Report: Michigan reaches out to 2023 four-star Drew Fielder after decommitment from Providence

Mar 25, 2023 - 6:00 PM

The coaching carousel has been spinning real fast in the college basketball world lately, and with all these job changes come recruits decommiting and looking for other options to thrive.

Drew Fielder, a 2023 four-star prospect, requested his release from his National Letter of Intent to Providence one day after Ed Cooley accepted the job at Georgetown. According Travis Branham at 247Sports, Michigan is among the schools that have reached out to Fielder.

On the composite, the California native is ranked 121st in his class, and 17th among recruits from California.

You’d think Georgetown is the favorite to land him given the Cooley connection, but Michigan has thrown its hat in the ring. Fielder is quick in the post, he runs the floor well and has the three-point stroke of a guard; he’s everything you’d want in a modern power forward.

At 6-foot-9, he’s a bit of a tweener position-wise, but he uses that to his advantage. Against smaller defenders, he stays aggressive, punishing his opponent by backing them down in the post before making a quick move to the basket. He’s got a nice mid-range and three-point shot, so he can space the floor and make lumbering centers pay.

The kid is obviously talented, but to be honest, I’m confused why Michigan is reaching out to him in the first place. When looking at its possible rotation for next season, they already have four possible options at the 4 in Terrance Williams II, Will Tschetter, Gregg Glenn and Papa Kante. And it can’t be forgotten that late in games midway through the year, Juwan Howard relied on the two-big lineup with Tarris Reed Jr. at the 4.

Michigan never found a consistent answer at power forward this past season. Maybe Fielder is the answer, but I’d like to think Michigan’s long-term solution at the 4 is already on the roster.