Not even two weeks ago, University of Detroit Jesuit (MI) PG Cassius Winston was not only in play for Michigan but rumor had it that he was starting to lean towards the Maize and Blue a bit. And now, he’s off the board:
My list of schools is now down to 3. Msu, Pitt, and Stanford (no order). Umich no longer an option
— Cassius Winston (@cassiuswinston) September 9, 2015
Wait, what? What happened?
Though it may look to some that Winston dropped Michigan, if you read his tweet carefully, you can see that it may have been the Wolverines coaching staff that moved on. And it likely happened after the UofD point guard wanted to reschedule his official visit to Ann Arbor from September 19th to the 26th (first reported by Scout’s Brian Snow).
According to MLive’s Brendan Quinn, Winston was all of a sudden uncertain if he would even take the visit after trying to reschedule it. That was the first sign of a possible break up, and started the rumors that the staff was looking to move on so they wouldn’t miss out on their other point guard targets.
The Michigan Insider’s Sam Webb broke down the decision by backing up those rumors ($):
So in light of that the options were fairly clear. Michigan could focus on landing Winston exclusively by showing strict deference to his schedule, or focus on landing a point guard from a group of comparable talents by opening up the visit calendar to all of targets and having a race to the finish line. It appears that the Wolverine brass chose the latter option.”
Is that a matter of fact? That is unknown but with the staff in desperate need of a point guard in 2016, making sure they get one of their top choices was more important than waiting on (and MAYBE landing) Winston.
So, what’s next?
From reports/tweets, the staff is already working on their other options and WHS Information Technology (WI) PG Te’Jon Lucas looks to be one of the first recruits they were in to see:
U of M Assistant coach Lav Jordan is in millwakee as we speak. Per Mayor
— Adam Troia (@altroyhoops) September 9, 2015
Other names that have been reported to be at the top of the board include Lima (OH) PG Xavier Simpson and St Patrick (NJ) PG Bryce Aiken.
So, keep a close eye on the 2016 point guard board. Offers could go out soon, visits will be set up, and the spot could be filled quickly (Simpson expected to announce later today).
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