Signing day is a month away and judging by John Beilein’s recent travels, it’s clear that Michigan realizes the importance of finishing strong on the recruiting trail. After the Friday night loss, Beilein headed straight for Mount Pleasant, where he watched standout Trey Zeigler take on 2012 prospect Matt Costello. Beilein also managed to check out Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell in Indianapolis and Markus Crider in Dayton over the weekend.
Here are some important dates to remember over the next couple months. NBA early entry deadline: April 27th. NBA early entry withdrawal deadline: May 8th. NCAA signing day: April 14th.
Note: This is not intended to be a complete list of all players Michigan is recruiting. Only players with published stats are listed.
2010
Evan Smotrycz, Tim Hardaway Jr. – Both Michigan commitments have finished their high school season.
Trey Zeigler – (6-foot-5, Wing)
Mount Pleasant won their district title for the 5th yea r in a row behind 28 points from Zeigler. Mt. Pleasant is now 20-3 and will face Flint Northwestern top open regional play at Bay City Central. Zeigler also had 18 points in a 46-32 win over Midland in the first round of district play.
Zeigler is planning a signing day decision and is still expected to take his remaining two official visits after his high school season concludes. ESPN posted a breakdown of Zeigler’s finalists that’s relatively bland but still could be worth a look. Michigan is in good position heading down the stretch run but as we all know, anything can happen in recruiting.
Mount Pleasant will play Flint Northwestern tonight at 8PM at Bay City Central High School in regional semi-final action.
Jon Horford (6-foot-9, Center)
It’s been a busy week for the Grand Ledge big man. First off, Horford landed a Michigan scholarship offer that will be made official once he visits campus. Horford is expected to accept the offer and become a Michigan Wolverine.
Horford’s prep career came to a bit of a disappointing finish. Grand Ledge knocked off Mason in the district semifinals, 50-44. Horford was in foul trouble for most of the game and finished with 11 points, 14 rebounds, and seven blocks.
But Grand Ledge’s season came to an end in the district final with a 49-38 loss to Holt. Horford had 12 points and 8 rebounds. Rivals has video ($).
2011
Carlton Brundidge (6-foot-2, Guard) – Commit
Carlton Brundidge led Southfield to their first district title since 1984. Brundidge had a monster performance in Southfield’s district semifinal win over Detroit Henry Ford. Brundidge had foul trouble early but finished with a game high 28 points, notching 22 in the second half. Brundidge took over the game down the stretch and also hit three late free throws to ice the game.
Southfield had an easier time in the district final as they rolled over Ferndale, 97-64. Brundidge had 21 points in the blowout win and started Southfields 22-2 run in the second half with a pair of old fashioned three point plays. Rivals has video ($).
Southfield will play Pontiac tonight at Lake Orion (5PM) in the regional semi-final.
Markus Crider (6-foot-6, Wing)
The Wayne high school wing forward landed a Michigan offer two weeks ago and he reminded John Beilein why with a huge performance in a 46-40 loss to St. Xavier. Wayne was playing without two players who were ruled ineligible by the OHSAA but that didn’t stop Crider from putting together a big game. Crider had 15 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, and two blocks including a monster alleyoop dunk.
Crider doesn’t plan to make a decision until after this summer but it’s clear that he needs to be near the top of the watch list this summer as he is a Michigan priority.
Rod Days (6-foot-6, Wingman)
Days is a wing forward from Florida that has also been garnering some Michigan attention. Sam Webb recently interviewed him at GoBlueWolverine ($) and confirmed that Michigan is recruiting him. ESPN has some scouting information. Days is rated a 3 star prospect on Rivals and ranked 115th in the class of 2011. He’s rated a 4 star on Scout and ranked #58 in the class.
Days plays on the same team as 2010 Indiana commitment Will Sheehey and 5 star Syracuse commitment Fab De Melo. Their loaded Sagemont team lost in the Florida class 2A state semifinals and Days was held to only 7 points.
Days is definitely one to watch during the coming months.
Eric Katenda (6-foot-9, PF/SF)
GoBlueWolverine also caught up with Eric Katenda ($). I linked to a New England Recruiting report article a couple weeks ago that mentioned Michigan was recruiting Katenda.
Katenda moved to the United States from France two years ago and is a very intriguing prospect at his size. Katenda has put up some monster performances including 37 points against Suffield Academy, 34 against St. Andrew’s, 21 vs. Salisbury, and most recently 33 against Choate. Notre Dame was the first high major school to offer Katenda at the end of February.
Katenda was also named to the All Western New England first team. Assuming Katenda keeps up his strong play he should continue to garner lots of high major interest.
Amir Williams (6-foot-10, Center)
Country Day rolled through their district with ease. Amir had 15 points in a 79-26 win over Madison Heights Lamphere. In a 76-64 district semi-final win over Madison, Williams had 20 points, 15 rebounds, and six blocks. Williams added 17 points and nine rebounds in the district final, a 83-45 win over Bloomfield Hills Lahser.
Country Day will face Pontiac Notre Dame tonight at Imlay City (7:30 PM) in the regional semi-finals.
Cody Zeller (6-foot-10, PF/C)
Cody Zeller had a monster 29 point, 13 rebound performance in a 52-45 regional semi final win over Corydon. He followed that up with 21 points and 9 rebounds in a 55-47 win over Boonville to win a regional championship. Washington faces Danville on March 20th in the Class 3A Indiana semifinals.
Spencer Turner (6-foot-3, Guard)
The Herald Times put together a profile video of the sharp shooting junior. Bloomington South had their 49 game win streak (one short of the state record) snapped by Jeffersonville, 58-56. South had beaten Jeffersonville by 31 earlier this year. Recap and video of the defeat can be found here.
2012
Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell (5-foot-10, Point guard)
Ferrell has been putting up monster numbers this year and it appears that plenty of schools are taking notice. Most recently, Indiana joined the fray and offered the sophomore a scholarship. Ferrell’s four offers right now are Indiana, Illinois, Butler, and Purdue.
Ferrell and his Park Tudor squad have also been taking care of business in the Indiana state playoffs. Ferrell had 19 points in a 44-30 win in the regional semi-finals over South Ripley. Ferrell followed that up with 16 points in a 50-41 win over Winchester in the Class 2A regional final. The win put Park Tudor in the Indiana semi-states where they will face Forest Park on March 20th.
Javontae Hawkins (6-foot-5, Wing)
Flint Powers won their district over with a 60-52 win over Flint Southwestern. Hawkins had 7 points and they all came in the second half.
Powers will face Piconning in the regional semifinals at North Branch tonight at 8pm.
Matt Costello (6-foot-8, Power Forward)
The Bay City Western big man is getting high major interest from Michigan, Michigan State, and Ohio State among many other schools. He had 17 points, 10 rebounds, and five blocks in Western’s loss to Mt. Pleasant while John Beilein was in attendance.
