Analysis: What Will Tschetter brings and what’s next for Michigan’s 2021 recruiting

The Michigan Wolverines added another commitment in the 2021 cycle for men’s basketball in the early hours of Monday morning with forward Will Tschetter announcing his pledge to the program. His commitment gives head coach Juwan Howard and staff their second player to join the class along with wing Isaiah Barnes.

Tschetter is a different player than Barnes, but is a similar prospect in that both guys were under the radar and saw their recruitments expand after big junior seasons. Tschetter is a three-star prospect and the No. 149 player in the country, according to the 247Sports composite rankings. That his recruitment sort of took off during a pandemic speaks to how strongly some of these teams feel about the player they saw on his junior film.

Tschetter — a Stewartville, Minnesota native — averaged 33.6 points as a junior and shot 60 percent from the field while also making 45 percent of his shots from beyond the three-point line. He also plays football and Minnesota was recruiting him to potentially play tight end.

Consistent scoring from the perimeter was an issue this past season for the Wolverines and is something that is being addressed on the recruiting trail with the commitments of Barnes and Tschetter. Tschetter is a Power 5-caliber forward prospect that is able to score at all three levels of the floor. Given his size (6-foot-8, 225 pounds), he appears to be best-suited to play the four with the ability to slide down and play a stretch-five position if he is able to add more bulk to his frame. His finishing skills around the rim are impressive and he is confident in his ability to fill a stat sheet from every level of the floor.

Tschetter has the look of a player who might make more of an impact in the later seasons of his college career as he adapts to the speed and the flow of the college game. Minnesota is not necessarily known as a powerful basketball state, so there are certainly some level-of-competition concerns there. His athleticism has come into question, as well, but there is still plenty of time for him to develop and we know that he will be in one of the better strength and conditioning programs in college basketball, assuming Jon Sanderson sticks around.

Fans are eager to see if Michigan can land a big fish or two in this cycle, but with so many spots open, you want guys like Barnes and Tschetter because you know that if nothing else, a backbone and a foundation is being built. Howard has built a nice little core of players with Terrance Williams, Hunter Dickinson, Zeb Jackson and Jace Howard in addition to 2021’s two current commits. Ideally, the program adds the best possible talent it can, but college basketball staying power is generally dependent on having multi-year contributors mixed with stars that might only stick around for a year or two. The good news is that if Howard added nobody else but the types of players he has so far, it still looks like a group that can be plenty competitive in the Big Ten moving forward.

As of now, Michigan has three scholarships remaining to fill for the 2021 class, but that could balloon to five if Chaundee Brown is ruled eligible to play this year and Franz Wagner leaves for the NBA after the season is over. Given what we saw take place with some of the other attrition this spring, spots can always become available. Whoever Howard and his staff decide to pursue from here, we probably should not be all that worried by how/if they can make it fit.

Now that Michigan has the ball rolling and a few players committed in the cycle, the attention may to go towards adding a guard or two to the mix. Five-star Jalen Warley is currently the big fish on the table and someone that has a good relationship with Phil Martelli. Angelo Brizzi and Jaden Akins are also candidates. Word on the street is that Kobe shooting guard Kobe Bufkin could be dropping in favor of Michigan anytime, as well.

Warley feels like the piece that could potentially trigger a domino effect with bigger prospects like Chet Holmgren, Charles Bediako, Efton Reid, Harrison Ingram, Matthew Cleveland, Trevor Keels, Quincy Allen and more.