
action at team camp. Zack had become the flavor of the month recently with his gaudy numbers but after struggling a bit at team camp it appears Stu is the guy everyone is penciling in now. It has to be noted that Zack has been playing in tons of camps, all-star games and scrimmages over the past couple months as well as playing baseball and moving to Ann Arbor so it is safe to say that he is probably a little burned out.
Stu’s range has never been questioned but there were many people trying to knock him as the second coming of Reed Baker despite his shooting. First off, Stu is probably at least 3 inches taller than Reed but the thing that sets him apart is his passing ability and ability to use screens. I don’t think Stu can be a point guard but he can make the right passes at the right times from the two-guard. I can’t even begin to count the number of times Michigan missed open back door cuts that would have resulted in easy baskets. Stu being able to make (deep) open shots and stretch the defense and then hit open cutters is a valuable asset all by itself.
The issue with the starting lineup is where does Manny Harris play next year? If he plays the wing (which I think he will), then I think Stu starts at the two-guard to begin the year. If Manny plays the two like he did last year then you have the potential of Novak or Wright starting at the three. For depth reasons it makes more sense to have Manny backed up by Novak at the three with Wright backing up DeShawn in the thin front court. Where Laval Lucas-Perry plays when he is eligible is also going to be interesting because I could see him playing point guard or shooting guard.
Other notes.
- Sounds like Manny Harris is NOT going to Taiwan for the Jones Cup, just Laval Lucas-Perry.
- Ben Simmons didn’t show well at the camp despite lighting up the Grand Valley team camp earlier in the summer. It appears to me “the Perfect Beilein Recruit’s” chances of a U-M offer are slipping.
- One other piece of positive news on Darius Morris. Washington State received a commitment from point guard Xavier Thames. This should presumably knock them down (and off?) Darius’ list.
- Hollins a Wolverine
Forgot to add this earlier, nice grab for Borseth.
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C.J. Harris to Wake Forest
In other point guard news today, C.J. Harris verballed to Wake Forest. C.J. wasn’t at camp this week (as was previously planned) so this is not a huge surprise.
Monday Links
- 2009 NBA Draft Rankings
Manny Harris at #69. - UD’s Morgan on a mission to improve
Jordan Morgan piece from the Free Press. - Fingerle Lumber for sale
The Fingerle Lumber property has always been rumored as a place for athletics facilities expansion. - Another Great Team Camp Recap
Another message board poster, another camp review. - MGoBlog Has a New Look
Made the switch to Drupal. A new design is probably needed on UMHoops, hopefully by the end of the summer.
Darius Morris…
as expected is in Ann Arbor today. Playing on a team with Stu Douglass, Nate Lubick, and Corey Person.
Here are two message board posts from people who were at team camp. Make sure to click through because there is more information. W3 has more great info from camp on the Rivals FREE boards, here is what he had to say on Morris:
I love this kids game. Very strong with the ball. Great handles. He is a pass first type of PG with a scorer’s mentality - best of both worlds.
A slick physical player. Initiates contact consistently, whether on the dribble up court, trying to get open or on defense. Nothing malicious but sneaky, bothersome tactics to set a certain tone. I think I liked it so much because that’s how I play
At the very beginning of the second game vs Romulus, Darius and a G from their R almost got into it, because both players were doing the same thing to irritate one another.
Didn’t do too much outside damage today but he didn’t really have to. He could get by just about every defender on campus.
I got to talk to Darius himself, and also his Mother and Father. He thought I was Lubick’s younger brother (I don’t think I look like I’m 18 or a Lubick, but what the hey). Any how, he is an A+ kid. He was very kind to my son. Said he is EXHAUSTED from all of the camps and traveling but loves it at the same time. He went down hard (stayed down for awhile) in the first game only to come back and LOCK DOWN the teams best player when no one else could. He is a straight competitor. All three Morris’ said they can’t wait to see the campus tomorrow. A very friendly and warm family. BTW…this kid threw some ridiculous passes. One I haven’t seen before
maizeragin 05 on Stu Douglass:
Stu will bring high basketball IQ, solid shooting, and even better passing to the team next year. I would project that he gets some starts during the year. I could see him getting 6ppg and a few dimes. However I think that his contributions span to much more than shooting the ball well, and his game will not show in the box score, which is just fine with him as long as it means some wins. Stu went up against a lot of kids “with nothing to lose”, and I was impressed by his competitiveness each day, he seemed hungry to show people his style of play, and does not seem like a soft player by any means.
Camp Links
I didn’t make it to camp, and don’t think I am going to today either but here are a couple links. It seems like Nate Lubick was definitely one of the top players there and played very well. Stu also played well a year after he basically earned his spot at U-M at team camp. Mike Talley played well while guys like Herbeck and Simmons definitely struggled a bit. Read Wolverine3’s entire report here, but here are his notes on a just a few players:
Nate Lubick- Has great control of his body. Always knows where he is on the court and especially the post. Great footwork when he recieves the ball and knows what to do with it. Wide frame, but he kind of hunches over. Didnt even notice him until I saw the face. Thin down low, yet semi-explosive. Tons of talent…great outside shot…at the start they were just shooting around…kid hit 7-8 threes in a row. Played hurt a bit the second session.
Stu Douglass- SIIIIICK shot. Better handles then I thought. He looks (on this day) more ready, physically then Novak in my opinion. He will be a great asset THIS year. Already knows how to use EVERY screen he gets to his advantage. Almost like Rip when using the screens, but sometimes his teammates got in the way of the play not understanding, so he didn’t have every opportunity he could have…but he will this season. GREAT vision. Made tons of accurate passes on the run. At one point Talley Jr took him off the dribble 2-3 times in a row. Stu then went on to hit 6-8 threes. He gets very good elevation of his shot. Must improve footwork on D.
Jordan Morgan- Kind of the opposite of Lubick. Doesn’t have great hands. Decent footwork, but good at times. Has a hard time getting his shot off under the rim, but has an array of post up moves from the block. Impressive off the dribble from the 3point line a couple times. Very good passing skills. Knows where the open man is…he and Lubick seemed to have liked playing with each other. Set each other up multiple times. They coached Jordan up as much as they could, stopping every drill to show him the “right” way to do things…sometimes he got it, sometimes he didn’t. Has lots of potential though. Had a couple of MONSTER ducks that almost tipped the hoops over.
Rivals and Scout were there as well and here are a few of their articles:
- Photos from the Beilein Elite Camp ($)
- Beilein Elite Camp: Several standouts ($)
- Elite Camp Day 1 – Sam’s Blog ($)
- Elite Camp Day 2 – Dre’s Blog ($)
One other note, I got an email from the guys over at InsidePrepSports to add Sultan Muhammed (Grand Rapids CC) to the list of ‘10 recruits so he might be someone to keep an eye out for.
Recruiting, Camp, Draft Bullets & Links
- First off, Eric Gordon highlights of him shooting from just about mid-court in Crisler make me sick. That being said I think Eric will be a stud in the NBA despite his size.
- A side note on Eric Gordon: Eric says the “Big Ten is more of a grind out game” and helps his toughness. I guess this is one way of looking at what is often times a negative stereotype of the Big Ten.
- Joe Alexander off the board at #8. How much of an effect Beilein had on Alexander (who credits Beilein for his offensive knowledge and is a former 3 star recruit) is up for debate. However I do find this article interesting which talks about Alexander shooting drastically less three pointers this year and how much it improved his game. Alexander shot 40-131 (30.5%) his sophomore year compared to DeShawn’s 43-142 for a near identical 30.2%. Alexander shot only 41 threes last year and he is standing on stage in New York City. Shooting less three’s isn’t necesarily Beilein-esque but I would love to see DeShawn develop more of a post and mid-range game this year.
- Darius Morris is at the Nike Steve Nash Skills Camp this week and that means he probably won’t be in Ann Arbor until sometime this weekend because the Nash camp runs Wednesday to Friday with departures Saturday.
- Franklin becoming a prime target nationally ($)
Also listed at #8 in ESPN’s top 30 NBPA performers. - The Renn Duo has landed: Malik Hairston 48 and Joe Crawford 58.
- Updated Visitors Confirmed: Nate Lubick, Ben Simmons, and Jordan Morgan.
Manny Harris and Laval Lucas-Perry To Play in Jones Cup
It has been reported that both Manny Harris and Laval Lucas-Perry have been selected to play on the U.S. Jones Cup Team sponsored by Athletes in Action. The team will play in Tita, Taiwan from July 7th through 20th. Taiwain Hoops mentions that Manny Harris was not on the U.S roster that they received but he is on the roster that UMKC lists. Should be a great chance for both Manny and Laval to get some game action in (Laval hasn’t had any for a very long time) and also work on their game while getting a trip overseas. West Virginia’s Da’Sean Butler is another notable on the team, here is the full roster:
Dane Brumagin 1986.8.9 193/88 UMKC 17.1p+4.8rb
Da’Sean Butler 1988.1.25 201/102 West Virginia 12.9p+6.2rb
Jamel McLean 1988.4.18 205/107 Xavier (redshirt, Tulsa transfer)
Marcus Kitts 1989.1.31 206/95 William & Mary 2.4p
Laval Lucas-Perry 1989.3.15 186/88 Michigan 4p
Stephen McDowell 1985.7.19 185/82 Chattanooga 14.3p
Wellington Smith 197.5.1 201/97 West Virginia 5.2p+3.8rb
Brett Winkelman 1986.1.30 202/100 North Dakota State 19.2p+8.3rb
Benjamin Woodside 1985.7.1 186/84 North Dakota State 20.7p+5.1a
Manny Harris 1989.9.21 195/82 Michigan 16.1p+4.2rb
SIU Rounds out Coaches vs Cancer Field
The Southern reports that Southern Illinois has been invited to the Coaches vs Cancer tournament in New York City.
The Salukis will host two opponents, still be determined, and if they win both games, will advance to Madison Square Garden Nov. 20-21 for the semifinals and third-place or championship game. SIU will host the first two games between Nov. 10-14.
Lowery said SIU, UCLA, Michigan and Duke would host early-round games for the tournament. SIU would likely meet Duke in the semifinals if both are victorious, he said.
SIU facing Duke makes sense because Duke is already on Michigan’s schedule in December. As long as Michigan avoids upset in its first two games at Crisler it appears they will get a match-up with UCLA. It also appears 2K Sports really wants a Duke vs UCLA match-up in the final. Worst case scenario for Michigan would hopefully be 2-2, but that didn’t exactly work out for Kentucky last year so anything is possible.
Manny Atkins to Virginia Tech
Manny Atkins committed to Virginia Tech tonight, scratch him from the list of potential camp visitors.
Monday 6-23-08 Links
- Person Ready to Prove his Worth (Scout $)
Corey Person reports on Benzing, Michigan, and summer hoops. - The Wolverine posted a bunch of encouraging recruiting articles on Darius Morris, Nate Lubick, and C.J. Harris (all $ links).
- Farewell to the M-Zone
Sad to see a high quality Michigan blog say good bye. - Jordan Dumars commits to South Florida
Third DCD player to verbal to a D1 school this summer (Riley to Georgetown, Kirk to Miami, and Dumars to USF). - Progress at U of D
New U-D headman, Ray McCallum, starts to rebuild Titan program. Lacy reports that highly regarded 2010 guard recruit McCallum Jr. will attend DCD or U-D Jesuit. - Keeping faith: Former De Porres phenom still aims for NBA despite unfulfilled college career
Where does former McD AA tumultuous career go next? - Hoops: Instate junior anticipates elite camp (Rivals $)
Add Mr. Gauna to the list of expected attendees this week. - Price tag for Crisler renovations: $46.7 million
Add in the practice facility and that’s 67.2 million total. - Twelve more inches to get the extra point
SpartansWeblog looks at the extended three point line.
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