At the conclusion of the regular season, Sims and Harris were named to the 2nd and 3rd All-Big Ten teams, respectively, by both conference coaches and the media. Following the Big Ten tournament both players were recognized as 2nd-team All-District selections by the National Association of Basketball Coaches. November 12, 2008, marked the first day of the early signing period for high school seniors wishing to become eligible student-athletes in the 2009-2010 academic year. The early period ended on November 19, 2008 for NCAA college basketball teams (the regular signing period is from April 15 – May 20, 2009). However, verbal commitments are usually accurate predictors of signing activity. Based on verbals and very early signings, Big Ten Conference rivals Indiana, Minnesota and Illinois had top 25 signing classes, but Michigan did not according to both ESPN and Scout.com. The team was the choice of four blue chip prospects who followed through on their verbal commitments and signed letters of intent including Matt Vogrich and Darius Morris. The Morris was listed among the top 15 point guards in the nation by Scout.com, Rivals.com and ESPN. Kelvin Grady, who had played 64 games and made 33 starts during his first two seasons, was going to transfer from the program at the end of the prior season, but he became a wide receiver on the 2009 Michigan Wolverines football team. In June 2009, Jordan Morgan had surgery on his left knee to repair articular cartilage. The expected recovery time was four to five months. In October, it was unclear whether he would be able to join the team or whether he would redshirt. Entering the season, Harris was regarded by some as the most highly rated player in the Big Ten. E.g., the FOX Sports preseason All-American listed him on its second team. It included Michigan State's Kalin Lucas on its third team, Purdue's Robbie Hummel on its fourth team and Ohio State's Evan Turner on its fifth team. However, ESPN chose both Lucas and Turner to its preseason second-team All-American list, while Harris was not shown on a single ballot. Harris and Sims were named among the 50 preseason Wooden Award watch list nominees. Harris was also named to the preseason Naismith College Player of the Year watchlist. The 24-member Big Ten media panel selected Harris as a first team preseason All-Big Ten team member. The 2009–10 schedule includes the Old Spice Classic, an ACC – Big Ten Challenge match against , games against preseason ranked power conference opponents Kansas and Connecticut as well as the 2010 Big Ten Conference Men's Basketball Tournament.   - denotes class status adjusted for used redshirt eligibility.