Caris LeVert Projected #4 Overall In 2015 NBA Mock Draft

Photo Credit: Thomas Beindit

Check out the story below:

Caris LeVert is now projected to be drafted #4 overall(!!!) by http://t.co/zc2Mxy4u5V for the 2015 NBA Draft - http://t.co/eQakTllom4
— Thomas Beindit (@tbeindit) April 8, 2014

Caris LeVert Projected #4 Overall In 2015 NBA Mock Draft

Michigan & The NBA Draft - Caris LeVert; Mitch McGary; Glenn Robinson III; and Nik Stauskas

Photo Credit: Thomas Beindit

Here is a full breakdown of each Michigan player's NBA stock:

Michigan & The NBA Draft

B1G Award Picks

Photo Credit: Thomas Beindit

Check out our conference award picks:

B1G Award Picks

Michigan Takes Home Hardware

Photo Credit: Thomas Beindit

Here's the link to the story:

Michigan Takes Home Hardware

Post-Game Notebook: South Carolina State: Michigan Dominates

Photo Credit: Thomas Beindit

Michigan dominated tonight.  Read about it here:

Post-Game Notebook: South Carolina State

2013-2014 Michigan Basketball Preview: Wings

Photo Credit: Laura Pratt

A nice breakdown of one of the strengths of this year's basketball team.  Can the wings live up to their performance last year?

2013-2014 Michigan Basketball Preview: Wings

2013-3014 Michigan Basketball Preview: Guards

Here is a nice breakdown on Michigan's guard situation for the 2013-2014 season. The Wolverines will be looking to replace two NBA 1st round draft picks

http://michigan.247sports.com/Board/59424/Preview-PointShooting-Guard-22261539/1

What If Darius Morris Had Stayed?

Photo Credit: Laura Pratt

Over the last week, there has been a lot of coverage regarding the Los Angeles Lakers, their rise to the NBA playoffs, then their subsequent collapse.  One of the key factors in this collapse was the massive amount of injuries the team suffered.  However, these developments were particularly interesting for Michigan fans because they were able to witness Darius Morris (former Michigan point guard) get the starting nod in the playoffs, which was not something many predicted to see this quickly.

Whether Morris did a good job in this position is up for debate (the Lakers got swept in 4 games), but it did get me thinking about the way Morris impacted Michigan.  Many have forgotten about Morris and the earlier Beilein teams due to the massive success in the last two years for Michigan and Trey Burke.  An NCAA title game appearance and a Big Ten Championship are pretty noteworthy and will make a lot of people forget about the past, but Morris was a pretty good player in Ann Arbor.

Morris was instrumental in not only getting Michigan back to the NCAA Tournament after missing it in the previous year, but also in a sweep of in-state rival MSU and a huge 1st round win against Tennessee in the tourney.  This may not sound that significant, but a sweep of MSU was actually pretty significant.  Not only had Michigan lost 4 straight games to the Spartans, but they had also lost 6 of the last 7 games against MSU and 10 out of the last 12 games.  Their last victory over MSU came in February of 2007 andthe 2002-2003 season was the last one that Michigan had a winning record against the Spartans and that was only a one game series, not a two game series.  The last season sweep for Michigan over MSU was in 1997.  Needless to say, these were two big wins.

However, after having an exciting year for Michigan with some big wins, Morris opted to jump to the NBA and was drafted by the Lakers.  Whether this was the right decision can be debated, but what could things have looked like if he had decided to remain in Ann Arbor.  Of course, his NBA draft pedigree would have likely changed, but what would have changed for Michigan?  Trey Burke came on campus the year after Morris left, won himself Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and then followed it with National Player of the Year.  This leads to some major lineup questions if Morris and Burke both would have been on one roster.

The 2011-2012 Season
This would probably have been the most interesting year if Morris would have stayed in Ann Arbor.  Trey Burke is a fantastic player.  You can make a strong argument that he was the best point guard in Michigan basketball history.  This is going to sway a lot of people into believing he would have won the starting role here.  However, this is a revisionist thought and represents something that wasn't know before or during the 2011-2012 season.  Why?  Because he was not the best player in the nation during his freshman campaign.

Burke was good as a freshman and maybe even great, but he certainly wasn't elite.  He should have been 1st team All-Big Ten as a freshman and he was the best player on the Michigan roster, but he still made mistakes and had some rough games down the stretch.  One of the biggest factors were his turnovers and risky outside shots.  He certainly had his moments and in some of the biggest games of the year, but he still had some major flaws in his game as a freshman.

Along with this, Morris had also entrenched himself as Michigan's starting point guard.  It's one thing to show up with little depth and take over the starting role, but another thing to come in and beat out the previous year's starter, especially when they're probably the best player on the team.  Morris was a good player the season before and there isn't much of a reason to believe he wouldn't have improved the next year, at least slightly.  I think Trey Burke is great and became better than Morris, but I'm not convinced that freshman Burke could have moved junior Morris from his starting spot.

However, this still would have given Michigan really good depth off the bench.  Burke would have certainly got some solid minutes and rightfully so.  I can even imagine Beilein bringing Burke off the bench to play alongside Morris at the 2 spot.  How cool would it have been to see a Morris backcourt pass to Burke for a 3 point shot?  Beilein has shown he's willing to think outside the box to utilize guys and this roster would have been a perfect example.

You also have to think that Michigan would have been right in the Big Ten title race, especially considering that Burke would have been the guy pulled off the bench to get the offense going again.  I certainly think the team would have done better near the end of the year as well with less wear and tear due to the massive playing times of guys like Burke and Hardaway.  Morris could have made all the difference and maybe we would have gotten a big tourney run a year earlier.

The 2012-2013 Season
Now, this is the area where it gets really speculative.  One would think that Morris would have jumped pro following the 2011-2012 season if he had not jumped originally after the 2010-2011 season.  This would have put sophomore Burke into the starting role and things would have probably been pretty similar to the roster makeup of the past season.  Maybe Spike is recruited, maybe not, but Beilein would have probably brought in a point guard regardless of Morris staying since many signs would have pointed to him leaving the next year.

If for some reason Morris would have opted to stay for his senior year all bets are off on what the lineup would have looked like for this season.  Morris would have gotten better certainly, but this would be the season where Burke was the national player of the year candidate.  We don't know if he would have still been at this level, but if he was this good, would Morris still be on the court more than Burke?  Sophomore Burke was better than Morris was at anytime during his Michigan career and even if Morris had 2 more seasons to improve, I'm not sure he could gotten to that level.  Burke was much better than he was as a freshman and I think you can
make an argument about freshman Burke against junior Morris, which implies how good of a player Burke was for Michigan.

Regardless, if Morris was on last year's roster, the team would have been insanely loaded and both guys would have got some solid minutes.  I can honestly imagine a Morris, Burke, Hardaway, GR3, and Morgan/McGary lineup for the last season.  Stauskas and LeVert would have come off the bench and Spike would have certainly been redshirted.  That is a really good lineup.  It's certainly not crazy to think Michigan could have beaten Louisville with Morris on the roster.

Overall
Morris obviously didn't stay, but it's still a fun topic to debate and breakdown.  How much of a difference would Morris have made by staying?  In my opinion, the main difference would have been during Burke's freshman year when he was still improving his game.  This would have allowed players to rest and probably would have made Michigan better at the end of the year when they had a discouraging collapse against Ohio State then Ohio in the NCAA Tournament.  Either way, both players should be in the NBA next year and maybe we'll get a chance to see them compete there.

Quick Thoughts: LeVert A Starter?

Photo Credit: Laura Pratt

Who deserves to start?  Caris LeVert or Nik Stauskas?

Quick Thoughts: LeVert A Starter?

Basketball Notes & Updates - Slippery Rock

There has been quite a bit of news on the basketball front in the past few days.  Although this isn't a news site and we aren't in the practice of simply reposting news stories, this seemed an appropriate time to post on some of these developments.  One of two minor developments wouldn't have been that important, but after a bunch happen, it's enough for an interesting post. None of these updates are that interesting alone, but there are definitely some recent developments that will be important both for this season and the future.

The first thing I would like to address is the injury to Nik Stauskas that John Beilein announced earlier today.  In my post following the Northern Michigan game, I talked about the impressive play of Stauskas and about how I thought he was going to be an important part of this team.  He has been having some problems with his back and will likely miss at least the Slippery Rock game.  This shouldn't be a major concern for now since Michigan should blow past Slippery Rock and the following two opponents.  After that, Michigan will get close to a week off before they face the quality teams in the Preseason NIT Tournament.  Let's just hope he's ready by then or Michigan will have to look for someone to make some big contributions off the bench.

Previewing The Roster: Guards

I'm reaching the end of basketball preview season and I've already went through Michigan's wings and bigs for this year. Last up are the guards.  Michigan's guards should be outstanding this year and have repeatedly received love from the basketball analysts and national media.  Michigan loses very little at the position and brings in a few players that have the chance to make a major impact both now and in the future.

Last season, Trey Burke, Tim Hardaway, and Stu Douglass dominated the position.  Once in awhile, Beilein would bring in Matt Vogrich or Eso Akunne, but this was a position primarily dominated by those three players.  Douglass will be gone, but all the other guys are back for the season.  This was Michigan's strongest positional group last season and the loss of Douglass shouldn't be too significant of an impact for the position and team, especially with the recruiting additions.

New recruits that could make an impact the position this year are Spike Albrecht, Nik Stauskas, and Caris LeVert.  Glenn Robinsion III could get a little time at the 2 spot, but I don't see him doing anything significant at the position.  I think he's a much better fit at the 3 and he does play the 4 in the smaller lineup for Michigan, so I don't see him being at the 2 for very long, if at all.  So after adding the new recruits, that gives us 7 players that will likely be making contributions in the backcourt for Michigan this season.

Michigan vs. Northern Michigan: Quick Reactions

So now that I've had a few hours to digest Michigan's first exhibition of the season, I think it's a good time to give some comments on what happened tonight, especially for those that weren't able to see the game.  There were a lot of expectations leading into the game and for the most part, I thought Michigan did a pretty good job living up to them.  Of course, nothing's going to be perfect during the first game of the season, but for a team losing two starters, two captains, and the team's best 6th man, they did pretty well.

I'll start with the obvious.  The starting lineup for tonight was Spike Albrecht, Matt Vogrich, Tim Hardaway, Glenn Robinson III, and Jordan Morgan.  Obviously, Spike only got the nod because Trey Burke was suspended for the first game, but it's still pretty significant for a true freshman who didn't have a lot of recruiting hype to start the first game.  I didn't expect Vogrich to start, but given that Mitch McGary doesn't seem fully ready (I'll cover this below) and Jon Horford is out with injury, it's not that surprising.  Vogrich was the best option at the time and he did pretty well.  The last three starters seemed pretty obvious and I projected them to start earlier this year.

Recapping 2012 Commit Caris LeVert

One of the later additions to the 2012 recruiting class was shooting guard Caris LeVert from Pickerington  Ohio.  Yes, the same hometown as 2013 football commit Taco Charlton and 2014 prospect Jae'sean Tate.  Of course, that was probably part of the reason that LeVert decided on Michigan, but the biggest factor was when Ohio coach John Groce left Ohio for Illinois.  LeVert quickly decommitted from Ohio and was swooped up by Beilein.

LeVert has a multitude of skills that make him a big pickup for Michigan in the 2012 class.  Not only is he a good shooter, but he can attack the basket and play good defense.  His skills are so diverse that teammates have actually compared him to Kevin Durant, arguably one of the best players in the NBA.  However, another reason they have compared him to Durant is because of his tiny frame, which could be a negative aspect for him when Big Ten season arrives.  Of course, bulking up isn't as important in basketball as it is in football, but the challenge of facing teams like Michigan State and their huge lineups are a reason why LeVert probably needs to bulk up some over the course of this year.

Previewing The Roster: Wings

This is my first of three positional group previews for the 2012-2013 Michigan basketball season.  This could very well be the most interesting positional group for Michigan because of the depth and flexibility of the position.  The guards and big men are not solidified by any measure, but projections for the way they will be set-up for the coming season are pretty straightforward in comparison to the way the wings could end up.  Even a quick glance at the roster will show the confusion about which players will dominate this role.

Of the 15 man roster, there are 4-7 players that could end up playing on the wing this year.  The reason I'm using a range is because several of these players including Josh Bartelstein, Corey Person, and Nik Stauskas have the potential to play some other positions on the floor.  All three are listed as guards, but each of these guys could easily play the 2 spot and some of them like Stauskas even have a shot at playing the point in the future.  In Beilein's system, there isn't a ton of difference between the 2 and the 3 spots, which means there is a lot of crossover between the wings and the guards.

Updating 2013 Commit Austin Hatch

If there has ever been a commit that has received unanimous support from the Michigan community, it's Austin Hatch.  Not because he's an insanely elite prospect, but because of the hardship he has endured since he committed to Michigan.  He recently survived a brutal plane crash that killed both his father and his stepmother and has been on the road to recovery ever since.  He was injured severely in the crash and for him to even contemplate a return to basketball is amazing.  Every year and recruiting class typically brings one "heartfelt" story, but Hatch has taken that meaning to a new level and should be one of the most beloved Michigan players in future years, whether he turns into a great college player or not.

Hatch's major asset that he brings to the table is his shooting ability.  However, with the plane crash there have been major questions raised about his abilities in terms of both his athleticism and general basketball skills.  In fact, it's still a question whether he will be ready for basketball at all once he arrives on campus in 2013.  I do believe he will be ready to play, but it's going to be quite awhile before he recovers the talents that encompassed his game before the crash.  Until he is completely college ready, which may even be a year or two into college, he's not going to be a major contributor.

Updating 2013 Commit Zak Irvin

Another year and another big commit from Indiana.  In recent years, Michigan has built its teams and recruiting classes off players from Indiana.  A few years ago, two low ranked recruits named Zack Novak and Stu Douglass joined the Wolverines.  They were some of the key factors that got Michigan back to the NCAA Tournament after a decade long drought and to a Big Ten title in 2012.  Michigan then followed by signing its highest rated recruit in the 2012 recruiting class, 5* Glenn Robinson III, who is also from Indiana.  With such strong success recruiting the state of Indiana, it only made sense to bring in another highly rated recruit, Zak Irvin in 2013.

Irvin has great size at 6'6" and is extremely talented on the offensive side of the ball.  He's been called "aggressive" and is cited as a great 3-point shooter.  For Beilein's offense, this is obviously a major advantage for Irvin.  The only area that he probably does need to work on is his strength.  In fact, he actually got bumped down to junior varsity level because his coaches believed he needed to work on his strength.  Now, this shouldn't be a major concern since his school has enormous depth and talent (He actually went to school with 5* MSU commit Gary Harris).  However, if Irvin wants to make an immediate transition to the college game, he will have to work on this weakness.

Michigan Basketball's 2012 Recruiting Class Review

Photo Credit: AnnArbor.com

With the commitment of Caris LeVert, Michigan's 2012 recruiting should finally be finished.  Many, including myself, thought Michigan's 2012 recruiting was finished after Spike Albrecht committed, but nobody could have predicted that the head coach of Ohio (green one) would leave and LeVert would re-open his recruitment.  Regardless, Michigan's 2012 basketball recruiting should be finished, barring some crazy events.

Knowing this, we can finally take a look at Michigan's entire class and see how it might impact Michigan both next season and in the future.  Recruiting has become a key component in building a successful college basketball team and Beilein has done a great job at assembling a class that addresses both the short-term and long-term needs of the program.  Obviously, a lot of developments changed the look of this class, including things like Trey Burke returning to Ann Arbor and the post-season transfers, but I do think Beilein did his best to get a recruiting class that addressed these concerns.

A key example of this can be seen in Spike Albrecht.  Now, he was primarily recruited to replace Trey Burke, since many assumed Burke was going pro, but he still fills a big need for the team.  Right now, there's a significant void at the point guard position.  Yes, Burke is there right now and is an outstanding player, but he will likely go pro after next season, which will leave a huge void at the position.  Derrick Walton, a very hyped 2013 point guard recruit, will be arriving on campus and will be the favorite to replace Trey Burke in 2013, but relying on a true freshman is never a great move.  Albrecht will likely be a redshirt freshman and will probably be a somewhat capable player.  So, even though the major need for Albrecht, which was replacing Trey Burke, isn't needed anymore, he still fills a big role for the team.

Along with this, Michigan was able to add a significant amount of size and talent for the future.  Michigan will be bringing in three players listed in the ESPN 100.  Each of these players have received grades of at least 92 from ESPN, are above 6'6", and will likely get playing time next season.  In fact, I predicted that Glenn Robinson III and Mitch McGary would each get a starting spot next season*.  For a team as solid as Michigan was last year, this is pretty impressive.

Michigan had a great year last season, but there were a few basic elements that the team lacked and the most obvious was size.  Addressing this is key and with the addition of McGary, Robinson, and Stauskas, this should be a problem of the past.  Now, whether all three of these recruits reach their full potential is something that is a question mark, but I think it's a safe bet that at least some of these guys will be making a significant impact both next season and in the near future.

And finally, Michigan filled out its class with the late commit Caris LeVert.  LeVert hasn't received much love from the scouting services (rated as a 2* by ESPN), but I think he may find a useful role with the team.  He certainly isn't going to start next year and I'm not sure if he'll get any playing time, but I believe he is Michigan's best "steal" in this class.  If there's one player in this class that will be a pleasant surprise, it will be LeVert.  He has a lot of raw talent, but I think he simply got overlooked by the scouting services to an extent.  I'm not saying he's going to be the Big Ten Player Of The Year or something, but I think he could develop into a Novak-type player and could be very productive for the team.

Overall, I would say this class deserves an A- as a rating.  It has a very elite recruit (Robinson III), a solid big man (McGary), a great shooter (Stauskas), a steal (LeVert), and a player to fill depth for the next few years (Albrecht).  Some of the recruits probably could have been a little better, primarily LeVert and Albrecht, but ultimately, it's tough to demand much more given the circumstances.  Few thought Burke would deeply consider the NBA at the beginning of the year, which made it very difficult for Beilein to recruit for the future.  Along with this, nobody could have predicted several players would transfer late, opening up even more depth for the team.

Considering these circumstances, this is a great recruiting class and one that could really solidify Michigan as a basketball team and program.  No recruit or recruiting class will make a team or a program, but with Michigan's recent momentum and Beilein's great coaching, I see no reason why this class won't be very productive both next season and the future.  Fans should be very excited to see these guys arrive on campus next fall, as they'll likely continue Michigan's recent winning traditions.


* - Note: My predictions were made before the Trey Burke announcement, so ignore Spike Albrecht as the starter

Caris LeVert Commits To Michigan

Photo Credit: TripleDouble

After de-committing from Ohio (the green one) and visiting Michigan's campus, Caris LeVert has decided to commit to Michigan.  He is a class of 2012 recruit and ranked as a 3* by Rivals and a 2* by ESPN.  He is a 6'4" guard that weighs 175 lbs and will probably be playing SG at Michigan, although I think there is a chance that if needed, he can play another somewhere else.

He was originally projected to commit on Wednesday, but delayed his decision to Friday.  Almost everybody projected him ending up in Ann Arbor because he should be a great fit in Beilein's system and has connections with the school.  He currently attends the same school as 4* defensive end Taco Charlton and I don't think anybody doubts that this was at least a factor in his decision.

If there is a recruit in this year's class that is under the radar, it's LeVert.  He has not received much love from the recruiting services and is not going to be hyped like other Michigan recruits such as Mitch McGary or Glenn Robinson III, but I see no reason why he won't perform well once he arrives next fall.  He has some great skills and was also being recruited pretty heavily by some other Big Ten programs like Purdue.

He probably won't contribute a ton early just because of Michigan's immense depth over the next few years, but I think he could be a big factor for Michigan.  He's one of three guards selected in the 2012 recruiting class for Michigan (the others being Spike Albrecht and Nik Staukas).  Staukas will likely be playing the same position as LeVert, which is a major reason I'm not sure how much of an impact he will have for the team early, but both of them could easily play on the floor together.

Now, just because LeVert hasn't received a ton of love from the recruiting sites doesn't mean he's not talented. He not only led his team to the state championship while averaging 19 points per game, but also won Ohio's prestigious JJ Huddle Player of the Year Award.  The previous winners include players such as Trey Burke, Jared Sullinger, and William Buford.  Obviously, winning the award puts him in good company and remember, Trey Burke didn't receive a lot of love either as an incoming recruit.

Overall, this is a solid pick-up for Michigan that fans may not appreciate right away, but is going to be important in the future.  The kid can seriously play and I think fans will see that once he gets a chance.  As I said, he may not get his chance early, but when he does, I think he's going to impress a lot of people.

Michigan Basketball In Position To Land Transfer Julius Mays

Photo Credit: Scout

It looks like this crazy year of recruiting for Michigan's basketball program has taken another twist today as CBSSports reported that Julius Mays would be transferring from Wright State.  Typically, this wouldn't matter that much, but it was also reported that Mays had listed Michigan as one of his top schools.  Mays is a 6' 2" guard that played at both North Carolina State and Wright State.  He averaged 14.1 points, 2.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game last season at Wright State.  He's a very capable player and has experience playing in both the ACC and some big games.  Along with this, from what I understand of his situation, he will be eligible to play next season.

Right now, he's considering Michigan, Purdue, MSU, Kentucky, and Cincinnati as transfer destinations.  Do I think he'll end up here?  Probably not, but if Michigan doesn't land what appears to be its only remaining prospect in the 2012 recruiting class, Caris LeVert, I think there's a chance Michigan lands Mays.  However, because he's originally from Indiana, I think he will be leaning towards Purdue.  Plus with their lineup, they probably have more room for him than Michigan.  At Michigan, where he'd be for one year, he'd likely be competing against players like Trey Burke and Tim Hardaway, Jr. for playing time.  Whether he could pass either of them for a starting spot is pretty debatable.  Along with this, Burke and Hardaway play a lot of minutes last season, so playing time would certainly be an issue if Mays came to Ann Arbor.

The one significant advantage Mays would bring to Michigan would be increased depth.  Typically, when a team adds a player, they have to give up a scholarship for 3-4 years and are bringing in a true freshman.  In this situation, Michigan would only have to sacrifice a scholarship for one year and get a very experience and capable player.  Along with this, Michigan's only point guard in the 2012 class, Spike Albrecht, would probably be able to redshirt next season, which would do a lot to help Michigan in the long run because Michigan has been short on point guards as of late.  Whether he'd backup Hardaway or Burke is something that's unclear, but there's no doubt if he came to Michigan he would be on the floor for a good chunk of time.  I don't see him starting, but if Burke or Hardaway had a bad night, I could see Mays playing as many, or more, minutes than Burke or Hardaway for that night.

For Michigan fans, I wouldn't get my hopes up too much, since I really believe he's going to end up playing for the Boilermakers, but there's no doubt that he could be useful for Michigan if he ends up here.  There doesn't seem to be an exact timeline for his decision, but I couldn't see it going too much longer because he'll certainly want to become acquainted with the staffs and his fellow players.

On a side-note, if he ends up at Purdue, which I expect, this could do a lot to chance the balance in the Big Ten.  Purdue probably won't be a championship favorite by any means, but with Mays and their solid incoming recruiting class, I could see them being able to upset teams like Indiana, Michigan, and MSU.  Don't expect them to be dominant, but Purdue certainly pulled off some impressive wins last year when they were consistently the underdog team.  In other words, keep an eye out for Mays whether he lands up at Michigan or not, because fans will probably know him well by the end of the season.

2012 Recruiting Not Finished Yet. Caris LeVert Visiting Thursday

Photo Credit: NY2Sports

It appears that Michigan's 2012 recruiting isn't quite finished yet.  Caris LeVert, a shooting guard from Pickerton, Ohio, will be visiting campus on Thursday.  After Michigan officially withdrew their offer from Amedeo Della Valle, most assumed Michigan's 2012 class was complete.  A lot of this had to do with Trey Burke's return and Spike Albrecht's late commitment, but after LeVert decommited from Ohio University (the green one), Michigan has expressed interest in getting him to Ann Arbor.

When I originally heard Beilein and staff were pursuing LeVert, I was actually kind of perplexed.  Not because I thought it was a bad move, but because I didn't understand why the staff would want LeVert over point guard Amedeo Della Valle, who has now committed to Ohio (the red one).  As I argued when Della Valle's offer was pulled, I believe he would have been a great fit in Michigan's roster and helped to secure depth for the next few seasons.  With Burke's impending departure to the NBA and the uncertainty of first and second year college players, I thought it would be great to have another guy on the depth chart.

LeVert would be a great addition to the 2012 recruiting class and may seem lowly ranked, but I think with some development, he can be a key contributor to the Wolverines.  With Michigan's recent success in recruiting, it's rare that Michigan will have to rely on players like LeVert to carry the team like it did a few years ago.  With Derrick Walton entering campus in 2013, there's going to be extremely talented point and shooting guards on campus.  LeVert will likely have plenty of time to develop without being forced into action at either position, even though he's much more likely to play shooting guard.

However, Walton is not guaranteed to secure the point guard position, which is why I believe Della Valle was a better recruit to take than LeVert.  Regardless, there may be some room for him to make an impact at shooting guard for the Wolverines.  Nik Stauskas is another shooting guard that will be in the 2012 class and the potential for two solid players can only leave any fan excited.  Stauskas is clearly more prepared than Varis LeVert at this point, but with the way Michigan players have been entering the NBA Draft, it certainly seems like a good decision to try and recruit another guard for the team.

Nobody knows where LeVert will commit, as he's been eyeing up other programs such as Purdue alongside Michigan, but I think Michigan has a good shot.  Not only does Michigan seem in to be in great shape, but another player from his school is already coming to Michigan, Taco Charlton (4* defensive end).  It certainly can't hurt having someone from his school already coming to Michigan. I didn't expect the coaching staff to be recruiting anyone for 2012 at this point, but LeVert is a great option to secure guard depth for the team's future.