Michigan trending for four-star 2021 forward, decision may be imminent

The Michigan Wolverines have been grinding away on the recruiting trail in the 2021 class, which is the first full cycle that is being helmed by head coach Juwan Howard. Last time around, his first 2020 commit did not come until October in the form of five-star Isaiah Todd (who would not sign anyways), so things figure to move much quicker this time around.

Perhaps quicker than you might think.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the Wolverines are trending for four-star forward Isaiah Barnes (Oak Park, Illinois) with four predictions coming to Michigan in the span of an hour, headlined by Josh Henschke and Sam Webb of The Michigan Insider. All four predictions come with a confidence score of “8” and it appears that a decision could potentially come anytime now. His interest in Michigan has also been moved too “warmer” on his 247 profile.

Barnes, who went from unrated to 247Sports’ No. 85 overall player in the country in the latest rankings released on Wednesday, has been a rising prospect as of late and earned an offer from Michigan earlier this spring. After a strong junior campaign, his offer sheet has expanded greatly with schools like Illinois, Kansas, Maryland, TCU and Wisconsin headlining the list.

Given Howard’s ties to the Chicago area and state of Illinois, it seemed as if it would be a matter of time before that paid off for Michigan. Columbia transfer Mike Smith comes from the area, but we have yet to see them land a high school prospect here. It appears that could be changing very soon.

Michigan currently has five scholarship spots open for the 2021 class.