Michigan Monday: LeVert Converts to Michigan

Former Ohio University commit Caris LeVert officially committed to John Beilein's program on Friday.  Caris is a 6'5 175 pound two guard and is rated 3 stars by Rivals. 

I covered Caris back story last week, but this is a nice pick up for a guy that didn't have a strong junior year (when most top players get recruited) but had a tremendous senior year.   Caris was the JJ Huddle Player of the Year in Ohio with the past winners including: Trey Burke, Jared Sullinger, William Buford, BJ Mullens and Jon Diebler.  I would say that is pretty good company and a nice sign this kid can play.  

We all know about Coach Beilein's ability to find prospects before they blow up (Glenn Robinson III) and Diamonds in the Rough (Novak), lets hope Caris falls into either category.   One of the things you might be thinking is:  How does he fit into the current roster and did coach really need a 5th player in this class?

That is a fair question:  Michigan will be looking for Caris to play the shooting guard role.  A role that left a big hole in Michigan's offense with the graduation of Douglass and Novak.  The only player Michigan recruited to fill that role is soon to be true freshman Nik Stasukas.  Having Caris gives Coach the luxury of having a Stu and Zack combo in Caris and Nik.   Yes, a 5 person class is a large one in basketball and will greatly reduce the number of options next year.  With that said, we all know players leave early for the NBA and other players transfers.   So it's better to be safe with a kid that can shoot the ball and is nowhere near his ceiling vs. having to guess what the roster may look like next year.

Yes, Caris is related to the famous LeVert's in the music business. His focus when he gets on campus will be to hit the weight room and add on a few pounds.