The Michigan Wolverines are reigning Big Ten Champions, and though their season came to a disappointing end last week against the UCLA Bruins, there’s plenty of optimism for next season, especially given the fact that 247Sports Composite has them bringing aboard the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the country.
Take a look below at how several notable publications ranked where they predict the Wolverines to finish in 2022.
No. 2 — 247Sports’ Kevin Flaherty
“The belief here is that Brooks and Brown will seriously consider returning and could even be leaning that way, while Smith is a bit more unsure. If that’s the case, Michigan would return four of its top six players from an NCAA Tournament lineup that finished one bucket away from the Final Four, and will add in the nation’s current top recruiting class. Not only does that class include a nice-sized influx of talent — six players overall, five of which are ranked as four stars or higher in the 247Sports Composite — it’s well spread out with potential impact players. Caleb Houstan is a 6-foot-8 forward who can really shoot; Moussa Diabite is a 6-10 bundle of energy as a big man. Both are ranked as five-stars. Combo guard Kobe Bufkin could outperform his ranking as the No. 42 overall player, while Frankie Collins has a great feel for the game as the No. 51 prospect. The best part is that Michigan won’t necessarily need any of them to be stars with an experienced point guard in Brooks, a potential high-scoring wing in Brown and an All-America candidate in Dickinson.”
No. 2 — The Athletic’s Seth Davis
“The big question is whether Dickinson leaves for the NBA, but even if he does the Wolverines will still be a top-10 team. Juwan Howard has shown he is an excellent coach, and now he has assembled the nation’s No. 1 class, headlined by three McDonald’s All-Americans in Diabate, Houstan and Bufkin. Don’t count out the possibility that Brooks or Brown, and possibly both, will be back in Ann Arbor.”
Other Big Ten teams ranked: No. 4 Purdue, No. 10 Illinois, No. 11 Maryland, No. 13 Ohio State, No. 20 Michigan State
No. 2 — NCAA.com’s Andy Katz
“Hunter Dickinson should be back as the best center in the Big Ten. Juwan Howard will have a loaded roster.”
No. 2 — Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Sweeney
“This will be a very young Michigan team if Juwan Howard can’t convince some of his seniors to come back for one last go-round, but the Wolverines should be elite regardless. Big man Hunter Dickinson will be a top-five player in college basketball after a terrific freshman campaign, and Juwan Howard has signed a No. 1 recruiting class headlined by top-10 recruit Caleb Houstan. There could be some early growing pains with this young group, but Dickinson is quite the stabilizer and Howard has proven himself as one of the elite coaches in the country.”
No. 4 — USA Today’s Scott Gleeson
“The Wolverines likely lose Isaiah Livers and Franz Wagner to the NBA, but there’s a strong chance they bring back second-team All-American Hunter Dickinson and key players in the nucleus. Coach Juwan Howard has hauled in a No. 1 recruiting class (per 247 Sports) that’s headlined by five-stars Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate.”
No. 6 — CBS Sports’ Gary Parrish
“This ranking is tied to the idea that Franz Wagner will enter the NBA Draft while Hunter Dickinson returns for his sophomore season at Michigan, where he’ll likely be the preseason Big Ten Player of the Year. The 7-foot-1 center would be the perfect experienced piece to pair with the nation’s top-ranked recruiting class.”
No. 12 — Stadium’s Jeff Goodman
“We’ll see what happens with Dickinson and also whether maybe one of Brooks or Brown returns to Ann Arbor. But even if one of those guys leave, Juwan Howard is bringing in a star-studded class with a trio of McDonald’s All-Americans. There’s still a lot to be ironed out, but the Wolverines should have enough talent to be in the top 20 — and maybe even higher.”
No. 17 — ESPN’s Jeff Borzello
“This is another tough read. The Wolverines had five seniors in their top seven, while Franz Wagner is a potential lottery pick and is also expected to leave. Could any of those seniors return to Ann Arbor for another year? Isaiah Livers was injured toward the end of the campaign and missed the NCAA tournament, so he’s in a similar position as Collin Gillespie — but Livers has higher NBA draft stock and already tested the waters once last season. Juwan Howard will have to build around Hunter Dickinson next season, which isn’t a bad place to start, but there’s precious little returning besides the big man. Brandon Johns was great in the NCAA tournament, while Terrance Williams and Zeb Jackson were highly touted recruits who played sparingly this past season. Michigan does bring in the nation’s No. 1-ranked recruiting class, led by top-10 prospects Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabate, along with top-50 guards Frankie Collins and Kobe Bufkin. Collins could be the key. There’s not much back on the perimeter.”
– – Quotes via Zach Shaw of The Michigan Insider Link – –
