Michigan Team Camp Recap

Just three months into his new job, Michigan head coach John Beilein has hit the ground running.

The new Michigan headman has already done more promoting and selling of his program than Tommy Amaker during his entire tenure. Beilein has already reached out to state high school coaches and athletic associations, been extremely hospitable and accommodating to alumni, students, fans and media, hit the road on the spring AAU circuit and hosted a wealth of prospects on visits to the Ann Arbor campus.

There is talk of an upcoming TV/radio show, a sophisticated video scouting system in Crisler and an increase of student managers that are passionate about basketball.

For some, this means some of the excitement is back in Michigan basketball. Coupled with Beilein's emphasis on player development and structured offensive system, it's easy to see that U-M is headed in the right direction.

U-M's latest events - individual camps for all ages and a high school team camp - were nonexistent under Amaker and marked the new means by which the highly-regarded Beilein is willing to sell his program.
Friday's Michigan team camp brought in around 30 high school programs from all across the state, and a seemingly hand-picked Team Beilein (Red Oxen) composed of top players and U-M targets from around the Midwest and beyond. Games took place across campus on the main stage at Crisler Arena, at the IM building and the Indoor Track Complex.
The day was productive for Beilein, Mike Jackson, Jerry Dunn, John Mahoney and Brian Townsend, as all were courtside at Crisler taking in the day's most highly-touted games. The staff got looks at a good number of prospects considering Michigan from the class of 2008 and 2009.
This also meant that the usual standouts from Detroit Country Day, Cody, Northwestern, Pershing and Community were all in action, and Detroit Basketball Report was courtside to take in all the action.
Click through for reports on Terrance Hopkins, James Still, Amir Williams, Lugene Davis, Ben Simmons, Corey Person, Keenan Coleman, Demetrius Ford, Corperryale "Manny" Harris, Kelvin Grady, Caleb Dean and more ...

MICHIGAN TEAM CAMP – FRIDAY, JUNE 29

Arriving center stage at Crisler at 10 a.m. allowed us to see Pershing with a complete roster, newly-committed Demetrius Ward (Western Michigan) running the show and Lugene Davis pounding away inside. The Doughboys took on Red Oxen, which we'll have more on later. Southpaw Terrance Hopkins has transferred from Redford and drained a couple late threes along with a nice drive and scoop. Ratings-wise, Hopkins was clearly one of the more highly-touted shooting guards in this senior class and his 6'3 athletic build and slashing mentality suggests he'll be an impact player. Keith Appling was a late call up from JV last year (where he was torching opponents for 30 points per game) and impressed over the spring AAU season. Add in Dontae Molden at the off-guard spot and the Doughboys will be tough again in the PSL East. It will be interesting to follow the recruitment of Davis and Hopkins, both of whom at this point project as mid-major plusses in DBR's book.

Friday's second game at Crisler pitted Detroit Community against Ann Arbor Huron and gave us an extended look at 6'7 James Still, one of 2009's best post players. Still is athletic, agile and runs the floor well for a big man. He has post skill. He will look to get a bit stronger and bulk up for a transition to the next level.

The hype surrounding Country Day center DaShonte Riley is tremendous, and he'll be best served to not pay attention to any it because there is no way he could live up to it. Most people will look at DaShonte and envision what they want to see - a 7-foot monster inside scorer, shot blocker and rebounder. Depending on his development, one day that might be the case, and granted he is a big man very early in that development. It's not atypical for those types to be more of a project. Right now, however, his performance and production don't even come close to measuring up. For starters, DaShonte Riley is not 7 feet tall. He is a legitimate 6'10 when he stands up straight. He plays closer to 6'8-6'9. Offensively he is very limited, often turning the ball over or forcing up wild shots both at Michigan and when we watched him extensively at the Breslin Center in last year's state finals. Defensively, he is a liability, often being outworked, outmaneuvered and scored on by smaller players. His footwork is improving at best and his timing is still non-existent. His best shot is the dunk. Rumors have been flying all spring that he doesn't like basketball.

That said, when he gets it right, his dunks are about as fluid and harmonic as any play in basketball. And with 6'7 Donnovan Kirk and 6'8 Amir Williams manning the post, and 6'5 Jordan Dumars, 6'3 Darnell Brown and 6'0 Dale Brundidge in the backcourt along with a loaded stable of underclassmen (freshman Mike Fowler looked solid running the point while Lee Bailey is a standout as well) and JV players, DCD has officially returned to powerhouse status in the state of Michigan. While Kirk didn't play with DCD (minor injury), Williams looked impressive with better post skill than DaShonte Riley. This is a talented bunch - their passing and transition game is first rate for summer - and will be a factor again in Class B.

DCD lost to Red Oxen, a patchwork team that was coached by Saginaw's Lou Dawkins and featured Michigan natives, among others from out of state, Cadillac's 6'7 Ben Simmons, Kalamazoo Central's 6'3 Corey Person, and Saginaw's 6'1 Christian Vaughn. All these guys had one thing in common - they could shoot, and Person was on fire from outside. Seems like coach Beilein was making known what it will take to play for the Wolverines in the coming years - shooting it well with range.

Dropping by Crisler were U-M incoming freshmen Corperryale "Manny" Harris and Kelvin Grady. Harris said he likes Ann Arbor and is adjusting well while Grady - ever the optimist - emphatically said that his brother Kevin would return to the football field this year after suffering a major ACL injury during spring practice.

Before heading out, we swung by the IM building to catch the end of Pershing/Northwestern - won by Pershing - and Cody/Kalamazoo Central, where 6'4 combo guard Keenan Coleman was on display. Coleman is very close to being the best player in the class of 2009 with a combination of strength, speed, quickness and athleticism that is unmatched amongst guards. We didn't catch Coleman afterwards, but he did mention his impressive list of offers to Craig Wind and Eric Lacy - Michigan, Michigan State, Arizona, Utah and Villanova. At 6'4, he already has the height to play both guard spots. Against Cody (Demetrius Ford and Rasheed Williams played well for the Comets), Coleman got to the basket and scored from the outside at will.

We'll be sure to make it over to Romulus on Tuesday and Thursday nights for their summer league, with many of the top Detroit teams participating on a regular basis. St. Cecilia also has summer league play and Wayne State should have a team camp in the works ... stay tuned.

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