Breaking Down Michigan's Targets In The 2014 ESPN60

ESPN has released their 2014 basketball rankings and it has worked out well for Michigan's 2014 recruiting targets.  These type of rankings mean little in the long run, especially because recruits often outperform or underperform these ratings once their arrive on campus, but they are probably some of the clearest measures for high school talent and when coupled with other ratings, can usually be relatively accurate in their predictions.


Just a few quick reminders.  First, I have generally found that ESPN's basketball recruiting coverage has been the best of all the major recruiting services.  It's not perfect, but it has been the best.  Other services have done some great things and I think that they have improved in some areas, but overall, I still give the nod to ESPN.  The most important thing, however, is to compare where recruits are placed on different lists.  If a person uses just one or two services, they are probably going to get a limited idea of a recruit's potential.  Combining different recruiting services, offer lists, and video seems to be the best.  Regardless, here are the rankings for the ESPN60 in 2014:

Introducing 2014 Prospect Bryant McIntosh

One of the wildcard recruits in the 2014 class is Bryant McIntosh.  Some of the players that Michigan is pursuing in 2014 have received great ratings across the board, such as Kevon Looney, Devin Booker, and Keita Bates-Diop.  However, McIntosh has received very inconsistent findings by the major scouting services.  Some say he's a point guard, some say he's a shooting guard.  Some say he's a 4* recruit, while others say he's only a 2* player.  These things tend to settle down as the recruiting services get more time to review the player and he matures, but this massive flux is quite interesting.


I have often been confused at the massive differences between recruiting services, but it seems even more evident in McIntosh's case.  ESPN, who is widely considered (and rightfully so) as the best at picking out basketball talent, has only positive things to say about McIntosh.  They've rated him extremely high and said that he's "tough" and plays with "swagger".  He is also labeled as a good shooter and as having a great feel for the game.  The only thing that currently plagues him, as it plagues most sophomores, is that he's relatively small.  He's not tiny by any means, but the main issue is strength.  Right now, I don't think he's even close to being big enough and having enough strength to make it through a full Big Ten schedule.  Of course, he will probably be a good bit bigger when he actually plays college basketball, but that is the one thing that might have given him such low rankings on some other scouting services.

Wrapping Up 'Offer Day' For Michigan

It was an exciting day on the basketball recruiting front.  There may not have been any verbal commitments, but there was surely a ton of action throughout the day.  Not only for Michigan, but the entire country.  Michigan's main focus for the day was on Devin Booker and Keita Bates-Diop.  They were the only players that were offered today and they are, without a doubt, the base of Michigan's 2014 recruiting.

Earlier this week, I said that I wasn't convinced that anybody would commit on 'Offer Day', but that Booker was the most likely candidate if somebody did commit.  Obviously, nobody committed today, but that shouldn't be a negative for Michigan fans.  Yes, at this time last year Beilein already had two commitments, but Michigan is in great position for many high profile recruits in the coming months and I still do believe it's only a matter of time before Devin Booker commits to Michigan.  He was tweeting earlier today about the desire to talk things over with his family before making any college decision and personally, that doesn't bother me one bit.