You just never know what will ultimately sway a player to commit to a school. Sure, we can all

try to make predictions or talk to those close to that player or try to draw conclusions or

trends based on how other processes go, other recruiting battles go, but it is tough to truly

get into the mind of these recruits as they try to make a really difficult decision, maybe

the most important decision of

their life to that point, certainly on the short list. We're going to talk to two incoming

freshmen here today for Michigan men's basketball, and they had different rationales,

different journeys to get to this point. The first is point guard Frankie Collins, who, like many,

felt a special connection with head coach

Juan Howard. It is evident, based on talking to him, did they hit it off from a relationship

standpoint? But as Frankie will discuss, there was a different type of connection that he felt

to Joanne Howard. Frankie has been doubted or not brought up as the best, And he has been emboldened to prove those people wrong.

And he saw that in the perception of Coach Howard early on at Michigan.

Many locally and nationally doubted that Coach Howard could continue the winning ways of Michigan men's basketball.

And as we all know, the returns after two years would suggest otherwise and very much so.

The other Ian Burns, he's a preferred walk-on.

He's had Michigan on his radar really since birth because he grew up in a Michigan fan family.

And as we'll learn in a Tom Brady fan family, and he dreamed of this opportunity.

He certainly had connection points to Coach Howard, thanks to the late great Donnie

Kirksey in the Chicago area, but Michigan was present, was available to him for a while,

at least in terms of an option, not so much the case with Collins, a West coaster.

There's no rhyme or reason to it all.

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