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NCAA Basketball: 10 programs poised to land elite 2020 recruiting classes

By Lukas Harkins

BOSTON, MA - MARCH 23: A detailed view as the West Virginia Mountaineers make a basket during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
BOSTON, MA - MARCH 23: A detailed view as the West Virginia Mountaineers make a basket during the first half against the Villanova Wildcats in the 2018 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament East Regional at TD Garden on March 23, 2018 in Boston, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images) /
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ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 08: Newly-named Coach Howard of Michigan reacts. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA – APRIL 08: Newly-named Coach Howard of Michigan reacts. (Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images) /

Michigan Wolverines

Michigan basketball is entering a new era. After losing head coach John Beilein to the Cleveland Cavaliers this offseason, the program turned to former star Juwan Howard to take over the top job. With his connections and assistant coaching experience at the NBA level, many have already speculated that he will be an elite-level recruiter right away. And considering the Wolverines lost a ton of talent to the pros this offseason as well, recruiting wins will be needed to keep the team near the top of the Big Ten.

Thankfully, Coach Beilein already snagged a top-notch 2020 combo guard prior to leaving and Coach Howard was able to reaffirm that commitment. As the lone current commit, Zeb Jackson (No. 58) represents a major future piece in the backcourt and a potential building block for a big-time class to arrive in Ann Arbor next year. Coach Howard has some work to do, but it seems as though he has made his fair share of progress since taking over as the leader of the program.

Among the top targets in the class for Michigan right now include Joshua Christopher (No. 9), Nimari Burnett (No. 23), and Walker Kessler (No. 16). The Wolverines made the most recent cut for each prospect and they seem to be in decent shape to potentially land a commitment in the coming months. Even though they might not be a favorite at this point, Coach Howard is playing a little bit of catch up and the Wolverines will look better in each recruitment given more time. Hunter Dickinson (No. 30) and Carlos “Scooby” Johnson (No. 120) are two other names to watch.

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