Michigan Basketball Recruiting: Caris LeVert Commits

After the early signing period last fall, it appeared that Michigan's 2012 basketball recruiting class was set with Glenn Robinson III, Nick Stauskas and Mitch McGary. Then, in April, Michigan signed point guard Spike Albrecht as the fourth member of its class. Now, a fifth member has been added with Ohio shooting guard Caris LeVert deciding to commit to the Wolverines on Friday.

Just officially committed to the University of Michigan! #blessed #goblue

— Caris LeVert™ (@kid_caris22) May 11, 2012

LeVert had previously signed with Ohio University, but he was released from his letter of intent after Ohio head coach John Groce left to take the head coaching job at Illinois. LeVert reopened his recruitment and received interest from a few schools. He ultimately decided to commit to Michigan, giving John Beilein five new recruits set to join the team next season.

LeVert is a three-star shooting guard on both Rivals and Scout. ESPN only gives him two stars and lists offers from Michigan, Dayton, Purdue and Xavier.

Michigan Basketball Recruiting Class Of 2012

1. SF Glenn Robinson III (St. John, IN) - 6'5", 192 lbs., *****
2. SG Nick Stauskas (Southborough, MA) - 6'5", 185 lbs., ****
3. PF/C Mitch McGary (Chesterton, IN) - 6'10", 250 lbs., ****
4. PG Spike Albrecht (Crown Point, IN) - 6'1", 180 lbs., ***
5. SG Caris LeVert (Pickerington, OH) - 6'4", 175 lbs., ***

(Height, weight and stars from Rivals.com)

For more on the Michigan Wolverines, check out Maize n Brew. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NCAA Basketball hub at SBNation.com/NCAA-Basketball.

Michigan Basketball Recruiting: Spike Albrecht Commits

If Trey Burke does in fact end up declaring for the NBA Draft like most people expect him to, Michigan will lose its starting point guard. Actually, Michigan will lose the only point guard on the roster who has actually seen significant playing time. With Carlton Brundidge deciding to transfer, Michigan could be looking at starting Eso Akunne if Burke decides to go pro.

With or without Burke next season, Michigan needs added depth at point guard, which is why it offered a scholarship to Spike Albrecht. He is a point guard from Indiana, and he committed to Michigan on Friday. Here's more on Albrecht from UM Hoops:

Michigan is in the unenviable position of having to scramble to find a point guard sooner than later. Albrecht isn’t the highest rated point guard on the board but he has the makings of a solid fit for the Wolverines. That’s not to say he’ll be Michigan’s starting point guard or be a 30 minute per game answer, but he should find a niche given the talent around him.

Albrecht is the very definition of a player who is under the radar. He isn't even in the database for the major recruiting sites, and the only other school really in contention for Albrecht was Appalachian State. For John Beilein, the hope is Albrecht will turn out to be another Stu Douglass or Zack Novak and significantly outplay his recruiting ranking (or lack of ranking, in this case).

UPDATE: Albrecht is now a three-star recruit on Rivals.

Michigan Basketball Recruiting Class Of 2012

1. SF Glenn Robinson III (St. John, IN) - 6'5", 192 lbs., *****
2. SG Nick Stauskas (Southborough, MA) - 6'5", 185 lbs., ****
3. PF/C Mitch McGary (Chesterton, IN) - 6'10", 250 lbs., ****
4. PG Spike Albrecht (Crown Point, IN) - 6'1", 180 lbs., ***

(Height, weight and stars from Rivals.com)

For more on the Michigan Wolverines, check out Maize n Brew. You can also head over to SB Nation's main NCAA Basketball hub at SBNation.com/NCAA-Basketball.

Michigan Wolverines Signee Mitch McGary Falls In Latest Recruiting Rankings

VIDEO: Michigan Commit Mitch McGary Breaks Backboard

Mitch McGary Commits To Michigan, Joins Loaded 2012 Recruiting Class

When John Beilein was first hired to be Michigan's basketball coach back in 2007, one of the biggest concerns about the hire was his ability to recruit big-time talent. Beilein hadn't experienced a ton of recruiting success at West Virginia, although his success on the court rightfully overshadowed the recruiting rankings quite a bit.

At Michigan, Beilein slowly but surely started gaining traction on the recruiting trail. His first big get was Darius Morris as part of the 2009 recruiting class. Morris went pro after last season and was drafted by the Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. A year later, Beilein picked up a couple of talented players in Evan Smotrycz and Tim Hardaway Jr., who is expected to be one of the best players on this year's team. Beilein has already secured a top 40 player in Glenn Robinson III for 2012, and on Thursday he added center/power forward Mitch McGary, who is considered one of the top three players in the country for 2012.

McGary announced his decision to commit to Michigan on ESPNU. The announcement confirmed speculation that had been swirling for the last month or so about McGary favoring the Wolverines. He visited Michigan at the beginning of September, and within a month Michigan reportedly jumped to the front of the pack in his recruitment. Although things seemed to even out a bit in the weeks that followed, Michigan again emerged as the frontrunner for McGary in the past week.

McGary's commitment gives Michigan an outstanding recruiting class for 2012. The aforementioned Robinson III, who is on the same AAU team as McGary, committed to Michigan in September 2010. Since then he has shot up the recruiting rankings, and currently he is ranked 34th in the nation for 2012 by Rivals. Nick Stauskas committed to Michigan in March and is the No. 79 player in the class of 2012, according to Rivals.

McGary, who plays for Brewster Academy in New Hampshire and is originally from Michigan senior Zack Novak's hometown of Chesterton, Indiana, is a universal five-star recruit. He is ranked third in the nation by Rivals and second in the nation by both Scout and ESPN. All three sites list him as the top player at his position. He is the type of player that is expected to start from the second he steps on campus, and he is expected to be a high NBA Draft pick potentially after just one season in college if he elects to go pro.

The 6-foot-10 McGary holds offers from the likes of Duke, Florida, Kentucky, Maryland and North Carolina. Duke and Florida finished right behind Michigan in McGary's recruitment, and the rest of his top five included UNC and Maryland. Michigan hasn't been known to beat out schools like that for basketball recruits in a long time, which is why McGary's decision to commit to the Wolverines is so big. He is one of Michigan's highest rated basketball recruits since Chris Webber and the days of the Fab Five, and from a perception standpoint, if anything serves as an indication that the Wolverines have finally recovered from the scandal related to the Fab Five and the mediocrity that followed on the court, this is it.

For more on McGary and the impact this decision has on Michigan, make sure to check out UM Hoops.

Michigan Basketball Recruiting Class Of 2012

1. SF Glenn Robinson III (St. John, IN) - 6'5", 192 lbs., ****
2. SG Nick Stauskas (Southborough, MA) - 6'5", 182 lbs., ****
3. PF/C Mitch McGary (Chesterton, IN) - 6'10", 250 lbs., *****

(Height, weight and stars from Rivals.com)

All Signs Point To Mitch McGary Committing To Michigan

Michigan's long road back from the cellar of the Big Ten is expected to take another big step in the right direction on Thursday. At 5 p.m. on ESPNU, 2012 basketball recruit Mitch McGary is set to announce his college decision, and right now the situation looks very promising for Michigan. The Wolverines have been considered his frontrunner for the last month or so, and they are still in the lead for McGary, according to a couple of different sources.

First, Scout.com's Brian Snow (via Ben Estes):

Scout.com Recruiting Analyst Brian Snow, on Mitch McGary's decision tomorrow: "I'd be shocked if he didn't go to Michigan."

Perhaps even more promising news comes from Adam Zagoria:

One coach recruiting Mitch McGary told SNY.tv he believes he ends up at Michigan...consistent with other reports.

If coaches on the recruiting trail think McGary will pick Michigan, chances are he will pick Michigan. Of course, the situation could always change, but with his announcement nearing, the general consensus is Michigan will land McGary.

Michigan Basketball Recruiting: Decision Day For Mitch McGary

Michigan Wolverines basketball fans have been waiting for today for some time and now it is here. Highly touted prep basketball power forward Mitch McGary is set to decide on his college choice today, with the Wolverines allegedly having a slight edge of Duke and Florida. AnnArbor.com is reporting that he would be a strong addition to a 2012 class that already includes Glenn Robinson III (son of former National Player of the Year and No. 1 overall NBA Draft pick Glenn Robinson of Purdue) and Nick Stauskas:

"We’ve been playing together for years in AAU and we’ve combined to do big things on that level," wrote Robinson to McGary. "I know we’ll only continue it in college. We’ll have a top five recruiting class and we’ll bring Michigan back to the Fab Five days. We’ll change the whole program around and bring them back to national title contenders if you come."

McGary has already turned heads earlier this year when he had a spectacular two-handed dunk in an ESPN showcase that broke the backboard. McGary would be a solid addition in the classroom, as he worked hard at Brewster Academy to overcome Attention Deficit Disorder.

Mitch McGary Announcement Set For Thursday

According to Adam Zagoria, 2012 basketball recruit Mitch McGary will announce his decision on Thursday. The announcement will take place on ESPNU's Recruiting Nation, which airs at 5 p.m. (Eastern Time).

McGary's list of finalists includes Michigan, Duke and Florida. Although things can quickly change in college basketball recruiting, McGary is expected to commit to Michigan during his announcement. The Wolverines have emerged as the frontrunner for McGary for the second time in the last month, and with an announcement just days away, they are in excellent shape. Of course, Michigan went from being the leader to simply being one of a few schools in contention for him last month, but it appears the Wolverines have again pulled away from the pack.

If McGary does commit to the Wolverines, they will have quite the recruiting class for 2012. Glenn Robinson III and Nick Stauskas are already committed to Michigan for 2012, and they are both four-star recruits. Adding a five-star recruit in McGary to the class would give it consideration for a top 10 or even top five ranking.

Mitch McGary Once Again Reportedly Leaning Toward Michigan

2012 basketball recruit Mitch McGary, who is considered one of the top three players in the nation, is going to announce his decision later this week. When the announcement is made, the expectation is for McGary to select Michigan and become the Wolverines' highest rated recruit since the Fab Five days. This is based on a report from ESPN's Dave Telep, who cited an unnamed college assistant's prediction that McGary will choose Michigan.

This isn't the first time there have been whispers about McGary committing to Michigan. In October, reports from a few different outlets came out in a span of 24-48 hours that said McGary was favoring the Wolverines. It sounded like an announcement was going to be made shortly after the reports came out, but then the situation changed and McGary reportedly no longer had a frontrunner.

When McGary said last week that he has decided to end his recruitment this week, he included a list of three finalists: Michigan, Duke and Florida. Considering he hasn't even visited Florida, chances he won't choose to play in Gainesville. Duke is definitely a contender, but Michigan certainly seems to be emerging as the favorite to land McGary.

Mitch McGary Announcement Coming Next Week; Michigan Among Finalists

UPDATE: Mitch McGary committed to Michigan on Nov. 3.

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Earlier this month, reports were circulating that Michigan was in very good shape with Mitch McGary, one of the top basketball recruits in the nation for 2012. Shortly after the optimism was growing for Michigan to land McGary, a new report came out saying that he was completely open and no school was pulling away in the race to secure his commitment.

McGary released a new blog post on Thursday for ESPN and it includes some promising news for Michigan. McGary has turned his focus to three schools, one of which is Michigan.

At this point, I’m focusing on Florida, Duke and Michigan.

I love Maryland, but I just don’t think that it’s the best fit for me and I’m still looking at North Carolina, but, like I said, I don’t really know what’s going on with their scholarship situation after their latest commitments.

McGary wrote in his blog that he plans to commit to a school at some point next week. He added that right now he isn't sure which school he will commit to, but he will post another blog before his announcement.

My personal take is that Duke is the biggest competition for Michigan in the race to land McGary. The Wolverines have been consistently at the top of the list in his recruitment, and had an announcement been made a few weeks ago, it's likely he would have committed to Michigan. I still think McGary will ultimately opt for the Wolverines, but the obvious caveat is that there are no guarantees in college basketball recruiting.

Mitch McGary Reportedly Leaning Toward Michigan

Although 2012 basketball recruit Mitch McGary said in a blog post for ESPN on Monday that he doesn't have a leader, a number of reports to the contrary are emerging. Specifically, three different reports have come out in the past 24 hours that state McGary not only has a leader, but he is leaning toward the Michigan Wolverines.

Scout's Evan Daniels was the first to report that Michigan is a "major favorite" for McGary. ESPN's Dave Telep later tweeted that if he were to set the odds, he would "install Michigan as the favorite with McGary at this juncture." Finally, CBS Sports' Jeff Goodman tweeted that he is hearing McGary is leaning toward Michigan.

This news coincides with McGary's decision to cancel his future visits and make a decision in the next month. McGary didn't outright commit to anything, but he did say he hopes to have a decision made "within the next month."

As it stands right now, if a decision is made, it looks like Michigan is the favorite to land McGary, who is a five-star recruit and one of the top 2012 players in the nation. The 6-foot-10 McGary visited Michigan at the beginning of September, and I have to imagine he would be the Wolverines' highest rated recruit since the days of the Fab Five if he does decide to pick Michigan.

Obviously in recruiting things can change very quickly, but Michigan fans have to be excited over the news surrounding the Wolverines' basketball program and McGary. While he very well could be a one-and-done player, he could make an immense impact in his one year on campus, especially in Ann Arbor.

Michigan Basketball Gets Commit From Nick Stauskas

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