Michigan added another five-star commitment to its 2021 recruiting class on Monday to further build its lead atop the national recruiting rankings. The Wolverines' No. 1 class was bolstered as Moussa Diabate, a top-20 national prospect from Bradenton, Florida, picked Michigan over Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas and a dozen other top programs across the country.
Diabate is the second five-star pledge for Michigan in the 2021 class that now consists of six commitments, all but one of whom rate inside the top 150 of 247Sports' Composite rankings for the cycle. He's the second-highest ranked commitment of the class behind only Caleb Houstan, who committed to Michigan at the end of last month to put the program into the No. 1 spot in the recruiting rankings.
It's been a slow yet steady burn for Michigan coach Juwan Howard as he's built this class together piece by piece over the last few months, but now it's shaping up to be an all-timer. Howard, as fate would have it, was a key piece of the Fab Five Michigan team back in the day, and now he's doing his darndest to one-up his golden days at his alma mater.
Howard signed the No. 15 class in last season's recruiting rankings -- which was tops among all Big Ten teams -- but no one saw this recruiting resurgence coming. Remember, we're not all that far removed from Howard being linked to NBA coaching opportunities, which he ultimately shut down. And only once in the last decade has the program recruited a top-10 class, let alone one that may challenge the likes of Duke and Kentucky for the top overall spot.
As for Diabate, he and Houstan look to be what, on paper, will be one of the more formidable freshman frontcourt duos in the country next season. The 6-foot-10 big man plays with energy and is an exceptional two-way presence who leverages his length to his advantage much like the coach who he just committed to play for was known for back in his day.
