SPURNED: Michigan Basketball Loses Out on Top Backcourt Recruit

The Michigan Wolverines basketball team went into Friday night’s watch party with 4-star guard Devin Cleveland hoping for some positive recruiting momentum after landing Lucai Anderson earlier in the week.

The hope was that Cleveland would potentially pair with Anderson to give the team an instant impact in the backcourt with their talented backcourt potentially depleted by the end of the 2027 season.

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Cleveland had narrowed his search down to three schools. Michigan was one of them and they felt like they were in a good spot, but ultimately were spurned when Cleveland announced he was heading to Missouri to continue his basketball career.

Who Is Devin Cleveland?

Cleveland was closely following the Wolverines last season and after winning the national championship, it felt like the Wolverines were in a good spot to land the talented guard.

Turmoil hit the program from there.

Dusty May shocked the basketball world when he left Michigan to go coach the Dallas Mavericks. That means there was uncertainty within the program, and that was not solved when the Wolverines hired Mike Boynton Jr. to replace him. Boynton Jr’s contract situation is well documented, and he may be a short term solution to the basketball program.

Michigan men’s basketball head coach Mike Boynton Jr. speaks at his introductory press conference at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Tuesday, July 28, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

With that turmoil within the program, Cleveland began looking at other schools. Coming into the night, Michigan led the way for Cleveland’s services. According to Rivals’ Recruiting Prediction Machine, the Wolverines had a 38 percent chance to land him, with Missouri nipping at their heels in second place. Still, Michigan felt good about their chances due to their background with the player.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/spurned-michigan-basketball-loses-top-234912715.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-16 23:49:00

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