McDonald's Nuggets: Juwan Howard, Bryce McGowens, more
This week’s McDonald’s Nuggets addresses Michigan’s No. 1 class, some scouting notes from the start of high school season - and more.
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MORE: Florida Man's Early Signing Period thoughts | Rival Views on possible surprise classes
2021 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team | Position
2022 Rankings: Rivals150 | Team
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WHAT’S ON MY MIND: It didn’t take long for Juwan Howard to figure out recruiting
When an “NBA guy” takes a college coaching job with no previous college coaching experience, the question people often have is not whether he can connect with kids in the recruiting process. NBA experience tends to open doors for college coaches with top prospects. The question is usually whether the coach will work as hard as you need to in order to land those top prospects.
Early in his tenure at Michigan, Juwan Howard has put any questions to bed about his recruiting ability. In his first full cycle in the 2020 class, the Wolverines landed the No. 18 overall class, which would have been ranked much higher had Isaiah Todd stuck with his decision to play in Ann Arbor rather than the G-League. The class included a trio of four-star prospects along with his son, Jace Howard, a three-star small forward.
This year, despite the unprecedented circumstances with the pandemic leading to an extended dead period for the last eight months, Howard and his staff convinced six prospects to sign with Michigan, which is the No. 1 overall class right now. That group is headlined by five-star forward Caleb Houstan, and it was strengthened earlier this week when Moussa Diabate, the No. 29 prospect in the 2021 class, surprised many by inking early with the Wolverines. The class includes a nice mix of instant impact players along with good players that will hopefully stick around for four years.
Howard’s success on the recruiting trail shouldn’t come as a big surprise. Going back to when he was a top-ranked high school prospect, he played a big role in bringing the Fab Five together for Michigan as he was the first to choose the Wolverines. He had an impressive NBA career and became a highly respected assistant coach for the Miami Heat because of the relationships he was able to build with his players.
With two highly ranked sons coming up through the high school ranks, he came to Michigan with a pretty good pulse on how the recruiting game worked and hired a staff that blended coaching experience with strong recruiting backgrounds.
Howard’s first season on the court was pretty successful with a 19-12 overall record and 10-10 in a really tough Big Ten. It would have been good enough for the Wolverines to make the NCAA Tournament. If it keeps recruiting like this, look for Michigan to be back to where it was when Howard and his Fab Five teammates took over college basketball.
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SCOUTING NOTES: Could there be a new No. 1 in the 2021 class?
If you happened to watch ESPN2 on Thursday night, several highly ranked prospects took the stage and put on some really impressive performances. But the one I want to talk about first is the play of Chet Holmgren, who we currently have ranked No. 3 overall in the 2021 class.
The 7-footer is just a ridiculous talent. I don’t want to be prisoner of the moment off one prime-time game, but I think Holmgren would be the No. 1 overall pick in next Wednesday’s NBA Draft if he could declare for it today. He showed off every aspect of his game against the top-ranked class of 2022 prospect, Emoni Bates. Holmgren has deep range on his jumper. He can attack the basket off the bounce and finish with the best of them. Despite lacking strength right now, he’s feisty on the boards and can protect the rim. I love his competitiveness. As his body matures, he has NBA All-Star potential.
As for his recruitment, Holmgren is focused on Georgetown, Gonzaga, Memphis, Michigan, Minnesota, North Carolina and Ohio State. He recently told Rivals' Krysten Peek that he’s looking at making a decision in January or February. The G-League could also be an option, but it looks more likely that he ends up in college.
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RECRUITING NOTE: Where will Bryce McGowens land?
Bryce McGowens decommitted from Florida State in September and has moved quickly toward choosing a new school. He initially chopped a long list of suitors down to a list of five that included Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan and Nebraska before cutting that list down to Georgia and Nebraska earlier this week.
The first-ever five-star basketball recruiting battle between the Bulldogs and Cornhuskers will end on Friday afternoon as the five-star wing out of South Carolina is ready to decide. Distance from home and a strong relationship with Tom Crean and his staff helped Georgia make a run here, but it appears more likely this one will go in Nebraska’s favor. His brother, Trey McGowens, is a junior guard for Fred Hoiberg, which means they could have the opportunity to play together for a season. The style of play is a big draw here as well.
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2021 COMMIT OF THE WEEK: Trey Alexander to Auburn
Because we already mentioned the success of Michigan and its No. 1 class, we’ll skip over Moussa Diabate and his decision to choose the Wolverines this week to go with Trey Alexander and his commitment to Auburn. This is another huge recruiting win for Bruce Pearl to go into Oklahoma and snag one of the top scorers in the country. Look for Alexander to make an impact early for the Tigers as they’ll need his perimeter shooting ability to help them next season. Auburn edged out Arkansas and Kansas for his commitment. He joins Jabari Smith, No. 4 overall, to form a really nice duo for the Tigers in the Early Signing Period.