Three-Point Play: Michigan on fire; latest on visits, impending commits

We have continued to tackle the topic of Michigan’s ascension in the recruiting rankings, and its rise may not be done yet. In this week’s Three-Point Play, Rivals.com analyst Corey Evans investigates what is next in Ann Arbor, recaps the Basketball Without Borders Global Camp that took place over the weekend, and highlights a few official visits slated to be taken in the coming days.

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Michigan’s recruiting efforts have followed its success on the hardwood this winter; whenever the Wolverines broke out to a 7-0 record, Juwan Howard and his staff were celebrating the commitments from Isaiah Todd and Hunter Dickinson, along with the signing of Zeb Jackson. Then came the quick downturn and a break in action from its recruiting victories. Now winning five of its last six, could Michigan be near another major recruiting victory?

We were the first to investigate the likelihood of Josh Christopher landing at Michigan more than a month ago. Up until that point, the five-star guard was thought to be headed to Arizona State or UCLA. Instead, the culture that Howard has created along with the ballyhooed class set to enroll in the fall, has created for too good of an opportunity for Christopher to pass up.

The Sun Devils are still heavily involved and while the Bruins and Missouri remain in the picture, sources around Christopher and his recruitment think it is only a matter of when and not if he commits to Michigan.

If that is the case, Howard would have put together a stellar 2020 class. We saw a similar effort with Penny Hardaway last year as a first-time college head coach, where the Tigers landed the nation’s top class. However, Howard has done most of his work outside of the school’s locale unlike Hardaway, which might make Michigan’s recruiting efforts one of the more impressive runs in recent memory by a first-year head coach.

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The Basketball Without Borders Global Camp has become a tremendous platform every All-Star Weekend for the very best up-and-coming international talent. This year’s three-day iteration in front of a throng of NBA personnel was nothing outside of the norm and while some of the participants have no plans of attending college, a handful of others impressed.

Olivier-Maxence Prosper was arguably the best player on Saturday. Headed to Clemson, the four-star forward hasn’t received as much praise that he probably deserves but his impact at Clemson should be felt immediately next year. He repeatedly made plays outside of his area, showed that he can plug either forward position, is an impressive athlete at the basket and has improved as a perimeter jump shooter. Alongside top-50 senior PJ Hall and likely all-league big man Aamir Simms, Clemson may have one of the best frontcourts in the ACC next year.

For as good Prosper was on Saturday, Kai Sotto was just as good on Friday. The ambidextrous big man is not quick-twitch by any means, but his composure and feel in the post, coinciding with his all-around skill set, sets him apart.

Talk has begun that he could sit out all of next year in preparing for the 2021 NBA Draft. If not, Auburn, DePaul, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, and USC are among the group that he will pick from later this spring.

The progress that Charles Bediako has made and continues to make is beyond impressive. While he still has much more room for growth, Bediako is the epitome of a rim runner and hard roller off the ball screen. He is a premier rim protector that has great hands around the basket and a tremendous frame to fill out into.

Making the leap into the top-25 of the Rivals150 last month, Bediako has remained set on enrolling in his original 2021 class while an early college list includes Alabama, Baylor, Duke, Florida, Illinois, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Memphis and Ohio State.

Four-star Josh Primo is now no longer a member of the 2021 class thanks to his reclassification earlier this week. A college decision is not too far away, either. He has already visited Alabama and Creighton, while Arizona State, Ohio State and Oregon are three others in the mix. The Tide may have the slight lead with the talented combo guard that can think the game but also really shoot it from 3.

He might not get the love that his high school teammate, Jon Kuminga, has continued to receive, but Adama Sanogo deserves some praise, too. No longer is he just a rough-and-tumble big man but rather, the blue-collared junior has developed a low-post repertoire full of counter moves and even the ability to space the floor via the perimeter jumper. A top-50 prospect in the 2021 class, reclassification talk has begun to swirl as Auburn, Maryland, Nebraska, Pitt, Seton Hall, UConn and Xavier make up a group of programs in pursuit.

As the college season comes to a close, a few programs will take the opportunity to bring their top targets from the 2020 and 2021 classes to campus this weekend for official visits. But first, a commitment is set for tomorrow from Matthew-Alexander Moncrieffe.

One of the top remaining prospects available in the 2020 class, the highly athletic and hard-playing forward will decide between Georgetown, Oklahoma State and Seton Hall. The Pirates were the perceived favorite dating back to the fall, but the Pokes have gained some traction. He has been difficult to read up until his decision but wherever he lands, one should expect an immediate infusion of energy and defensive versatility in the frontcourt.

On Friday, Femi Odukale will begin his official visit to Pitt. He has already visited St. Bonaventure and UMass, and is hearing from a handful of other power conference programs, but the Panthers could find themselves in the driver’s seat. A commitment is not far away and if things go well, Jeff Capel could be celebrating the addition of an underrated wing that can play all three spots along the perimeter.

Most of the talk surrounding Kendall Brown regarding his college landing spot has revolved around Kansas and Marquette. He took another unofficial visit to KU for its game against Iowa State on Monday, but will head to Ohio State for an official visit. The Buckeyes have done a great job of getting the best younger talent onto its campus in recent months, thus why it already sits with two 2021 commitments.

Deebo Coleman has been a consistent visitor to Florida within the past year, and just two weeks ago, was on campus at Florida State. However, he will begin his official visit trek this weekend whenever he heads to Wake Forest. Official visit dates to Alabama, Iowa State and Oklahoma State are in the works, too. He will visit Georgia Tech next weekend.

Louisville has already secured the commitment of four-star junior Bryce Hopkins, and they will look to add further to its 2021 class this weekend. On Saturday, Hopkins is slated to be on campus, as is Zion Harmon, a lead guard that is set to commit on Mar. 24, along with Malaki Branham, a top-50 wing that the Cards are among the early leaders for.