Kobe Bufkin

It was the fifth time that the University of Michigan had had multiple McDonald's All-American selections (first since Louis Bullock, Robert Traylor and Albert White in 1995) and the third time that they had three or more.

By the time of the announcement, Bufkin was ranked 42 according to 247Sports.

Bufkin finished third in the Mr. Basketball of Michigan voting by the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan members.

Brooks (Douglass Academy for Young Men/Michigan State) won with 2,889 points, and he was followed by Foster Wonders (Iron Mountain High School/Southern Illinois) with 2,573 points ahead of Bufkin's 2,143 points.

Bufkin was again recognized as a Division 2 first team All-state selection by the Associated Press, but Ke'Ontae Barnes was chosen as Division 2 Michigan state player of the year.

Barnes had not been one of the five finalists for Mr. Basketball of Michigan.

A consensus four-star recruit, Bufkin committed to playing college basketball for Michigan over offers from a set of finalists that also included LSU, DePaul, Michigan State and Ohio State.

Other schools known to have made Bufkin offers included Missouri, Northwestern and TCU.

He was drawn to Michigan by assistant coach Saddi Washington who was retained when Juwan Howard took over from John Beilein.

Bufkin marked Howard's first instate commitment since becoming Michigan head coach the year before.

Along with Caleb Houstan and Moussa Diabaté, he was part of a recruiting class that was the top-ranked class in the nation according to ESPN, Rivals.com and 247Sports for the 2021–22 Michigan Wolverines.

The individual player rankings at the time of signing were Houstan at 8, Diabaté at 20, Frankie Collins at 59, Bufkin at 63, Isaiah Barnes at 114 and Will Tschetter at 155.

Diabaté, Houstan and Bufkin, were the University of Michigan's first McDonald's All-Americans since Daniel Horton in 2002.

Kobe Bufkin (born September 21, 2003) is an American professional basketball player for the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA).

The Hawks drafted him with the 15th overall selection in the 2023 NBA draft He has also played professionally for the Hawks' NBA G League affiliate, the College Park Skyhawks.

He was a 2021 McDonald's All-American Boys Game selection in high school for Grand Rapids Christian High School.

Bufkin played college basketball for the Michigan Wolverines where he was a 2023 third team All Big Ten selection.

Kobe Bufkin was born on September 21, 2003 in Grand Rapids, Michigan to Kimberly Camp and Michael Bufkin.

When he was five years old, he stated that he wanted to play for the Michigan Wolverines football team.

Bufkin played basketball for Grand Rapids Christian High School in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

He joined the varsity team as a freshman.

Entering his sophomore season, he was in the lower half of the 16 sophomores listed among the top 100 players in the state, according to the Detroit Free Press.

Bufkin was the state of Michigan's first McDonald's All-American since Deyonta Davis in 2015.

On February 27, 2019, Bufkin scored 35 in a 71–63 Michigan High School Athletic Association (MHSAA) district semifinal season-ending loss to Catholic Central High School of Grand Rapids.

As a sophomore, Bufkin averaged 20 points, 7 rebounds and 3 assists per game, helping his team achieve a 16–6 record.

Following the season, he was recognized as a Division 2 second team All-state selection by the Associated Press in a year that Romeo Weems was selected as the Division 2 Michigan state player of the year.

Prior to his junior season, the Detroit Free Press ranked him as the best junior in the state and the sixth best player in the state.

Bufkin was among several elite recruits (along with Emoni Bates, Caleb Furst and others) on hand at the Breslin Student Events Center on February 15, 2020 when Michigan State hosted Maryland and celebrated the 20th anniversary of the national championship season of the 1999–2000 Michigan State Spartans.

By early March, Bufkin had an offer from Michigan State.

Bufkin reported an offer from Michigan on April 24.

In his junior season, he averaged 22 points, 5 rebounds and 4 assists per game, leading his team to a 20–2 record.

Following the season, he was recognized as a Division 2 first team All-state selection by the Associated Press in a year that Carlos 'Scooby' Johnson was honored as the Division 2 Michigan state player of the year.

Following the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States-related premature conclusion of the season in which Bufkin's Grand Rapids Christian finished with a 20–2 record, Bufkin listed Michigan State, Michigan, DePaul, LSU and Ohio State as his final five on July 7.

At the time Bufkin was 6ft 4in, 175 lb and ranked 78th in the national class of 2021, 15th among shooting guards and third in the state of Michigan by the 247Sports composite rankings.

Three days later he announced his verbal commitment to Michigan which pushed Michigan's 2021 class from the 5th ranked class to the 3rd ranked.

By the time of his signing on November 11, 2020, he was the 63 ranked member of the class of 2021.

As a senior, Bufkin averaged 25 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists per game in five games, before missing most of the COVID-delayed/shortened season with a fractured left wrist on February 20, 2021.

A week before his injury, Bufkin had been ranked as the number 2 (Pierre Brooks II, #1) player in the state of Michigan by the Detroit Free Press.

Before the injury, Bufkin had been named as a preseason SI All-American candidate by Sports Illustrated.

Bufkin was named to the McDonald's All-American Game and Jordan Brand Classic rosters.