Starting Five: Surprise hire for Alabama

It looks like Alabama has found their man in Avery Johnson, and both Indiana and Michigan landed key recruits over the weekend. We take a look at those items and more in this week's Starting Five.

Alabama tabs Johnson

Sunday afternoon, Alabama search for a new coach ended in a way that not many would have predicted at the start. After being turned down by their top target Gregg Marshall (who decided to stay at Wichita State), the Crimson Tide went in an entirely new direction by reportedly reaching an agreement with Avery Johnson.

A longtime NBA player and former NBA coach, Johnson compiled a 254-186 record while coaching the Dallas Mavericks and New Jersey/Brooklyn Nets. Johnson was named the NBA's coach of the year for the 2005-06 and has become a popular NBA analyst on ESPN.

What Johnson hasn't done at this point is coach a single game of college basketball; whether that is good or bad remains to be seen. However, Johnson will land in Tuscaloosa as a guy who potential players should surely recognize. He has charisma for days and seems to be one of those coaches who has an endless supply of positive energy to burn.

Though he hasn't coached on the college level, Johnson has had at least some exposure to the recruiting world. His son Avery Jr. is a freshman on the Texas A&M hoops team and played summer ball with a loaded Texas Titans organization that produced three other A&M players and four-star recruits in freshman Alex Robinson and signed recruits Tyler Davis and D.J. Hogg. Johnson was often seen around those players and on the grassroots circuit, so he has more than likely developed some connections.

There are examples of guys from the NBA going to college with no experience and getting it right, such as Fred Hoiberg at Iowa State. And there are examples of it going terribly wrong, such as Clyde Drexler at Houston. At this point it is just too early to form a very informed opinion on what to expect from Johnson at Alabama, but at a minimum it is an outside-the-box hire that has drummed up some immediate attention.

Now, we just need to find out what Johnson and whomever he hires to fill out his staff can do with the initial pop they have gotten.

Michigan lands German forward

Another Big Ten program landing a commitment that had been more and more expected over the weekend was Michigan. Sunday, the Wolverines received good news when German power forward Moritz Wagner, who has been playing club ball for Alba Berlin, announced via Twitter that he had committed to Michigan.

A 6-foot-9 four-man who can face the hoop, Wagner is a good pick and pop jump shooter from between 12 and 17 feet and an outstanding passer. He will need to add strength to his lean 210 pound frame, and there will be an adjustment period upon making the transition to college basketball.

Based on film that Rivals.com has been able to watch and conversations with multiple NBA scouts who have watched him extensively, Wagner is considered a four-star prospect but will not be included in the final Rivals150 for the class of 2015 because he has not played against competition in the States. Wagner is Michigan's first commitment from the class of 2015.

Bryant commits to Indiana

Anybody who watched Indiana play this season could see that the Hoosiers needed another true big man who could offer minutes, physicality, rebounding and protecting of the rim. Saturday, they got the guy who they hope will take care of that hole in the roster by landing Huntington (W.Va.) Prep center Thomas Bryant.

A 6-foot-10 center, Bryant is originally from New York and currently ranks No. 37 in the Rivals150. As a senior, Bryant earned McDonald's All-America honors, and he has had a strong finish to his high school career that should end in a bit of a positive bump in the final rankings.

To go along with his 6-foot-10 size, Bryant has a frame built to pack on pounds in a college weight room, pretty good hands and a relentless style of play. Bryant is one of those guys who always seems to have energ,y and his high octane ways generally rub off in a good way on his teammates. He is an above-average rebounder, a good rim protector and has good instincts around the rim. Every now and then Bryant likes to take a jumper all the way out to 3-point range, and his shot selection and low post footwork will be areas of focus when he arrives in Bloomington.

The size, motor, skill level and willingness to play physically at the college level are all there for Bryant. He is a bit mechanical in his movement and plays straight up and down, so he'll have to work on flexibility. But, other than the usual struggles any young big man has making the leap from high school to college, Bryant should be a big boost to the Hoosiers and is certainly somebody the coaching staff and fanbase are right to be excited about.

Nike Hoops Summit this week

Sticking with an International theme, one of the best events in high school basketball kicks off this week in Portland, Ore. when players arrive to take part in the annual Nike Hoops Summit.

Put on by USA Basketball and Nike, the Hoops Summit is essentially the best team of high school seniors that USA Basketball can put together against a team of International prospects under the age of 19. Many of those International players already attend schools in the USA or regularly play games in the States, but that doesn't take away from the event.

Both teams get a good amount of practice time leading up to Saturday's game, and unlike most All-Star game environments where the precedent is putting on a show for the fans, the Hoops Summit is all about winning.

All eleven players on the United States roster are current Rivals.com five-stars, and so are all five players on the International team who have experience playing in the States.

Complete rosters can be found here.

Big weekend coming

While the Hoops Summit will no doubt be a great event, Rivals.com will actually be more focused on players from the classes of 2016, 2017 and 2018 this weekend.

This upcoming weekend is the first of two weekends -- the next is April 24-26 -- where college coaches are free to evaluate players and teams in grassroots basketball events across the country. With four coaches allowed out from each program and three days during each period with which to evaluate, this is obviously an important time for coaching staffs and players.

While there will be events all across the country, Rivals.com will be stationed at mega events put on by each of the major shoe companies involved with grassroots basketball, Adidas, Nike and Under Armour.

Who will your favorite team be targeting in 2016 or 2017? Who is on the rise? Who will come from nowhere and play their way onto the national radar? We will find out many of those answers beginning this weekend.