Michigan makes star-studded pitch to 5-star big man
Ann Arbor -- With a couple notable A-listers on Michigan's campus for last Saturday's football game against Hawaii -- Michael Jordan and Derek Jeter, ever heard of them? -- the men's basketball team took the opportunity to woo a big-time recruit.
Five-star 6-11 power forward Mohamed Bamba took an official visit to Ann Arbor, 2017 commitment Jordan Poole told The Detroit News this week.
Poole was on campus for the weekend's hoopla, too, and spent time talking to Bamba about his future plans.
"(I know) he likes it!" Poole said in a text message to The News, about Bamba's visit to UM. "All the keys fall in the right place, then I think we will get a huge (Michigan) pickup."
Bamba, a New York native who attends Westtown School, a prep school in West Chester, Pennsylvania, is ranked the top prospect in his state, the No. 2 power forward in the nation, and the No. 3 recruit for 2017 in the nation, according to composite rankings.
On Scout he is ranked the No. 2 player in the nation.
According to 247sports.com, Duke is believed to be a front-runner, with Kentucky squarely in the mix. Michigan, Villanova and Arizona are among the 20-plus schools that have extended a scholarship offer.
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Michigan has three commitments for 2017 – Poole, a point guard from Milwaukee; Isaiah Livers, a forward from Kalamazoo; and Eli Brooks, a point guard from Spring Grove, Pennsylvania.
Coach John Beilein hasn't had a hard time finding scorers, but he's often gotten criticized for his big-man fortunes during his tenure at Michigan.
Mark Donnal made surprising strides last season, but seemed to run out of gas down the stretch. Moritz Wagner figured to redshirt as a freshman but didn't, then played sparingly during the Big Ten season before having some clutch minutes in the postseason. Austin Davis (6-foot-10) and Jon Teske (7-0) are incoming freshman.
Ricky Doyle transferred to Florida Gulf Coast after last season.
Bamba had 13 points, 12 rebounds and four blocks in helping lead Westtown to a Pennsylvania Independent Schools Athletic Association championship in February. It was the school's first championship in any sport, and the school opened in 1799, when John Adams was president.
He then dominated the Nike Peach Jam this summer, and also played in the Bahamas and in Chile, the latter with the United States' U18 team. Bamba started writing a blog for USA Today last month.
In his first post, he made mention of Michigan, writing, "Coach Beilein is just really wise. He’s a guy you can just learn a lot from."
"I do want a school with a great fan base and a school with a great network," Bamba wrote. "I just want to be at a school that I can have a sense of pride in.
"I want to be able to look back and say that I was proud that I went there for four years."
Bamba also is taking a look at Harvard, coached by former Michigan coach Tommy Amaker.
tpaul@detroitnews.com
Twitter @tonypaul1984