2014 PF Keita Bates-Diop Picks Ohio State

For many, Keita Bates-Diop had become the most desired prospect in Michigan's 2014 recruiting.  When I posted on him visiting campus a few months back, he was already receiving rave reviews from the scouting services and he has only went up from there.  He performed very well during the summer and to no surprise, had been receiving some major attention from multiple programs including Michigan, Ohio State, Illinois, Purdue, and Wisconsin.

When I first talked about Bates-Diop, there seemed to be a few schools that were really recruiting him hard, but Michigan and Purdue definitely seemed to be high up on his list.  However, Ohio State got in the mix and really recruited Bates-Diop pretty hard and ultimately, recruited him very effectively.  He tweeted earlier today that he committed to Ohio State.  He is now Ohio State's only commit for the 2014 class and will surely do a lot for them in the coming years.

2014 Prospect Vincent Edwards Offered By Michigan

In some exciting recruiting news for Michigan basketball, 2014 forward Vincent Edwards has been offered by Michigan.  I previewed Edwards earlier this summer and he is a player that will likely end up on every Michigan basketball fan's radar over the next year.  So far, Michigan has only offered a few prospects in the 2014 recruiting class and has only secured one commitment (Austin Hatch).  Edwards could very easily shake up Michigan's 2014 recruiting class and be the first real commitment for Michigan in 2014, since Hatch originally committed in 2013.

Edwards shared the news on Twitter and also noted that he would be soon be making a visit to Ann Arbor.  Only two of the major scouting services have rated him at this point, but their ratings have been pretty solid so far.  Scout has him as a 3* and Rivals has put him as a 4* recruit and the #66 player in the nation.  In my preview, I said that Edwards "seemed" like a 4* recruit to me and I thought he would end up closer to his ranking on Rivals than to his ranking on Scout.  I definitely still feel this way, but either way, he definitely is a quality player and could be an impact player for Michigan, if he commits, for a few solid seasons.

Introducing 2014 Prospect Vincent Edwards

One of the more versatile players in the 2014 class is Vincent Edwards.  He plays small forward for Middleton, Ohio and has been starting to pick-up some serious attention from bigger programs and Michigan during the summer.  Michigan still has no commitments for the 2014 class and Edwards has the potential to change that in the future, if things go right for the Wolverines.

The first thing to note when analyzing Edwards is his impressive shooting ability.  He's an extremely difficult player to defend because he can shoot from just about anywhere on the court.  TripleDoubleProspects even staets that "you cannot leave him open within 25 feet".  This is true not only because of his shooting ability, but because he also has a great ability to attack the basket at a moment's notice.  Along with this, he has solid speed and is great in transition.  He's just one of those players that has the type of "feel" it takes to make it work in transition.  His defense is solid and I even saw a few plays where he single-handedly stopped a sure-fire scoring drive because of his great defensive play.  He is 6'7", which goes a long way towards helping his rebounding, but that's not the only reason he's good at rebounding.  If you watch him play, he fights desperately for every rebound, which makes a big difference.  One interesting thing to note is the fact that he can easily play multiple positions on the court.  TripleDouble thinks he can play point guard.  I'm not sure if he would be solid at the college level at the position, despite some good passing skills, especially in transition, but I could definitely see him moving around the wing.