Eli Boettger | @boettger_eli | 04/15/20
Welcome back to Three Things!
The intention of Three Things is simple: Keeping you informed. The offseason can be a busy time and college basketball isn’t always on everyone’s radars from April to October.
Here’s how it will work: Every morning, Monday through Friday, we will provide you with three things that you need to know from the previous day. Pretty simple, right? You’ll be amazed by your new college basketball wisdom!
Here are the three things you need to know for April 15.
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Michigan suffers another loss
It’s been a nightmarish 24 hours for the Michigan basketball program. Juwan Howard’s staff went from a near-100 percent favorite to land top-10 recruit Joshua Christopher on Monday night, only to see him announce his commitment to Arizona State just before midnight Eastern.
Things got even worse on Tuesday. Isaiah Todd, a consensus five-star recruit who was expected to start immediately at power forward, will instead decommit from Michigan and explore pro options. At the time of his commitment, Todd was one of the highest-rated recruits in program history. Howard now has two scholarship spots to play with for the upcoming season.
Jalen Green update
Speaking of star freshmen, a big decision awaits for Jalen Green. The No. 3 overall 2020 prospect will announce his choice on Thursday, but it might not mean Green will be playing college basketball next season.
Momentum has shifted towards Green skipping college altogether and playing professionally next season. As of Tuesday night, half of 24/7Sports’ Crystal Ball predictions have Green turning pro, a significant change after more than 60 percent favored Auburn on Monday. Along with Auburn, Memphis and Oregon are also considered to be in the mix. The 6-5 combo guard could be a lottery pick in 2021.
SEC draft decisions
Another busy day of NBA Draft declarations included two significant headlines out of the SEC. Kentucky’s Nick Richards, who finished his junior year averaging 14 points and 7.8 rebounds per game, posted on social media that he will be leaving the Wildcats for the NBA. His vacancy leaves three open spots on the ’20-21 Kentucky roster, which will almost certainly be filled via the transfer market.
The second piece of news came out of Florida where sophomore Keyontae Johnson — the Gators’ leading scorer this past season — announced he’s returning to the Gators. Losing Johnson would have been a massive dent for the ’20-21 roster, which is now shaping up nicely for Mike White’s sixth year on campus. If Andrew Nembhard returns, Florida will have eight of its top nine players back from this past season.
Eli Boettger is a college basketball writer and founder of HeatCheckCBB.com. He has previously worked for Sporting News, DAZN and USA TODAY SMG.
Boettger’s content has been featured by Bleacher Report, NBC Sports, FiveThirtyEight, Yahoo Sports, Athletic Director University, Washington Post, Illinois Law Review and Notre Dame Law Review, among other publications. Boettger is also a current USBWA member and Rockin’ 25 voter.