The Wolverine: Covering University of Michigan Football and Sports
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56 THE WOLVERINE OCTOBER 2017 BASKETBALL RECRUITING HOUSTON FORWARD AMONG THOSE STILL ON THE 2018 RADAR In addition to those they've offered, the Michigan coaches continue to watch several others. Houston forward Miller Kopp (6-7, 210, Rivals' No. 97 senior nationally) is the latest to receive serious interest, and he added U-M to his final six after a huge summer. Kopp narrowed his list to five schools (Butler, Georgetown, Northwestern, Texas A&M and Vanderbilt) in June, but he included the Wolverines after head coach John Beilein started reach- ing out. Academics are a high priority for him and his family — his brother, Braden, plays football at Vanderbilt — and it's obvious looking at the list he recently tweeted. "Michigan got involved near the end of the summer, but I'm really in- terested," he said. "I wouldn't say I was surprised, but I was excited when I heard. "My coach told me Michigan was really interested, and Coach Beilein called and texted and talked with my family. He said he was going to start re- cruiting me and that he enjoyed watch- ing me play. It was cool." Beilein discussed the program's ap- proach to player development and how they've been able to get their wings to the NBA. "He talked about how they used their past guys and their pedigree," Kopp said. "I've watched guys like Nik Stauskas and many others they have had. They really have a lot of freedom for their wings. "It's a style of play that would be a good place for me, a good fit for my game." Kopp is versatile, able to space the floor with his shooting ability or post up smaller players. He averaged 22.0 points and 10.0 rebounds as a junior and 21.6 and 5.0 on the AAU circuit. Distance from home is not as much a factor as many might believe. "My younger brother is going to Utah to play as a junior in high school at Wasatch Academy," Kopp said. "That's not a big thing for me. I know the best opportunities for me, and I'm not going to make that decision based on distance." Michigan if a very realistic option, he added. "I thought I had a really good sum- mer, a little late coming-out party," he said. "It was great just being able to showcase to everybody what I can do and my skills. "Coach Beilein has been texting since, and Coach Luke [Yaklich], too. We've been chatting, and I'm learning more about he the school and them. It's a high academic, prestigious school and a place I can get great basketball and a great education." Kopp told The Indianapolis Star he loved his trip to Butler, coached by for- mer Michigan assistant LaVall Jordan. Another former assistant, Jeff Meyer, also is on the staff. "It was good to see the campus, see Hinkle Fieldhouse, which is awe- some," Kopp said. "Just everything it had to offer. The staff is really genuine, a great group of guys." He planned to be at Texas A&M for the Sept. 8 weekend, and Northwest- ern the following weekend. He said he had home visits set up with North- western coach Chris Collins Sept. 10, Beilein Sept. 11 and Jordan Sept. 13. He's planning an early October visit to Ann Arbor. Among the others planning visits: • Keonte Kennedy (6-4, 180, three- star), Austin (Texas) Westlake: Ken- nedy excelled at the Nike Peach Jam this summer for a loaded team. He's athletic and a great shooter who can create his own mid-range jumper and hit from distance off the dribble. Nebraska offered him after the Peach Jam, and Virginia Tech offered in April. He averaged 11.6 points, 7.2 rebounds and 1.8 steals per game at Peach Jam and shot 44.6 percent from long range during the regular Nike EYBL season. There are rumblings he'd commit to U-M on the spot if offered. He'll visit Oct. 8. • Colin Castleton (6-11, 220, No. 120), Daytona Beach (Fla.) Father Lo- pez: The four-star power forward went from unranked to Rivals' No. 120 over- all player in the most recent rankings. He recently cut his list to eight schools, with Baylor, Illinois, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State and Purdue making the cut. He visited Illinois and has trips set to Purdue and Florida. • Tyrese Haliburton (6-4, 170, three- star), Oshkosh (Wis.) North: Halibur- ton holds offers Cincinnati, Iowa State and Nebraska. Northern Iowa and Michigan are the other two schools in his top five, and he's working on a visit to U-M. • Nate Hinton (6-4, 180, No. 115), Charlotte (N.C.) Gaston Day School: Hinton had a big summer and earned a number of offers. He was slated to visit Cincinnati Sept. 9 and Florida State Sept. 16, and is still talking to Michigan and others about visits. ❏ On The Web For regular reports on Michigan basketball recruiting plus videos of U-M commitments and targets visit TheWolverine.com. MICHIGAN NO. 12 IN EARLY 2018 RANKINGS Though it's still early, the Big Ten is off to the best start of any conference in the country in the 2018 class, placing eight teams in the Rivals.com top 20 — Michi- gan State at No. 2, Maryland at No. 5, Indiana at No. 6, Rutgers at No. 11, Michigan at No. 12, Minnesota at No. 13, Northwestern at No. 16 and Iowa at No. 19. Rivals.com has adjusted the way it ranks teams this year, using an automated formula. "The formula is pretty simple," the site explained. "Points are assigned to each recruit depending on where they are ranked, and then the totals for all of a team's commitments are totaled. The higher a recruit is ranked — the maximum value is 1,500 points for the No. 1 player in the country — the more weight his commitment holds." Rivals.com's No. 97 senior nationally, Houston forward Miller Kopp, added the Wolverines to his top group after U-M head coach John Beilein reached out this summer. PHOTO COURTESY RIVALS.COM