Tim Hardaway Jr. Commits to University of Michigan Wolverines

Tim Hardaway Jr. has committed to the University of Michigan for the 2010 collegiate season and looks to follow in the footsteps of his father Tim Hardaway. Tim Hardaway Jr. heads into next season as a high school senior at Palmetto High School in Miami, Florida, and could be a big "get" for the University of Michigan if he can come anywhere close to the talent of his father. That talent comparison is also something that could work against Tim Hardaway Jr. unfortunately, as he will have a big legacy to live up to during his college career.

According to ESPN University rankings, they have Tim Hardaway Jr. as receiving a scout's grade of 93. That is pretty high for someone who is just now becoming a senior in high school, but it also shows that Tim Hardaway Jr. has a lot of potential. He had been down to two schools that he was considering high on his list, but he decided to finally commit to Michigan on June 29th. Now the 6 foot 4 inch player out of Florida could be an integral piece in the new line-up that Michigan is trying to put together to get the school back into respectability in NCAA basketball.

Tim Hardaway Jr. is a shooting guard right now, and according to ESPN's U-100, the 28th best shooting guard prospect out there. Again, that is very good for a kid still in high school, and if he can perform well as soon as he is on the stage of college basketball, the value of him as a player could go up quite quickly. This is sure to make his dad proud, as he came up with a number of expectations early on as well, and ended up turning his skills into a nice NBA career that included several runs in the NBA Playoffs that almost took his teams to the promised land.

Landing Tim Hardaway Jr. is a big accomplishment for John Beilein at the University of Michigan, and it adds another piece to the puzzle for the upcoming U of M basketball seasons. Hardaway had just finished attending a camp hosted by the coach called Elite Camp in Ann Arbor last week, and made the decision to go ahead and commit himself to playing for Michigan in 2010. It will be an interesting story to see how well he can play, and another great story about the son of a former NBA star making good on his potential. His father, Tim Hardaway, had a lot of success playing first for the Golden State Warriors as a point guard, and then helping the Miami Heat to several divisional titles in the 1990's.

Sources: MLive Scout Report and ESPN Scouting Grades