Introducing 2015 Prospect Luke Kennard

There's no doubt that Hyron Edwards is a 2015 recruit that Michigan is pursuing, but the coaching staff has been all over Luke Kennard as well.  He's another basketball recruit from Ohio and seems to be the latest target for Beilein in the Buckeye state.  Michigan has not even secured one commitment in its 2014 class, but there's no reason to think the coaches aren't actively pursuing some key 2015 recruits.  Kennard could very likely end up at Michigan and is one to watch for 2015.


Kennard has a very interesting skillset that would fit well in Beilein's system.  He's very talented, can shoot the ball very well, and has the ability to create on his own, either off the dribble or simply with his great motor.  Another interesting skill of Kennard is that he has the ability to use both hands when dribbling and shooting.  For a freshman high school player, that's pretty impressive.  Some of Michigan's best players, such as Darius Morris, hadn't even developed this skill during college.  The two things he needs to improve on are size and strength.  This should be no surprise, since he's just a freshman in high school right now, but he has plenty of time to work on that.  He's also been cited as a little weaker on the left side, which is something he's still working to improve.  Either way, he is an extremely impressive player, especially with his age.


Here are the basic listings for Kennard:

	ESPN	Rivals	Scout	247Sports
Height	6’5”	6’5”	6’4”	6’5”
Weight	180 lbs	180 lbs	170 lbs	N/A
Position	SF	SG	SG	SG
Rating	NR	NR	NR	NR
Position Rank	NR	NR	NR	NR
National Rank	NR	NR	NR	NR

Of the information that has been released by the major recruiting services, there aren't a lot of differences.  There's a little fluctuation in height and weight, plus ESPN has a different position listed, but for the most part, there isn't a lot to discuss.  One recruiting site dedicated solely to basketball, Future150, has Kennard with a 4* ranking, an overall ranking of 99, and ranked #11 in the nation.  Obviously, this is nowhere near being ranked #11 in the nation according to ESPN, but it's still a start and can help us get an idea of Kennard's abilities.  He's a very elite player and would be a huge haul for any 2015 recruiting class.


On the other hand, with a great skillset comes great competition.  He's already gotten offers from West Virginia, Xavier, and Ohio State and is getting recruited very hard by Michigan and Indiana.  He recently visited Bloomington and needless to say, he was quite impressed.  To me, they are going to be in this race until the end.  From his comments, he appears to want a good school both athletically and academically., which should bode well for Michigan.  


Michigan is in good shape right now, but I do think it's going to be tough to beat Indiana.  Kennard has already said that he probably won't decide for a while so there's no reason to think that things will stay the exact same for now.  He's said positive things about Indiana, but he's been saying good things about Michigan as well.  The big question marks will surround what the two programs can do over the summer and whether any other school can seriously get in the running for Kennard.


Here's his highlight video: