Basketball recruiting update: Changes made to Michigan’s 2021 offer board and more

It has been a hot minute since we updated the Michigan Wolverines men’s basketball recruiting board for the 2021 class, which has given us some time to compile some of the more notable developments that have taken place since our last installment.

Here are the biggest changes made to the offer board since last we spoke.

Added five-star forward Caleb Houstan

Perhaps the biggest positive update to report is the reclassification of the five-star forward to the 2021 class from 2022. 247Sports has him as a power forward, but he seems to project as a small forward at the next level and is considered one of the better perimeter shooters in the country for his position. There has not been much by way of news of the schools he is most interested in, though 247Sports has Arizona, Duke, Gonzaga and Oregon as the “warm” programs in his recruitment.

Removed five-star forward Jonathan Kuminga

Kuminga had previously eliminated Michigan from consideration, but has dropped out of college basketball recruiting entirely and has signed a deal to play in the NBA G-League next season. This will make him eligible for the 2021 NBA Draft.

Committed elsewhere

• Five-star guard Max Christie: Michigan State
• Five-star forward Peyton Watson: UCLA
• Four-star guard Matthew Cleveland: Florida State
• Four-star forward Quincy Allen: Colorado
• Four-star point guard Angelo Brizzi: Villanova

Michigan is in pretty decent shape on the wing in this class with commitments from four-stars Kobe Bufkin and Isaiah Barnes, so none of these hurt too badly in terms of their ability to build the class moving forward. They will have to deal with Christie for as long as he plays in East Lansing, but they never seemed as if they were really in on him anyways.

Brizzi committing to Villanova is not a huge surprise, but his decision to go elsewhere stings a bit more given the need at point guard in this class. As of now, it leaves Michigan in a situation where their serious options are Jalen Warley and Jaden Akins, the latter of which is projected to land at Michigan State. Carter Whitt is a prospect that continues to garner some buzz, but he does not currently have a reported offer from Michigan. It stands to reason the offer board might expand there shortly.

Also of note

Five-star point guard Kennedy Chandler trimmed Michigan out of his list of schools previously, but it appears he could officially be off the board sooner rather than later with most feeling he is bound for Tennessee. The same can be said with Jaden Hardy at the top of the board with most pundits feeling he will wind up at Kentucky.

The top targets from here

As mentioned before, Warley and Akins stand out the most with Michigan needing to add a ball-handling guard in the 2021 cycle. Akins may very well be an MSU lean, but the Wolverines will continue to push there with the pitch of playing alongside Bufkin, a fellow in-state star in Michigan. Much as they did with Brizzi, head coach Juwan Howard and staff will lean on Phil Martelli’s relationship with Warley as they work that relationship, as well.

Center is a need in this cycle and a trio of five-stars in Charles Bediako, Efton Reid and Moussa Diabate continue to be in the mix there. Filling the point guard and center slots would put Michigan at five commits in the cycle with room for potentially one or two more, which would allow them to then focus on nabbing some of the best players available. In that scenario, we could see the staff make a play for elite talents like forward Chet Holmgren (No. 2 prospect in America) and Harrison Ingram or Trevor Keels, both five-star wing players.

Our full offer board can be accessed by heading over to the link here.