Who Could Be Michigan's First 2014 Commit?

As most following Michigan basketball know by now, Michigan will extend its first offers to 2014 recruits on June 15th.  Now, we don't know how many offers Michigan will extend on the 15th or how long it will take to gets the first commitment of 2014, but we can take a look at who will be the most likely to commit first.  There are a few likely candidates and there's always the possibility that several recruits will commit on the spot as some of the 2013 recruits did last summer, but I think one candidate rises above the rest as a likely commit.

Devin Booker, a 2014 SG from Moss Point High School in Mississippi, looks to me as the prime candidate for a quick commitment for Michigan.  Ranked as a 4* recruit by ESPN and as the #23 player on the ESPN60 for 2014, he would be a great pick-up for Michigan.  Beilein and his staff have dedicated a tremendous amount of time to recruiting Booker and he appears to be one of their priorities for this recruiting class.  He's been on campus several times and has also communicated with the coaches on numerous occasions over the past year.


Along with Beilein's dedication to recruiting Booker, there are other factors that appear to be pushing Booker towards Michigan.  Booker is originally from the state of Michigan and his father actually played in the NBA, which seems to fit well with Beilein's past recruiting.  I'm sure we're all familiar with Tim Hardaway, but Michigan also had another son of an NBA player on its team in the recent past.  Jordan Dumars, son of Joe Dumars, ultimately decided to leave the program after some poor performances, but it's still a sign of Beilein's appreciation among NBA parents.

These factors alone won't make that much of a difference, but the effect of all of these factors is surely pushing Booker towards Michigan.  He's clearly interested in the school and has only said positive things after his visits, which reflects the likely impact of these factors.  As I said, being from a state or having parents that like the program alone don't get recruits to commit, but when coupled with Beilein's intense recruiting and Booker's tremendous experiences, I think we have the makings of a coming commitment.

I won't make a prediction on whether he'll commit on the spot or whether he'll wait, but the sense I get is that he would be very excited by a Michigan offer and would lean towards the Wolverines.  However, there are some other big schools recruiting him such as Florida, so his recruitment is definitely not finalized by any means.  He's an elite recruit, which means that there are going to be a lot of schools going after him for a while.

Michigan should be in great position with him and if somebody commits soon after receiving an offer on June 15th, I really think it's going to be Booker.  Michigan has been following him closely for a long time and I really don't see him going anywhere else when he signs his letter or intent.  Make sure to stay tuned because it could be a very exciting month for Michigan's basketball recruiting.