Michigan basketball targets in updated rankings, U-M's standing

Michigan coach Juwan Howard and his staff continue to host visitors in search of some 2023 pledges, and they’re making progress. Several of their targets moved up in the rankings — here’s where they now stand, and U-M’s standing with them.

Isaiah Collier, PG, Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler

Collier moved from No. 4 to No. 2 despite missing the last several weeks with an injury suffered while he was trying out for USA Basketball. Before then, he was one of the top scorers (19.1 points per game) and the leading assistant man (6.5 per contest) on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit.

He was almost moved to On3’s No. 1 player in his class.

“Heading into Peach Jam, there were three players in the discussion: Robert Dillingham, Isaiah Collier, and DJ Wagner,” Jamie Shaw wrote. “Coming out of Peach Jam, Justin Edwards and Mackenzie Mgbako also played their way into the conversation. Isaiah Collier was an interesting one. He is clearly the best point guard in the class, and he had been playing and an entirely different level since December. However, he has not played since May due to injury.

Michigan appears to have a shot. Our recent intel on Collier: On Isaiah Collier’s Michigan visit

Elmarko Jackson, PG, South Kent (Conn.) School

Jackson, nephew of former Michigan All-American cornerback Marlin Jackson, has been quiet since receiving his Michigan offer. He was one of the biggest movers in the updated rankings, moving from No. 69 all the way to No. 23 … close to five-star status.

“Elmarko Jackson is a strong-framed, 6-foot-3 point guard,” Shaw wrote. “This summer, with the We R 1 program on the UAA Circuit, he answered a lot of questions about ball control and shooting. He averaged 15.4-points, 4.6-rebounds, and 3.9-assists per game … also shot 35.7-percent from three on 3.5-attempts per game this summer.”

He has 25 reported offers but hasn’t talked leaders or visits. Michigan might have gotten a leg up with an earlier offer — now, though, U-M will have to battle to get him. Maryland and Miami have built strong relationships with Jackson ahead of fall official visits, Shaw noted.

Papa Kante, C, South Kent (Conn.) School

The 6-10 Michigan target moves from No. 34 to No. 32, a “meat and potatoes” big man who “won’t win many style points, but whose appeal comes in their love of the dirty work,” Shaw noted.

One of his teammates’ fathers is an assistant coach at Pitt. His good friend, Gavin Griffiths (another 2023) pledged to Rutgers, and some of his friends are headed there, too.

Shaw told us recently the Scarlet Knights are making a move, but he’s not ready to move them past Michigan — yet.

Kante is headed back to Senegal, Africa, where he’ll make his decision with family input.

“They have been recruiting me since November,” Kante said of Michigan this summer. “They have been in contact with me constantly. Coach Howard has been talking to me. He has been coming to see me personally; he’s been to my high school two times. South Kent is very tough to get to, so that means a lot. He has developed a lot of big guys, he played in the pros himself, and he says he will help me get to the next level.”

Eric Dailey, PF, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy

Dailey reclassified from 2022, where he was ranked No. 39, to ’23 for a postgrad year. He’s now the No. 41 player in his class. He hasn’t taken a single college visit, and there’s a lot of talk he’ll play overseas when he comes out His father played in Europe many years ago.

“Michigan, Texas A&M, Georgia, Florida, and USC were all schools he named as being in the mix at the Hoophall Classic earlier this year,” On3’s Joe Tipton wrote. “The pro route was also rumored to be on the table for Dailey, despite not explicitly stating which options are available to him.”

“I’m open to everything. Wherever the best situation is for me,” Dailey said. “It’s not all about money. You can make money anywhere now. It’s just basically wherever I’m going to develop at and get better, so if that’s college, then it’s college. If it’s pro, then it’s pro.”

Zayden High, PF, Spring Valley (Texas) High

The forward fell from No. 37 to No. 64, but he’s still coveted by some of the nation’s top programs. He just finished a visit to Michigan weeks after getting an offer from North Carolina.

He impressed Shaw at Peach Jam.

“Coming into the game, I decided to watch High through a different lens. Seeing what he is now, but looking more toward his trajectory of development in what he could become down the road” he said. “What we know about High is that he is an extremely fluid, 6-foot-10 forward who can shoot, run, and jump. He is also a player who has grown a good bit in recent years and is figuring things out.”

Our intel following his visit: On Zayden High’s Michigan visit

Other Michigan basketball recruiting 2023 notes

• Michigan recently offered four-star Devin Royal, but he’s down to three schools — Ohio State, Michigan State, and Alabama. The Buckeyes are heavy favorites for the No. 26 player nationally out of PIckerington (Ohio) Central.

• Four-star point guard and Michigan offeree Aden Holloway is down to two. The 6-1 standout recently transferred from La Lumiere (Ind.) to Prolific Prep (Calif.) for his senior year.

Holloway, originally from Charlotte (N.C.), is choosing between Auburn and Tennessee. He also received offers from Miami, Wake Forest, Michigan, Notre Dame, and others.