Michigan pulls off West Coast coup

THE LIST: Class of 2014 Rivals150

Late Tuesday night, top 30 senior Kameron Chatman managed to pull of a few surprises. Both with the timing of his choice and with his destination.

Given that the 6-foot-7 forward from Portland (Ore.) Columbia Christian had finished up his official visits, an announcement was expected soon. However, there were no warning rumblings before he went to twitter and announced that he will be a Michigan Wolverine.

Therein lies the bigger surprise. While Michigan had been considered a major player for the No. 29 player in 2014, it was Arizona that had been considered the behind the scenes leader and Chatman was in Tucson over the weekend.

Regardless of who did or didn't lead for the versatile wing, he is a clear fit and and superb get for John Beilein and his staff in Ann Arbor. The comfort level they established between their program and Chatman was big.

"The coaching staff, I felt real comfortable with all four of the coaches," Chatman told Rivals.com. "The three assistants and coach Beilein, the trust that I have with them I had a really good bonding time with them. They way the play really fits the way I play."

The great thing about Chatman is that he can play all over the floor. You can send him to the wing where he is effective hitting corner jumpers or attacking the baseline. Play him in the high post and he can present as mismatch as his ball skills, passing and dribbling allow a team to run some offense through him as a hybrid four man.

Most notable, though, is Chatman's rebounding. Because they sometimes camp out on the wing, many perimeter players struggle to be effective rebounders. Chatman goes beyond effective into the realm of well above average with his nose for tracking down loose balls off the glass. That means saved possessions and easy scoring opportunities within a game.

"They like to spread the floor and I like to play on the perimeter," Chatman siad. They use a lot of ball screens and I'm good off of ball screens getting into the paint. They also like to run. I think that really fits me game."

Chatman is Michigan's third commitment from the class of 2014 joining three-star forward Ricky Doyle and wing Austin Hatch. They are hoping for more good news later on this week. Four-star Donte Grantham is down to the Wolverines and Clemson and will announce his decision at the week's end.

Eric Bossi is the national basketball recruiting analyst for Rivals.com. You can click here to follow him on Twitter.

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