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Posted on Fri, Apr 16, 2010 : 9:51 a.m.

Detroit Denby guard Isaiah Sykes to make an official visit to Michigan this weekend

By Michael Rothstein

Isaiah Sykes said last month he’d wait until his season was over to focus on where he'll play college basketball.

As the 6-foot-5 guard led Detroit Denby to the Class A semifinals in Michigan, Sykes had no scholarship offers but schools started to show interest.

Among them was Michigan - the same place he’ll take an official visit this weekend to get a feel and, perhaps, a scholarship offer.

“Just see what type of school it is, how they do things, people around the school,” Sykes said Thursday. “Stuff like that.”

His relationship with the coaching staff, playing time and the type of system a school runs all factor into Sykes’ decision.

Sykes said he has a “pretty good” relationship with Michigan basketball coach John Beilein. There is also playing time available with the departure of five players from the Wolverines system, including starters DeShawn Sims and Manny Harris along with swingman Anthony Wright and forward Zack Gibson, who were rotation players.

Sykes also seems to be in the mold of Harris. According to MaxPreps.com, Sykes averaged 19.7 points, 4.3 assists and 5.9 rebounds for Denby this season.

One thing that doesn’t seem to matter is distance. Along with Michigan, Sykes said he might take an official visit to Arkansas “in a couple of weeks.”

“It doesn’t matter where I go,” Sykes said. “I just want to go where the best situation is for me.”

One thing that may make a difference was Trey Zeigler’s commitment to Central Michigan on Wednesday over Michigan. Zeigler and Sykes play similar positions, both more slashers than shooters.

And Sykes said Zeigler’s decision helped him with Michigan.

“It gives me a better chance of me going there, playing there,” Sykes said.

Game film of Sykes against Kennedy from March

Michael Rothstein covers University of Michigan basketball for AnnArbor.com. He can be reached at (734) 623-2558, by e-mail at michaelrothstein@annarbor.com or follow along on Twitter @mikerothstein.

Comments

robotmonster

Fri, Apr 16, 2010 : 9:09 a.m.

Some schools, including final four participant MSU have looked at this kid, I think the issue here is injuries and academics. Looking at the latter, desperate times require desperate measures. I'm sure he's a nice kid and all- but who cares about a 1.5 GPA when one can hit 3 balls in a circus system.