NCAA Basketball Recruiting: Pros and cons of Jalen Warley final 6 teams

Michigan Wolverines

Pros

It’s been a great recruiting offseason for the Wolverines so far, including four-star wing Isaiah Barnes and top-100 shooting guard Kobe Bufkin. The one big missing piece is a capable point guard to replace Columbia grad transfer Mike Smith and Eli Brooks. The other guard Michigan is after in the 2021 recruiting class is four-star Jaden Akins, who has them in his top-6.

At one point, it looked as if the Wolverines were in the lead to land Warley. Head coach Juwan Howard showed well in his first season with pass-first point guard Zavier Simpson, who averaged nearly eight assists a game. Smith, the likely starter this upcoming season, is a score-first point guard. Warley is somewhere in-between, which could be the best thing for the Wolverines to succeed in the future.

Cons

While the threat of Akins joining and creating competition is a potential factor, the biggest con for Michigan in regards to Warley is actually Coach Howard himself. Not necessarily because he’s a bad coach but rather his experience compared to the others on the list, outside of Penny Hardaway.

There are three who have made trips to the Final Four, (Bennett, Altman, and Larranaga), with Hamilton recently making an Elite 8. There’s history of these coaches to not only win at a high level but also develop players into future NBA or overseas contributors. The named-ID of Howard helps right now for players but his overall inexperience is still a concern for players during recruiting pitches.