2014 forward Sean Sellers refining game

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Sean Sellers is a target that Michigan has been watching for quite sometime, and the Bill Hensley Memorial Run n’ Slam gave him the opportunity to show how his game has grown since last summer. Sellers, a 6-foot-6 class of 2014 forward prospect from Greensburg, Indiana, plays for the Eric Gordon All-Stars and was going up against strong competition at Spiece Fieldhouse, including Tyler Wideman’s Meanstreets team.

Sellers is a long, athletic player with good vision and a legitimate jumpshot. He’s versatile, able to play anywhere from the one to the four. Sellers plays in the post mostly during the high school season, but AAU is when he gets to show off the perimeter skills he’ll need to take his game to the college level.

Sellers’ AAU coach Brian Keeton said Sean has been working hard to improve his guard skills.

“We’re trying to transition him to playing more on the perimeter, so his ballhandling and being comfortable with the ball is a big deal for Sean,” Keeton said. “He’s going to project out to be a three at the next level.”

While working on the offensive end to improve his ballhandling and court vision is important, if Sellers projects out to being a small forward, that means he will have to be able to guard other perimeter players. In order to do this, Sellers has been working on improving his on-ball defense, which Keeton said was lacking last summer.

“He was not a very good defender a year ago,” Keeton said. “This year he’s worked hard on being a better defender. On-ball defense is his big thing.”

It looked as though Sellers was still a work in progress regarding on-ball defense, but his help-side skills and overall defensive awareness were impressive. He was very active on the defensive side of the ball — he just needs to work on staying in front of opposing players.

While Sellers has the potential to be a very good college player once he puts on some weight and improves his perimeter game, he already possesses skills that have caught Michigan’s eye. Sellers is an excellent spot-up shooter, and his versatility spreads the floor and opens up opportunities for his teammates.

“The strengths of his game is that he really shoots the ball really well,” Keeton said. “He can play in the post, he can play inside-out, his footwork’s very good, very fundamental kid but surprisingly athletic.”

That athleticism isn’t the first thing you notice about Sellers’ game, but becomes obvious when you watch him rebound the ball and finish in transition. He has honed his leaping ability competing on his high school track team in the high jump.

Sellers is receiving interest from Michigan, Butler, Dayton, Indiana State and Evansville. He’s been in contact with the Wolverine staff regularly – speaking to them roughly once per month. The Indiana native plans to make every effort to attend Michigan and Butler’s camps this June and reiterated that he feels strongly about the Wolveirne program.

“I like it (the Michigan program),” Sellers said. “I think coach Beilein does a really good job with his players and the program has definitely picked up the last couple of years.”

Keeton said he has also had some good talks with almost everyone on Michigan’s coaching staff about Sellers. It appears Michigan’s interest in Sellers is high, and it’s reciprocal.

“I’ve talked to coach Meyer, I’ve talked to coach Lavall Jordan and I’ve actually talked to coach Beilein a few times, too,” Keeton said. “I’ve had a lot of good conversations with those guys. I really love that coaching staff.”

Sellers is clearly on the Michigan radar and Keeton thinks he would be a great fit in the Wolverine system.

“He fits in really well. A lot of people compare him to a [Zack] Novak, so he would fit into [Michigan’s] system that way. He can do those kinds of things,” he said. “He’s a bigger kid – 6-foot-6, almost 6-foot-7. That’s kind of the role they see for him – that would be my guess.”

The position that Sellers projects to at the next level remains to be determined.

“A lot of people think he’s a tweener, and we’re trying to transfer him to that three position,” Keeton said. “What I really think about Sean is whenever he gets to college – and we’re trying to get him in the weight room – if he hits college an puts on 15-20 pounds he could be a monster player. I think the sky’s the limit because he’s that athletic kind of kid. He’s just gotta continue to improve that, and I think things are gonna be good for Sean.”