Lucai Anderson, a four-star guard in the 2027 class, has committed to the Michigan men’s basketball program, a source confirmed the news to Maize n Brew. Anderson becomes the first high school to commit to Michigan under head coach Mike Boynton Jr.
On the 247Sports composite, Anderson is ranked 84th overall in his class, eighth among shooting guards and 19th among recruits in the state of Florida. Anderson plays prep ball at IMG Academy. Anderson took an official visit to Michigan the last weekend
of September.
“I feel like the trust coach Boynton portrayed to me on the visit and how he approached me when he first saw me meant a lot to me,” Anderson told 247Sports’ Eric Bossi. “How he explained how he saw my future for me and trust in the process. I feel like the right time to commit is now just so they know I’m on the same page as them and that I really am excited for this opportunity and they don’t have to worry about me being able to come or not to the University.”
Anderson went on to say in the piece that he committed to Michigan because of Boynton’s vision for his development, and he wants to work on becoming more consistent while in Ann Arbor.
Here’s what CBS’ Adam Finklestein had to say about Anderson, who is listed at 6-foot-5 on his 247 profile.
“Anderson is a developmental guard, who has clear tools, but is still not nearly a finished product. The lefty has a high upside because of his overlap of perimeter size (following a late growth spurt), budding skill, and playmaking ability. He also gets rave reviews for his work-ethic and overall approach, which only make continued progression more likely.
“Anderson is a streaky, high-volume shooter, who shoots a soft, high-arcing ball with good rotation, but made just 21% of his threes (on almost 6 attempts per game) and 67% of his free-throws through eight 3SSB games. He played with the ball in his hands more with Germany’s U18 national team at the European Championships, and made 34% on over 6 attempts per game. It was in that setting that we got to see more of his passing and playmaking potential, but it came with a high turnover rate (4.9 assists vs. 4.4 turnovers), which was actually an improvement over his 3SSB ratios (2.6 assists vs. 3.8 turnovers). He also needs to continue developing his right hand, as he has a tendency to come back to his left after a bounce or two.
“Physically, he has good size with big/high shoulders, but shorter arms and not a ton of natural explosiveness in his feet. That is a challenge, both when he’s trying to assert himself as a primary offensive domino, and also on the defensive end of the floor.
“The bottom line is that Anderson is an unfinished product, so it remains to be seen what his immediate impact at the next level will be, but there are several reasons to be optimistic about what he could blossom into long-term.”
The Anderson family is very familiar with Michigan. Lucai’s older brother, Christian, was committed to Michigan for years under Juwan Howard, but de-committed upon Howard’s firing and Dusty May’s hiring. Christian played two seasons at Texas Tech before being drafted by the Charlotte Hornets this summer.
“I think it’s just a crazy coincidence that my brother was once committed to Michigan and now I’m the one in those shoes and it’s crazy to see that we both achieved Michigan under no relation to the coach and under two different sets of coaches,” Lucai said to 247Sports. “My goal of coming to Ann Arbor is to just get as much better as I can and be an impact and help to win as best as I can and prepare for the NBA during my time there.”
