Daily Brews: Michigan makes cut for 2021’s top overall recruit

Jonathan Kuminga is a name that college basketball fans are going to be hearing a lot about in the next 18 months or so, even if they do not follow Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines. Kuminga is the top overall recruit in the class of 2021 and on Wednesday released the top ten schools in the running for his services, which includes the Wolverines.

Kuminga, considered a forward, has put the Wolverines into a mix of schools that includes Duke and Kentucky, which likely are always the favorite for a player of this ilk, but they could potentially have a puncher’s chance with the rest in the list. He is not expected to make a decision anytime soon, but should the Howard era continue to get rolling along on a positive note, they may work themselves into this one.

Here’s the scouting report on Kuminga from 247Sports:

“Already at 6-foot-8 with extremely long arms, he is beginning to put his skill game together. Length, athleticism, and versatility are his strengths. Has shown the ability to get into the lane and rebounds well. Is capable of guarding multiple positions, and also blocking shots. Needs to continue to get better with his outside shot, and if that comes he should be nearly impossible to guard. His upside is through the roof, and he is just now beginning to figure out how good he can become. He should hear his name called early in the NBA draft when decides to make that move.”

Herbstreit weighs in on Michigan after Harbaugh’s ‘finest hour’ comment

Few have had a closer seat up front to Michigan football’s turnaround in recent weeks as ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who was in the booth for the games at both Penn State and Michigan when Notre Dame was in town.

Herbstreit, like the rest of us, saw the transformation take place over the course of the Penn State game.

“I happened to be with them the next week when they went to the white out (at Penn State) and things, again, got away from them early, and I think probably all of us, after the game they played against Wisconsin, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh, in this atmosphere they’re down 21-0? This is about to get ugly again,’ the ESPN analyst said during an ESPN conference call this week. “They got it to 21-7 at half, and of course Jim Harbaugh said to (ESPN sideline reporter) Maria (Taylor) , ‘This is about to be Michigan’s finest hour,’ and I think we were all like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe he said that.’ Sure enough, the second half they out-gained Penn State, 230-80 and came so close to tying that game late. (Then) completely, in the rain, dominated Notre Dame, and Notre Dame never had a chance in that game at the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. We know what happened last week against Maryland, so they’ve got 10 straight quarters of being the team I think a lot of people thought they’d be all year.”

If they keep up on this current trend, Herbstreit sees a scenario with an “awesome” end to the season.

“If they keep playing the way they have the last 10 quarters, it’s going to be great football because they’re home against Michigan State, (and) I can’t imagine them losing that game, personally,” Herbstreit said. “Indiana is a little bit tricky, but I would think they’d win that game, and then, here we go with Ohio State on Thanksgiving weekend, which will be awesome.”

Other Brews

• Michigan lawmakers are set to step up to the plate on the college athlete name and likeness issue with legislation that would potentially allow athletes to profit from their likeness from a third party as early as July 2020.
• The Alabama SGA made waves on Wednesday when news came out that if any students had planned to protest President Donald Trump attending the Alabama-LSU game, that they would lose their reserved seating. SGA has since walked that back.
• USC is set to announce its new athletic director in Mike Bohn from Cincinnati. Now, we see who they potentially make a play for, assuming Clay Helton is no longer coaching the team at season’s end.