Tim Hardaway Jr.
ESPNU Top 100 prospect, Tim Hardaway Jr. (6-5, 180), out of Miami Palmetto has committed to play basketball for John Beilein at the University of Michigan. As a junior at Palmetto Hardaway, a 6-5 shooting guard, averaged 25.2 points and 11.3 rebounds per game and earned first team honors on the Miami Herald’s All Dade Team.
Hardaway recently attended Michigan’s Elite Camp and Team Camp. Hardaway’s team played Clarkston (Clarkston, Michigan) on Saturday. According to Clarkston assistant coach, Eric Chambers, Hardaway did not shoot well in the game and did not play particularly well overall. Chambers said it looked like Hardaway might be a streaky shooter. He said he does run the floor well and uses his quickness effectively. Word out of the camp on Sunday was that Hardaway had regained his shooting touch and ended the camp on a high note. That high note also included his Michigan offer and he committed shortly after he returned home to Miami.
Tim Hardaway
Hardaway is the son of former UTEP and NBA star Tim Hardaway. Both Hardaway junior and senior were on hand at Crisler Arena in December for Michigan’s win over Duke. Hardaway senior has gone on record saying that he likes Michigan and John Beilein and believes the style of play at Michigan suits his son perfectly.
ESPN and Scouts, Inc evaluated Hardaway Jr. in May 2009 and had this to say: “displayed high-level ballhandling and passing ability at both guard positions. He is an excellent athlete who uses his quickness and length to his advantage. He showed he is a threat from 3 if the defender backs off. He was very good in transition pushing the ball up the floor and is a great finisher at the rim. He had a good feel for using ball screens and also could create off the dribble. He was able to get into the paint for a midrange jump shot and did a nice job drawing the defense and kicking out to an open teammate. Defensively, he is a smart, fundamentally sound player who understands angles and has above-average lateral quickness. He still has upside and is developing some point guard skills. As his body continues to mature, Hardaway should blossom into an excellent college player”.
John Beilein continues to defy those so called experts who said he would not be able to recruit at Michigan. Hardaway becomes the second member of Michigan’s 2010 class, joining rising forward Evan Smotrycz, a 6-9 forward out of New Hampshire. Smotrycz is climbing into the top 50 of most recruiting services rankings with his outstanding play this summer.
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