Where Michigan basketball stands in 2023 after Papa Kante’s commitment, looking ahead to 2024 and 2025

Michigan fans everywhere were thrilled to hear the news earlier this week that four-star 2023 center Papa Kante committed to Juwan Howard and the Michigan Wolverines.

Kante is the sole 2023 commit for so far. They also have one 2024 commitment in point guard Christian Anderson Jr., who helped Germany win gold in Division B of the FIBA U16 European Championship back in August.

It’s been a busy offseason for Howard and the Michigan Wolverines from a recruiting standpoint, as they have extended offers to a number of recruits in the 2023, 2024 and 2025 classes.

Let’s go through the remaining targets for the Wolverines in those three classes. All ratings are courtesy of the 247Sports composite.

2023

Isaiah Collier, guard

The five-star guard and No. 4 overall player in the class is down to Michigan, UCLA, USC and Cincinnati. He has taken visits to all four schools and is set to commit somewhere on Nov. 16. All the Crystal Balls are in favor of the Trojans.

Eric Dailey Jr., forward

Dailey has played with Jett Howard at IMG Academy, a program Howard knows quite well. Dailey Jr. is rated 54th in his class and listed Michigan in his top eight in mid-September. As of now, it seems like Kentucky is the favorite to land him, but I wouldn’t rule out Michigan with the IMG Academy connection.

Andrej Stojakovic, forward

Ranked as the 21st-best prospect in his class, Stojakovic is the son of legendary NBA marksmen and three-time NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic. Michigan offered Andrej back in June. At the moment, it seems like UCLA, Oregon and Stanford have the lead on landing the West Coast kid.

George Washington III, guard

Washington III seems like the offered prospect most likely for Michigan to land. Previously committed to Ohio State, the Wolverines just hosted him earlier this month. Washington III is rated as the 76th-rated prospect and the ninth-best shooting guard in his class.

Baye Ndongo, center

The 6-foot-10, 220-pound three-star big man originally from Senegal, Ndongo — but now lives in Denver, Colorado in the states — got his offer from Michigan last month. Of course, this was well before Kante committed to the Wolverines. It isn’t likely they will continue to recruit Ndongo, but crazier things have happened in recruiting so we’ll see.

2024

Flory Bidunga, center

Being that Bidunga is a five-star recruit and is the fourth-ranked prospect and highest-ranked center in his class, he has a pretty lengthy list of offers. The Wolverines are among those offers, and the Indiana center just visited Ann Arbor in late September. Michigan fans will definitely want to keep their fingers crossed on this one.

Isaiah Elohim, guard

Another five-star recruit, Elohim plays at the heralded Sierra Canyon with Bronny James and was offered by Michigan in early September. Elohim and Bidunga are truly elite prospects with sky-high potential; landing even one of them would be outstanding.

John Bol, center

Yet another five-star center in the 2024 class, Bol is 7-foot-1 and visited Michigan back in September. Bol told On3’s Joe Tipton he first found out about Michigan from the Fab Five documentary that first aired on ESPN in 2011.

Caleb Williams, forward

Not to be confused with the USC quarterback, Williams was offered by Michigan in early August. The three-star small forward has also received offers from Maryland, Penn State, Villanova and Syracuse, among others.

Jesse McCulloch, center

Hailing from Cleveland, Ohio, McCulloch is a talented post scorer whose ranked as the 29th-best center in his class. Michigan extended an offer to him back in August.

Travis Perry, guard

The 6-foot-2 point guard collected an offer from Michigan in late June. Being that he’s from Kentucky, the Wildcats are probably the leader to land him.

Johnuel “Boogie” Fland, guard

Michigan has a clear strategy when it comes to five-star recruits: just extend an offer while they’re young and keep in contact in hopes of landing the elite talent. Michigan extended an offer to Fland back in early June.

Sir Mohammed, forward

At 6-foot-5, Mohammed is a bit of tweener. He’s listed as a small forward on 247Sports, but other outlets, including us, have called him a guard. He announced his Michigan offer on Aug. 2.

Aidan Sherrell, forward

Michigan extended an offer to Sherrell earlier this month. The 6-foot-8 power forward has also collected offers from Michigan State, Indiana, Ohio State, Alabama, Auburn and Memphis.

2025

Jeremiah Fears, guard

Fears is not yet ranked, but the point guard is bound to be a four- or five-star. Michigan offered him in late June and his older brother Jeremy will be playing at MSU starting in 2023. Smart for Howard and his staff to offer the talented the guard who has roots with a Big Ten rival.

Jalen Haralson, guard

Haralson has not yet earned a composite rating, but the 6-foot-7 guard is rated as a five-star by 247Sports. He announced his Michigan offer back in July.

Koa Peat, power forward

Peat was featured on USA basketball’s 2022 U17 national team, and secured and offer from Michigan in September. It made too much sense for Michigan not to extend an offer to the third-ranked recruit in his class.