Wolverine Wednesday: Ben is Blue and Michigan Basketball Continues to Lose Players

As expected Ben Mason committed to the Wolverines last night.   He is rated a 3 star LB across the board and is expected to play either LB or FB at Michigan.  Here are some great quotes from him visit to A2: 

“I visited all day on Tuesday,” Mason told The Michigan Insider. “We arrived and (Offensive Analyst and Recruiting Coordinator) Coach Bam (Richards) showed us around the football offices. We saw the weight room, training room, practice fields and indoor facilities. I then got to spend some good quality time with the coaches. (Defensive Coordinator) Coach (Don) Brown and Coach Bam took my family and I over to the Big House after meeting with all the coaches. The view of the field from the tunnel was special. The idea of 110,000 people coming to watch a football game gets me excited.”

“Coach (Jim) Harbaugh brought my family and I into his office and we talked for a while about life and things other than football. Out of the blue he asked me if I wanted to be a part of the family at the University of Michigan. I was very excited to hear that.”

“(My parents) loved the college town feel of Ann Arbor and impressed with the academics. They also loved the opportunity I have defensively at linebacker or offensively at fullback with Coach Wheatley. I just want to play football. I really don’t care what position.”


Ben is a Don Brown/Jim Harbaugh type of player, old school tough that can play a number of positions.   He even could grow into a DE role down the line.   His offer list is an academic one including the likes of:  Army, Boston College, Cal, Columbia, UConn, Dartmouth, Duke, Harvard, Kansas, UMass, Navy, Pitt, Rutgers, Syracuse, Temple, Wisconsin, and Yale.

Ben is the 12th Michigan commit for the 2017 class.

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Coaches and Players are leaving the Michigan program at a very fast rate.   The day Spike announces he is transferring to Purdue, Kam Chatman decides to leave the program as well.   Kam was a highly recruited player a few years ago and considered a top 30 guy.   His only highlight as a Wolverine was hitting the 3 against IU in the Big Ten tournament to get Michigan into the NCAA Tournament.   Other than that, his time at Michigan has to be considered a major disappointment.  Players ranked that high are expected to come in and contribute right away, Kam never really did that.   He struggled with defense and his outside shot.  

Kam will be missed for depth reasons moving forward, Michigan now finds itself 2 scholarship players down and no real solution for a recruit or graduate transfer.    Add that to the two assistant coaches opening Michigan has, it is going to be a busy off season for Coach B as he tries to fill all these holes. 

As I write this, it seems Coach has hired two assistants in ex-Wright State coach Billy Donlon and Oakland assistant Saddi Washington.  More to come on these guys.