What the hell just happened? This is the main question that has been on the the quarantine brains of the Michigan faithful for over 48 hours now.
Flashback to a week ago, when five star power forward recruit Isaiah Todd was a firm verbal commit to Coach Juwan Howard's Michigan program. Another five star recruit at the shooting guard position, Josh Christopher, seemed to be all but a formality for Michigan with a plethora of 24/7 Crystal Ball predictions slating him to Ann Arbor. The situation was essentially a foregone conclusion, as Michigan touted a top three recruiting class with Todd and would've been the undisputed highest ranked freshman with Christopher on board.
Then, like the spontaneous destruction of the Berlin Wall separating communist East Germany from the democratic west, Michigan Basketball's wall came crashing down. Or so it seemed to an overwhelming majority of Michigan fans.
Christopher was the first brick in the wall to fall, as his highly anticipated commitment video via his Instagram announced that he would be joining his older brother at Arizona State University. His decision to choose such a mediocre program in ASU over a well-established Michigan basketball team with a universally known coach touting NBA pedigree and a roster that had Final Four written all over it was... baffling to say the least. Extensive time spent on campus and a close proximity are the two most cited reasons behind Christopher's commitment to Tempe. What doesn't quite add up is the fact that Christopher's immense talent has already essentially guaranteed him a spot in the 2021 NBA draft, meaning that he will only be spending one year of eligibility at the college level. In my humble opinion, I think adding only a few more hours of flight time away from family for 8 month's time is well worth the payoff that would come in the form of National Title aspirations, but to each their own I suppose.
Less than a day later, Isaiah Todd followed suit and announced his decision to forgo his college eligibility and sign a G League contract before entering the NBA draft. Rumor has it that if Christopher were to commit to Michigan, Todd would have stayed, seemingly adding salt to the recruitment wound.
If I may oblige in a brief "Old man rants at the clouds moment", these Todd's decision to make the immediate jump to professional ball is a microcosm of everything that is wrong with the current state of basketball. While the NCAA shoulders the majority of the blame in my mind for making student athletes shy away from playing in college due to the skewed and often outrageous rules, my own stubborn love for college basketball is also at fault. Yes, I'm aware that an 18 year old kid is going to take the million dollars dangling in front of his face more often than not, but it upsets me that the college level is missing out on the opportunity to have players such as Todd. To me, it is college basketball that makes the sport so unique, so inspiring, and so enjoyable. Knowing that we are missing out on that showcase of generational talent which would only see the college game enhanced to an even higher level is flat out unfortunate.
So after answering the question of "What the hell just happened", the next is: "Where does Michigan go from here?"
I eluded to it earlier, but I think that Michigan basketball will be more than fine. Losing both Todd and Christopher in the span of 24 hours sucks, there's no other way to put it. But what needs to be remembered is that those two players would have made an elite team a phenomenal one. While a phenomenal team has the expectations of title or bust, an elite team has all the makings of a title team without the heavy weight of those high expectations on its shoulders. That is something that I as a fan who lives and breathes Maize and Blue can most certainly live with.
I fully expect Isaiah Livers to return with a vengeance against his injury-riddled 2019 campaign, in addition to his supporting cast of returning contributors including Brandon Johns Jr, Franz Wagner, Eli Brooks, and Austin Davis. And where Michigan lost just two recruits, they add four very capable ones in grad transfer Mike Smith, Zeb Jackson, Terrance Williams, and ultra athletic big man Hunter Dickinson. Not to mention, Juwan still has one more scholarship up his sleeve to offer recruits still on the market for the late signing period. This isn't the last of the offseason news to come out of Ann Arbor, far from it. This is still a very good and entertaining Michigan basketball team, and next season should be a fun one. To be continued... Go Blue.
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