Michigan basketball recruit Mitch McGary falls in ESPN.com rankings
It was a rough day for the recruiting stock of 2012 Michigan basketball signee Mitch McGary.
The 6-foot-10, 260-pound power forward from Brewster Academy fell from No. 2 to No. 21 overall in ESPN.com's updated recruiting rankings for next season.
McGary, who chose Michigan over Duke and Florida in November, now is rated as a four-star prospect by ESPN and the sixth-best power forward.
At the time of his signing, he was a five-star, and rated as the No. 1 overall power forward.
Mitch McGary.
Angela J. Cesere | AnnArbor.com
Even with McGary's dip in the rankings, Michigan still has all three of its signings in ESPN.com's Top 100.
Lake Central (Ind.) High School swingman Glenn Robinson III comes in at No. 26 overall. A four-star prospect, he is ESPN.com's sixth-best small forward prospect.
In addition, St. Mark's (Mass.) guard Nik Stauskas also sits in the top 100 at No. 79. Stauskas, a Canadian-born combo guard, is a four-star prospect.
Michigan's three-man class for 2012 was rated as the seventh-best haul in the country by ESPN.com in December.
Nick Baumgardner covers Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at 734-623-2514, by email at nickbaumgardner@annarbor.com and followed on Twitter @nickbaumgardner.
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Comments
Swann
Wed, Jan 25, 2012 : 3:32 p.m.
Basically, he only lost position in the rankings because he chose Michigan. I am not saying that as a bash on Michigan in anyway, but if this kid had chosen Duke, Kentucky, or Kansas, he would still be highly ranked and everyone would be talking about him. Yet, he chose to go to a Big Ten school that's not known for flash on the basketball court, but one with a methodical well coached offense. Give him time in Beilein's system and this kid will succeed, regardless of where he ends up in the rankings.
Hookemhorn
Wed, Jan 25, 2012 : 1:35 a.m.
Who cares how old he is or is going to be! Brandon Weeden is 28 and he was lighting it up at QB for Oklahoma State!! Glad the kid is going to be older and more mature while playing at Michigan!!
A2Monty
Wed, Jan 25, 2012 : 1:02 a.m.
Wow...I didnt know MSU got the best Guard in the nation coming out of this years class. 10th best overall. Looks like they did well in this years class too. Just when you thought Michigan was going to catch them.
DwightSchrute
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 10:15 p.m.
Can you tell us WHY he dipped? Couldn't you call a couple of recruiting experts and ask them? Give us some of his stats on the season? You know, basic journalism - not giving us a couple of sentences of nothing and linking to the same sites we've already seen without your help is not reporting.
Nick Baumgardner
Thu, Jan 26, 2012 : 9:40 p.m.
Dwight (great name, by the way): As I noted in a reply earlier in a thread, here are a few possible reasons why he may have slipped. -- His prep team is totally loaded, and it's very guard- wing-oriented, meaning he has to really work to create opportunities to score, etc. -- He's a bruiser, high-energy, full of effort, but likely needs more polish. That's a big part of the reason he chose Michigan, if you recall. John Beilein and Bacari Alexander were big reasons why. -- It's a ranking. It only means as much as you allow it to mean. Pretty plain and simple. He's still a Top 25 player nationally and will have a chance to make a major impact next season. Again, I'm not a recruiting expert, I don't travel around watching these players each week and I don't pretend to know all the ins and outs. I've asked Brewster for McGary's stats a few times this season, and I've been told the school doesn't publish them, as they're trying to keep a team-first atmosphere with so many college-bound players. In a recent blog, ESPN's Dave Telep noted how McGary's passion and intensity hasn't been the same this fall/winter as it was during last spring/summer. He wondered if McGary was bored, and added he felt McGary was more realistically suited to be rated as the 21st-best prospect in America. Not the 2nd. But, again. It's a ranking. It in no way (at all) determines his future at Michigan. Only he does. Hopes this helps, sorry I didn't respond sooner (was traveling). Nick
DwightSchrute
Thu, Jan 26, 2012 : 9:13 p.m.
Nick, I'm being serious. Any possibility of doing more work on this story?
AANative
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 9:59 p.m.
Hummel had 2 points against MSU last week, he missed everytning but two free throws, he's still a great player. Basketball players have bad games. If McGary's ranking droped that much because of one game the ranking are not very reliable. I'm still excited about him. With Novak graduating Michigan needs a player like McGary.
lugemachine
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 7:44 p.m.
Doesn't help that he got schooled last week in a high-profile game. His team won despite his efforts, not because of them. He went 1-8 from the field and scored three points. The 6'10" guy on the other team dominated McGary. Mitch needs a coach like Beilein to teach him how to use his height effectively so that when he comes across a much more athletic opponent, he doesn't get smoked like that. This kid can shoot and can play the post. Beilein will maximize his talents.
johnnya2
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 7:37 p.m.
Who cares where you are ranked as a prospect. You could hand me the top 5 players in the country according to the "rankings" and it wont guarantee anything. O prefer players who play and win. Zach Novak was hardly recruited and he has turned out pretty damn good.
81wolverine
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 7:13 p.m.
I'm not worrying at all about this. The reason his rating dropped is in a big game last week against another top team, he was up against the #2 player in the 2013 class and didn't score many points - even though his team won and he got a lot of rebounds. He had trouble against a very athletic, tall (6-11) player with long arms. Also, he's had some other games where he didn't score a ton of points. However, you have to realize he's playing on a team loaded with division 1 prospects. There's a bunch of guys on his team that are trying to make a name for themselves like McGary already has. So, he's NOT the main guy on his team. If he was on a regular high school team where he'd be the main offensive option, it would be completely different. And the recent game on TV mentioned previously his team didn't look all that well coached from an x's and o's standpoint. Lots of one on one play and freestyling. Rest assured when McGary gets to Michigan, he will have a big impact. He wasn't heavily recruited by Duke, NC, Michigan, and others because he's an average big man.
Johnny2x2x
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 6:22 p.m.
Probably because McGrary is going to be a 20 year old freshman at Michigan. Rankings are based on potential and McGrary has reached his while playing against kids 2 and 3 years younger than he is. If McGrary can perform against guys his own age in college there will be immense pressure on him to enter the NBA draft after his freshman year as he will be a 21 year old rookie in the NBA only 1 year removed from high school. He stays 4 years and he's a 24 year old rookie Euro player. Still a top 7 class not far behind the Spartans at #3.
Christopher Simon
Sat, Jan 28, 2012 : 7:44 p.m.
who's McGrary
Mick52
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 6:14 p.m.
Can you give us some idea of why his stock has dropped? Poor performance or are the others performing better stat wise? I always question these ratings since there could be vast differences in the quality of the teams players face. Regardless I would like to see bigger players at Michigan. I am not convinced a multi guard, shoot as many three point shots as you can offense is as stable as an offense with two big players who can rebound well and make a high percentage of short shots and play good defense.
Nick Baumgardner
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 9:59 p.m.
I haven't been able to watch a ton of McGary this season, but I've seen a bit. Observations: -- His prep team is totally loaded, and it's very guard- wing-oriented, meaning he has to really work to create opportunities to score, etc. -- He's a bruiser, high-energy, full of effort, but likely needs more polish. That's a big part of the reason he chose Michigan, if you recall. John Beilein and Bacari Alexander were big reasons why. -- It's a ranking. It only means as much as you allow it to mean. Pretty plain and simple. He's still a Top 25 player nationally and will have a chance to make a major impact next season. Nick
Johnny2x2x
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 6:38 p.m.
ESPN's football recruiting rankings have zero credibility, their basketball rankings are totally different and run by more credible guys. The ESPN basketball rankings are usually the ones looked to as the standard while their Football rankings are a total joke.
chiro19
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 6:34 p.m.
If you follow ESPN a prospects ranking will usually fall after they sign or commit with Michigan or other big 10 schools for that matter! It happens a lot with football. They also typically dont even have guys at the correct position! The most consistant recruiting sites are 247, rivals, or scouts. Look at Kalis, he is a top five tackle and yet ESPN has him ranked at 132 and 10th as a Guard. So I quite frankly dont even pay attention to what ESPN says because they are wrong so often.
Johnny2x2x
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 6:23 p.m.
His age is an issue, he stayed an extra year in high school and is going to be 20 years old this summer.
RudeJude
Tue, Jan 24, 2012 : 5:23 p.m.
More motivation won't hurt him. Michigan has a top-ten recruiting class, I'm psyched, and hoping we can continue recruiting kids of this calibur next year. Go Blue!