Every month, we host an ‘ask me anything’ discussion on our message board for our members. Subscribers can ask questions about Michigan basketball, Juwan Howard, recruiting, this website or anything else.
Any member can submit a question, all you have to do is log in to the message board and submit it. I’ll be answering questions throughout the day, starting around 10:00 a.m. You can submit your question now.
Limited Time Only!
Notable Replies
Discuss the Article
74 more replies
Maceo
One about recruitment: how does Michigan work the ‘international market’ or if they work it at all… We all know UM got Franz because of Mo, but international prospects rarely get talked about in Ann Arbor… And it doesnt look like will change anytime soon with Juwan…
Also, do you know about how Beilein got Moritz Wagner? Thanks
alt_121148t4g
How many more players do you think we add to this incoming recruiting class?
umhoops
This is a good question. I think that the international market is probably a massively undervalued opportunity in college basketball, but it is also tough to navigate. There are so many things to work out (grades, eligibility, etc.) that can make these situations very complicated.
There’s also a fine line between the NBA track and the college track. The fastest route to the NBA from Europe hasn’t always been (and still isn’t) going through college. Some of the schools best positioned I think to take advantage of recruiting internationally are mid-majors or MM+ programs that can take guys who aren’t quite pros and turn them into great college players.
I’m not sure what all Michigan is doing at this point, a lot of the last year has been catch up recruiting domestically. As you mention, Franz is a very unique case.
Moe’s situation came up because Beilein already had ties to Alba. His former player Johannes Herber played with Alba (and might even be on staff or something there now IIRC) and he had also been through the process of trying to bring a German prospect to Michigan with Robin Benzing (that one fell through).
For a HM school in the current landscape, I think the most straightforward way to go after the international market is to pursue the one or two notable intl recruitments that become big. I’m not suer that it makes sense for Michigan to use a lot of its resources to pursue the Euro/Asian/etc. market instead of recruiting the five-stars that Juwan Howard is prioritizing rightn ow.
bluejayway
If U-M’s season plays out disappointingly and they do not make the NCAA tournament, do you foresee any current, unsigned commits (outside of Isiah Todd, who may well not sign regardless) who could de-commit before signing? If they do so, would they be immediately eligible to commit elsewhere and play at a different school next season? Still a little confused on what responsibilities a player has behind his “commitment” to a team.
BleedBlue
What’s your best guess(es) for why the defense has regressed? Losing Liver, Yak, and CM seems like the easiest reasons to point to, but cant tell the whole story, right?