12

Thursday, July 13, 2017
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
SPORTS

Deron Irving-Bey over the 

span of a couple weeks. 

Similarly, most of Michigan’s 

top targets this year appear 
to be waiting to make their 
decisions after taking official 
visits in the fall.

“Once the season hits, guys 

want to take their officials,” 
Lorenz said. “The elite guys, 
everyone 
is 
jockeying 
for 

position with those guys, so 
you’re going to see things kind 
of slow down. Some guys want 
to see how teams perform in 
season.”

There 
are 
a 
couple 

prospects, 
however, 
whose 

timelines may be shorter than 
those of their peers. According 
to Lorenz, McGrone and four-
star 
linebacker/defensive 

back Shayne Simon, of New 
Jersey, may decide before the 
summer ends. Michigan is 
battling Notre Dame for both 

prospects, and in the case 
that either (or both) decide 
to pick the Fighting Irish, the 
Wolverines appear determined 
to continue recruiting until 
the bell.

“I know they’re basically 

biding their time with Notre 
Dame,” Lorenz said. “At least 
from their standpoint, I don’t 
think they expect Notre Dame 
to have a great season. I think 
they may be able to try to pick 
off a couple of (Notre Dame’s) 
guys.”

While 
Michigan’s 
2018 

class 
may 
not 
have 
the 

high-end 
star 
power 
that 

came with previous classes, 
the fact remains that the 
coaching staff has hit on 
most of their top targets thus 
far — even if the recruiting 
rankings may not ref lect that. 
Furthermore, 
they’re 
still 

heavily in the race for many 
of their remaining targets, 
such 
as 
defensive 
tackles 

Tyler Friday, Rick Sandidge 
and Michael Thompson, wide 
receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, 

Muhammad, McGrone, Simon 
and 
defensive 
back 
Josh 

Jobe, among others. That has 
the 
Wolverines 
potentially 

primed for a big finish this 
winter after getting off to a 
quick start that Lorenz grades 
highly.

“I’d probably say a B+, A- 

type 
grade,” 
Lorenz 
said. 

“I 
know 
(DeSoto, 
Texas 

cornerback) Gemon Green is 
only a three-star, but he was 
literally at or near the very 
top of their cornerback board. 
Might not have the rating 
or ranking, but Michigan’s 
ecstatic about having a guy 
like that on board. Same 
with 
(Georgia 
cornerback) 

Myles Sims, who’s a guy that 
Michigan 
targeted 
early, 

immediately, and got.

“Joe Milton was the first 

quarterback that Pep Hamilton 
offered. … That’s always a huge 
win. Then to get (Ryan) Hayes, 
(Jalen) Mayfield, Emil (Ekiyor), 
all very significant pickups. 
They’ve kind of done what they 
set out to do so far.”

coaches as a first-team all 

Big Ten player. Flaherty, a 
career 38 percent three-point 
shooter, could bring long-range 
shooting and leadership to the 
national roster.

Not to be outdone by her 

counterpart, Thome pitched 
in 25 points in the WNIT final. 
Thome averaged 7.1 rebounds 
per game and shot 61.3 percent 
from the field on the season, 
ranking in the top 10 in Big Ten 
in both categories. Thome was 
a model of consistency in her 
sophomore 
season, 
starting 

all 37 games and scoring in 
double figures in 35 of them. 
She became just the third 
sophomore in school history 
to reach 1,000 points. This 
is her first USA basketball 
invitation.

Thome and Flaherty are both 

coming off seasons in which 
they were named to the first 
team All-Big Ten and the WNIT 
All-Tournament team.

The inaugural tournament 

will 
include 
Australia, 

Canada 
and 
Japan, 
in 

addition 
to 
the 
United 

States. The round-robin style 
tournament will take place 
from August 12-15, and will 
feature exclusively college-
aged athletes.

Both Thome and Flaherty 

figure to be crucial components 
of a team next season hungry to 
avenge what they perceived to 
be an NCAA Tournament snub. 
The appearance would have 
been the first in the program’s 
history.

But under the guidance of 

reigning Big Ten Coach of 
the Year Kim Barnes Arico, 
the program appears to be 
unequivocally 
headed 
in 
a 

positive 
direction. 
Flaherty 

and Thome’s invitations are 
yet another example of the 
talent that is starting to stream 
into and develop inside the 
program.

BASKETBALL
From Page 11

FOOTBALL
From Page 11

CLAIRE MEINGAST/Daily

Junior guard Katelynn Flaherty was invited to the USA Basketball Women’s U23 National Team Training Camp.

AMELIA CACCHIONE/Daily

Coach Jim Harbaugh has put together a strong 2018 recruiting class so far.