The Wolverine

June-July 2017

The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports

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50 THE WOLVERINE JUNE/JULY 2017 2017 BASKETBALL RECRUITING ISSUE BY CHRIS BALAS M ichigan has offers out to a number of 2018 recruits and has one already in the fold in Detroit East English Village point guard David DeJulius (6-0, 190 pounds, Rivals.com's No. 129 junior nationally). U-M is expected to have at least four scholarships to of- fer in the class — here's where things stand with some of the top targets: IGNAS BRAZDEIKIS (OFFERED) 6-7 • 180 • SF Mono (Ontario) Orangeville Prep Rivals.com Four-Star Prospect A good friend of another Canadian — former U-M shoot- ing guard Nik Staus- kas, now in the NBA — "Iggy" Brazdeikis is a skilled forward, and like U-M's 2014 first-round NBA Draft pick he's versatile and has all the tools needed to excel in Michigan's offense. Stauskas has already let him know how well he'd fit in Ann Arbor. "He was telling me how great it is and stuff like that," Brazdeikis said in late April. "It was nice seeing a person I know who went to Michigan already. We had a couple summer workouts together, so we know each other really well. It just grew from there." The 6-7 standout visited Michigan unofficially last fall for the Wolverines' non-conference game with Mount St. Mary's. Head coach John Beilein has stayed in touch since, and it didn't take long for the coach to offer once he saw the Canadian in action at the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) in Hampton, Va., the first of the four Nike events. Brazdeikis put up 22, 27 and 18 points in three games while going 5 of 11 from three-point range. His average of 22.3 points per game was good for fifth overall at the event and earned him third-team all-tournament hon- ors. He'd already had a number of schools on him, but the phone calls have picked up. "During the high school season I definitely had the best season of my career," he said. "I feel like I'm play- ing really well right now and working hard to continue to try to get better. "Coach Beilein was there … he was just saying how he saw a lot of im- provement in my game since the last time he saw me and how versatile I am, how I can shoot, drive and attack, and that he just enjoyed watching me play. I was just honored to hear that." Brazdeikis — who was accompa- nied by his dad, his little brother and one of his high school coaches — en- joyed his trip to Ann Arbor. "It was really good," he said. "The facility was so clean, and it was amaz- ing. They showed me around the whole basketball facility, I got to meet the strength and conditioning coach [Jon Sanderson]. "It was just really cool, and I really enjoyed the game." Vanderbilt and Pitt are the two schools most often linked with Braz- deikis — "a top-50 player if he were an American," according to Rivals.com's RISING STARS Michigan Has Offered A Number Of Talented Juniors Nationally Four-star forward Ignas Brazdeikis is on Michigan's radar and friends with former U-M shoot- ing guard Nik Stauskas, a fellow Canadian. PHOTO BY JORDAN WELLS

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