Four-star Khani Rooths decommits from Michigan basketball
Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy four-star small forward Khani Rooths has decommitted from Michigan Wolverines basketball, he told On3’s Joe Tipton Monday afternoon. Rooths pledged to U-M last November but did not ink a Letter of Intent during the early signing period.
Michigan fired head coach Juwan Howard on Friday (March 15). According to Tipton, Rooths will “continue to consider Michigan, even though his recruitment is now back open.”
When making his commitment late last year, Rooths chose the Maize and Blue over fellow finalists Florida State and Georgia. He also has offers from Maryland, Miami, Mississippi State and Virginia Tech.
Rooths is a Washington D.C. native who played his high school basketball at IMG Academy in Florida. He’s the No. 29 overall player in the country, according to the On3 Industry Ranking. He checks in as the No. 11 small forward in his class and seventh-best player in Florida.
Rooths cited his relationship with Howard and the Michigan staff as a big reason why he made his pledge.
“I chose Michigan because it was a place where I felt I could grow as a man, not only a basketball player,” he told On3 in November. “I’ll be in the hands of men who will keep me accountable. Not just only on the coaching staff, but I also met people that work with the basketball players too and they help you be professionals off the court. I had never experienced that before.
“(Michigan) is also a place where it would get me to where I needed to be, going to the next level. Coach Juwan says all his players say he’s another father figure to them and I see that. My mom saw it also and I felt it was the perfect place for me.”
Rooths’ decommitment leaves Michigan with two members of its 2024 recruiting class, both three-star guards — Grand Rapids (Mich.) Catholic Central’s Durral Brooks and Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy’s four-star guard Christian Anderson.
The Wolverines’ roster is set to undergo an overhaul this offseason, after they went 8-24 with the most losses in program history last year. Two players have already entered the transfer portal in guards Dug McDaniel and George Washington III.
