Here's out roundup of IU basketball, football and recruiting news and notes:
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Obviously with the commitment of Westtown (Pa.) Westtown School forward Jake Forrester ((6-8, 215 pounds, No. 142 player nationally), a lot of the attention for 2018 turns to really just two players – New Albany five-star shooting guard Romeo Langford (6-4, 185 pounds, No. 6 player nationally) and Nashville (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy five-star point guard Darius Garland (6-0, 150 pounds, No. 15 player nationally).
I’ve gotten a few questions about this - the duo do know each other but they aren’t a package deal. So if one commits to a school, that doesn’t necessarily mean the other is following.
However, it’s certainly one factor among several when it comes to picking a school. As I said, they know each other – would be fun to start in a backcourt together.
Total speculation, but since I’ve been asked about this, right now it seems like Garland could sign in the fall and Langford in the spring. So Garland might be the first to make a choice, which (again, just speculation as of today,) I think is unfortunate timing for IU, because I think they’ve got a stronger chance with Romeo as of today.
So If Romeo chose first and chose IU then obviously that could have weight with Garland. If Garland picks Vandy or Duke this fall, though, that doesn’t mean Romeo wouldn’t still pick IU - just saying it’s not helpful.
Garland is going through a cycle of in-home visits with UCLA, Vanderbilt, IU and Duke. He’s got official visits set up to Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Indiana and Duke.
He really likes Duke a lot. However, they have a commitment from five-star point guard Tre Jones. Garland obviously wants to play early. How Duke handles this – would Jones play over Garland? Could they play together at same time? – could be an important factor.
Vanderbilt is the hometown school and I’m sure that staff has assured them Garland finds a way to play early there.
Then we all know Garland grew up following IU and has family ties in the state. It seems like the Archie hire is growing on them.
The bottom line with both of these recruitments is right now it’s a lot of speculation. People want to know where both are going and if they don’t know, then we obviously can’t know.
So we wait.
For 2019, Birmingham (Ala.) Mountain Brook five-star forward Trendon Watford (6-8, 224 pounds, No. 18 player nationally) is taking an unofficial visit this weekend to campus with family.
This visit comes right after IU visited Watford this week, so some people (understandably) want to connect the dots and call for a commitment this weekend.
However, his sister is playing volleyball here this weekend for Samford, so this could be nothing more than a convenient weekend to be on-campus. How often is their family able to all get together? How often do they get to see Elise play?
To me, it just seems like a good weekend to be in Bloomington. Nothing about Trendon’s recruitment to this point has suggested he’s in any kind of rush.
Having said that – him and the family obviously do like IU. I start to wonder if there is any sense of urgency between Watford/Fort Wayne North Side four-star forward Keion Brooks (6-7, 180 pounds, No. 35 player nationally)/others that if they want to play for IU, better take a spot before it fills up.
Not that IU would turn away any five-star prospects who want to come to Bloomington. But from the prospect’s angle, you’d have to ask if the frontcourt is getting crowded, so maybe get your spot before someone else does.
All indications are there are several of these 2019 kids that like IU. As time goes on, you have to wonder if a sense of urgency grows.
So considering all the above, I’m not expecting a commitment this weekend. But it’ll be fun to see how this process plays out.
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Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
IU's schedule was officially finalized this week, and from a non-conference standpoint it should be as strong as last year's, at least for the marquee games.
Seton Hall should be a preseason Top 25 team, and Big Ten-ACC Challenge opponent Duke will likely be right up there with Michigan State vying for the preseason No. 1 spot. Louisville should also be a Top 10 team, and it wouldn't surprise me to see Notre Dame in the Top 25 by the time the Crossroads Classic rolls around.
Looking back on previous schedules, not even the 2012-13 Hoosiers had four potential Top 25 opponents scheduled despite all the hype surrounding that group heading into that season. The closest I could find was 2002-03 - the season after IU last reached the national title game. That year, they faced three Top 25 opponents - No. 20 Gonzaga, No. 9 Maryland (still in the ACC, so it was part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge) and No. 18 Kentucky - in the non-con portion of the schedule.
KenPom.com is always valuable to look at for strength of schedule, so that will probably give us a better indicator as we get closer to the start of the season. While there aren't many opponents like Duke, Louisville, Seton Hall and Notre Dame on Indiana head coach Archie Miller's first schedule, it's a solid start nonetheless.
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Taylor Lehman / Football Beat & Recruiting News
IU Football recruiting:
There’s not too much new material on the recruiting side of things. Just a few updates for guys in the 2018 class and a few new interested players for IU’s Class of 2019.
Class of 2018:
Randy Charlton - Yes, we are still waiting for the 3-star defensive end out of Miami Southridge to commit to IU. He still appears to be on the same track as last week, just taking his time with the process.
Allen Love - the high-tier 3-star defensive lineman out of Alabama is still highly interested in IU. He would be a fantastic addition to the middle of the Hoosier defensive line — maybe even as as good as Ralph Green.
Jacolby Hewitt - I really delved into Jacolby Hewitt’s tape the other day, and discovered the 2-star wide receiver out of Tennessee (and current IU commit) may be a diamond in the rough. His size and speed and ability to catch the ball in traffic is just something that can’t be taught. In a system with wide receivers coach Grant Heard, I think Hewitt soud be one of the top recruits in this class by his senior year.
Miles Marshall - The 3-star wide receiver out of Georgia said his recruitment is, and has been, closed. He is dead set on IU. I really liked what I saw in his tape as well. IU will have a very deep receiving corps when this class arrives.
Class of 2019:
I’ve been staying in touch with the players from last week’s insider, and they all remain interested in IU, as nothing drastic has really happened in any of their recruiting processes.
TJ Sheffield - Sheffield is a very interesting recruit in this class. The wide receiver out of Tennessee is rated a three- or four-star caliber receiver by several sites. But what’s most interesting about him is that he is an instant game-changer. His skillset is that of Shane Wynn’s, with his speed and field awareness. Grant Heard could make this kid a star. He is committed to Tennessee right now, but his recruitment is very wide open, and IU is close to the top for him.
Nelson Ceaser - This 4-star defensive end out of Texas could be IU’s biggest defensive line recruit landed since Darius Latham. He can really rush the passer, but he’s more of an outside rusher, where Latham was all up the middle. I’m waiting for him to get in contact with IU coaches before discussing his recruiting process further, but from what I’ve gathered, IU will have to win more games to gain all of his interest.
Team News:
It’s been widely talked about, but running back Tyler Natee is recovering from an injury suffered in the offseason, and we don’t really know when he is coming back. I would assume before the halfway point. Honestly, though, I don’t see him making that much of a difference in the run game. Sure, he’s big, but he still needs to learn how to use that size.
I’m curious to see how Mike DeBord plans on using the dual-quarterback system. In the past, it hasn’t worked out great, and the way it’s trending in these first two weeks — using Lagow until he struggles then putting in Ramsey until he struggles — it’s tough to see a whole lot of success with that scheme. With this unexpected bye week, Tom Allen said they were able to work on some situational things, so hopefully they worked on a legitimate scheme to use for the two very capable quarterbacks.
Of course, I couldn’t write this without mentioning Camion Patrick. The former Hoosier is still awaiting his transfer to Blount County. There isn’t much to report on the story other than to say personally, I was sad to hear this. When Tom Allen said after granting him medical hardship that he was hoping to prepare Camion for a “bright future,” I smiled because the guy deserved it after such a tough go with injuries. The way Kevin Wilson had talked about him, Camion really became a cloud of a legend, never really transferring the talk to the field with all of his setbacks. It’s sad.
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Obviously with the commitment of Westtown (Pa.) Westtown School forward Jake Forrester ((6-8, 215 pounds, No. 142 player nationally), a lot of the attention for 2018 turns to really just two players – New Albany five-star shooting guard Romeo Langford (6-4, 185 pounds, No. 6 player nationally) and Nashville (Tenn.) Brentwood Academy five-star point guard Darius Garland (6-0, 150 pounds, No. 15 player nationally).
I’ve gotten a few questions about this - the duo do know each other but they aren’t a package deal. So if one commits to a school, that doesn’t necessarily mean the other is following.
However, it’s certainly one factor among several when it comes to picking a school. As I said, they know each other – would be fun to start in a backcourt together.
Total speculation, but since I’ve been asked about this, right now it seems like Garland could sign in the fall and Langford in the spring. So Garland might be the first to make a choice, which (again, just speculation as of today,) I think is unfortunate timing for IU, because I think they’ve got a stronger chance with Romeo as of today.
So If Romeo chose first and chose IU then obviously that could have weight with Garland. If Garland picks Vandy or Duke this fall, though, that doesn’t mean Romeo wouldn’t still pick IU - just saying it’s not helpful.
Garland is going through a cycle of in-home visits with UCLA, Vanderbilt, IU and Duke. He’s got official visits set up to Vanderbilt, Kentucky, Indiana and Duke.
He really likes Duke a lot. However, they have a commitment from five-star point guard Tre Jones. Garland obviously wants to play early. How Duke handles this – would Jones play over Garland? Could they play together at same time? – could be an important factor.
Vanderbilt is the hometown school and I’m sure that staff has assured them Garland finds a way to play early there.
Then we all know Garland grew up following IU and has family ties in the state. It seems like the Archie hire is growing on them.
The bottom line with both of these recruitments is right now it’s a lot of speculation. People want to know where both are going and if they don’t know, then we obviously can’t know.
So we wait.
For 2019, Birmingham (Ala.) Mountain Brook five-star forward Trendon Watford (6-8, 224 pounds, No. 18 player nationally) is taking an unofficial visit this weekend to campus with family.
This visit comes right after IU visited Watford this week, so some people (understandably) want to connect the dots and call for a commitment this weekend.
However, his sister is playing volleyball here this weekend for Samford, so this could be nothing more than a convenient weekend to be on-campus. How often is their family able to all get together? How often do they get to see Elise play?
To me, it just seems like a good weekend to be in Bloomington. Nothing about Trendon’s recruitment to this point has suggested he’s in any kind of rush.
Having said that – him and the family obviously do like IU. I start to wonder if there is any sense of urgency between Watford/Fort Wayne North Side four-star forward Keion Brooks (6-7, 180 pounds, No. 35 player nationally)/others that if they want to play for IU, better take a spot before it fills up.
Not that IU would turn away any five-star prospects who want to come to Bloomington. But from the prospect’s angle, you’d have to ask if the frontcourt is getting crowded, so maybe get your spot before someone else does.
All indications are there are several of these 2019 kids that like IU. As time goes on, you have to wonder if a sense of urgency grows.
So considering all the above, I’m not expecting a commitment this weekend. But it’ll be fun to see how this process plays out.
------------
Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
IU's schedule was officially finalized this week, and from a non-conference standpoint it should be as strong as last year's, at least for the marquee games.
Seton Hall should be a preseason Top 25 team, and Big Ten-ACC Challenge opponent Duke will likely be right up there with Michigan State vying for the preseason No. 1 spot. Louisville should also be a Top 10 team, and it wouldn't surprise me to see Notre Dame in the Top 25 by the time the Crossroads Classic rolls around.
Looking back on previous schedules, not even the 2012-13 Hoosiers had four potential Top 25 opponents scheduled despite all the hype surrounding that group heading into that season. The closest I could find was 2002-03 - the season after IU last reached the national title game. That year, they faced three Top 25 opponents - No. 20 Gonzaga, No. 9 Maryland (still in the ACC, so it was part of the Big Ten-ACC Challenge) and No. 18 Kentucky - in the non-con portion of the schedule.
KenPom.com is always valuable to look at for strength of schedule, so that will probably give us a better indicator as we get closer to the start of the season. While there aren't many opponents like Duke, Louisville, Seton Hall and Notre Dame on Indiana head coach Archie Miller's first schedule, it's a solid start nonetheless.
----------------
Taylor Lehman / Football Beat & Recruiting News
IU Football recruiting:
There’s not too much new material on the recruiting side of things. Just a few updates for guys in the 2018 class and a few new interested players for IU’s Class of 2019.
Class of 2018:
Randy Charlton - Yes, we are still waiting for the 3-star defensive end out of Miami Southridge to commit to IU. He still appears to be on the same track as last week, just taking his time with the process.
Allen Love - the high-tier 3-star defensive lineman out of Alabama is still highly interested in IU. He would be a fantastic addition to the middle of the Hoosier defensive line — maybe even as as good as Ralph Green.
Jacolby Hewitt - I really delved into Jacolby Hewitt’s tape the other day, and discovered the 2-star wide receiver out of Tennessee (and current IU commit) may be a diamond in the rough. His size and speed and ability to catch the ball in traffic is just something that can’t be taught. In a system with wide receivers coach Grant Heard, I think Hewitt soud be one of the top recruits in this class by his senior year.
Miles Marshall - The 3-star wide receiver out of Georgia said his recruitment is, and has been, closed. He is dead set on IU. I really liked what I saw in his tape as well. IU will have a very deep receiving corps when this class arrives.
Class of 2019:
I’ve been staying in touch with the players from last week’s insider, and they all remain interested in IU, as nothing drastic has really happened in any of their recruiting processes.
TJ Sheffield - Sheffield is a very interesting recruit in this class. The wide receiver out of Tennessee is rated a three- or four-star caliber receiver by several sites. But what’s most interesting about him is that he is an instant game-changer. His skillset is that of Shane Wynn’s, with his speed and field awareness. Grant Heard could make this kid a star. He is committed to Tennessee right now, but his recruitment is very wide open, and IU is close to the top for him.
Nelson Ceaser - This 4-star defensive end out of Texas could be IU’s biggest defensive line recruit landed since Darius Latham. He can really rush the passer, but he’s more of an outside rusher, where Latham was all up the middle. I’m waiting for him to get in contact with IU coaches before discussing his recruiting process further, but from what I’ve gathered, IU will have to win more games to gain all of his interest.
Team News:
It’s been widely talked about, but running back Tyler Natee is recovering from an injury suffered in the offseason, and we don’t really know when he is coming back. I would assume before the halfway point. Honestly, though, I don’t see him making that much of a difference in the run game. Sure, he’s big, but he still needs to learn how to use that size.
I’m curious to see how Mike DeBord plans on using the dual-quarterback system. In the past, it hasn’t worked out great, and the way it’s trending in these first two weeks — using Lagow until he struggles then putting in Ramsey until he struggles — it’s tough to see a whole lot of success with that scheme. With this unexpected bye week, Tom Allen said they were able to work on some situational things, so hopefully they worked on a legitimate scheme to use for the two very capable quarterbacks.
Of course, I couldn’t write this without mentioning Camion Patrick. The former Hoosier is still awaiting his transfer to Blount County. There isn’t much to report on the story other than to say personally, I was sad to hear this. When Tom Allen said after granting him medical hardship that he was hoping to prepare Camion for a “bright future,” I smiled because the guy deserved it after such a tough go with injuries. The way Kevin Wilson had talked about him, Camion really became a cloud of a legend, never really transferring the talk to the field with all of his setbacks. It’s sad.
