Shorter ITLR today as Jeff and I both drove into Minneapolis last night and will be covering today's Indiana Big Ten baseball tourney game versus Iowa at Target Field as well as the final Nike EYBL circuit stop of the spring that begins tomorrow morning in Maple Grove, Minnesota.
Made a late decision to head up for the EYBL as the number of prospects that we could interview this weekend could be as many as we've every had at one of these events. So we should be able to finish off the month of May with some great IU hoop recruiting coverage.
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Still waiting on grad transfer Max Bielfeldt's decision between Iowa State, Indiana, Nebraska and DePaul. Most of the speculation behind the scenes has him choosing the Hoosiers but to have the decision delayed now until this weekend indicates he's not been the heavy lean that many thought.
Most fans here seem worried about Fred Hoiberg and ISU for obvious reasons but Nebraska has done a very good job with him and shouldn't be dismissed. Significant playing opportunity for him in Lincoln.
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Team Final is one EYBL group we'll be watching quite a bit here this weekend as Indiana has now offered three players on this Philly area teams. Multiple reports that 2017 guard Lonnie Walker of Reading, Pennsylvania, added an IU offer this week. He's a 6-foot shooting guard ranked No. 53 in the Rivals150.
The other two with offers are 2016 prospects Tony Carr, a point guard, and Lamar Stevens, a forward. We've written quite a bit about those two and they continued to shine at the last EYBL stop in Houston.
Here are the stats for all three IU targets through 12 games of EYBL play:
Lamar Stevens: 16.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 46.1 FG%, 69.2 FT%
Tony Carr: 14.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 40.1 FG%, 27.3 3FG%, 75.5 FT%
Lonnie Walker: 12.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.1 apg, 41.7 FG%, 33.9 3FG%, 64.5 FT%
Another emphasis will be on catching up with some of the 2016 prospects from state of Ohio as it is a very deep class, way more Big Ten level guys than what's coming out of Indiana, Illinois and other Midwest states. Some of the newer names there include Jarron Cumberland (Wilmington) and Ibi Watson (Pickerington), both big wings. We expects wings to be an area of high emphasis with this class of 2016.
Cumberland is a physically punishing guard we wrote about after this fine play in Lexington last month. He's one of the higher scorers in EYBL at 17.5 ppg. Watson is more an under the radar guy, someone that has spurted up here recently to the 6'5/6'6 area and taking on more of a role with the All Ohio Red team (he's averaging 10.1 ppg) that is often dominated by recent MSU commit Nick Ward.
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Many here have brought up Noah Dickerson's name since the Florida power forward signee went back on the open market this month. While we believe some IU contact here the four-star player is now set to take visits to Cal, Texas and Washington. Since hes from Georgia that list was a bit surprising. He is getting mentioned a lot also with LSU.
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One time Indiana target Josh Cunningham may be headed to the Big Ten. His home state Illinois is the rumored favorite to land the Bradley transfer. In his freshman year at Bradley he average 7.9 points and 7.5 rebounders per game. Has always been a terrific rebounder for a guy who's not real bulky and only about 6'6. IU is not involved this time around with Cunningham, who would have to sit out a year as a traditional transfer.
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Indiana A.D. Fred Glass had some interesting things to say this week at the Big Ten meetings as one of the focus points was the 20-hours per week practice rule:
Glass was quoted as saying "We are never going to be able to stop a kid that wants to go take a run around the campus or look at film they downloaded on their iPad. What I think we really need to get after are these so called optional practices that are “captain led” that are at our facilities."
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While many D1 schools have already reached out to Devin Davis, we hear there's also a strong push from junior colleges trying to sell him that he could play immediately there and not give up a season as he would if he transferred to another D1 program.
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Not a lot to add to the Thon Maker story other that it is becoming clearer that he will be a rare mid-year guy, looking to possibly enroll in college for the spring semester.
Many have asked what that might mean for his draft eligibility. The rule is you need to be a graduate of high school and then have a full NBA season pass. That's how Dante Exum was eligible with his fall graduation situation. It may be that Maker is a graduate in September by Canadian local standards but stays on for classwork that is needed for NCAA school enrollment. Not a lot of details have ever been provided here so take this with a big grain of salt. Have to think guardian Ed Smith didn't move the two Maker brothers from Virginia all the way to Ontario just for basketball reasons.
Speaking of the Maker brothers, both are playing this weekend in NYC with Canada Elite, an Under Armour program. Matur is expected to remain with the program for the summer. While he may not ever get the hype of his older brother, Matur's college stay may be longer and he may have a better idea what his role at the next level should be. Matur Maker is a top-30 prospect in the 2017 class.
Another note here is the brothers' Orangeville teammate, Jamal Murray, visited Kentucky this week. Oregon has been the favorite but UK is also a Nike school and making a push here. Murray is still listed in Class of 2016 but can graduate early and given his age and huge Nike Summit game, many still think he'll be in college this fall.
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Matt Weaver's weekly football update:
Another week and another batch of offers from the IU staff to prospects in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 classes. Peegs.com has once again put together a list of the names of recruits that picked up an offer from the Hoosiers in the last week.
2016 Florida OL Ean Biancardi (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Ean-Biancardi-162229)
2016 Georgia CB Monquavion Brinson (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Monquavion-Brinson-161541)
2016 Florida DT Keyshon Camp (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Keyshon-Camp-159814)
2016 Texas RB Mulbah Car (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Mulbah-Car-165187)
2016 Georgia DE Allen Cater (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Allen-Cater-170101)
2016 Texas DE Isaiah Chambers (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Isaiah-Chambers-158705)
2016 Pennsylvania CB Therran Coleman (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Therran-Coleman-168928)
2016 Florida CB Michael Hampton (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Michael-Hampton-177721)
2016 Alabama LB Terrence Harris (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Terrence-Harris-172403)
2016 Floridahttp://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Dawun-Hylton-170256)
2016 Louisiana LB Pernell Jeffers (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Pernell-Jefferson-170861)
2016 Virginia DT Sulaiman Kamara (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Sulaiman-Kamara-155506)
2016 Georgia WR Dimetrios Mason (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Demetrius-Mason-181731)
2016 Texas RB Kene Nwangwu (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Kene-Nwangwu-181049)
2016 Texas WR Bubba Ogbebor (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Bubba-Ogbebor-171023)
Texas WR Audie Omotosho (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Adewale-Omotosho-165102)
2016 Florida RB Twonnie Pollard (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Twonnie-Pollard-1622740
2016 Texas LB Robert Revels (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Robert-Revels-165331)
2016 Florida LB Shemar Smith (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Shemar-Smith-171966)
2016 Florida RB Tyrek Tisdale (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Tyrek-Tisdale-164988)
2016 Florida CB Antione Webster (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Antione-Webster-156793)
2016 Pennsylvania DT Rashad Wheeler (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Rashad-Wheeler-167638)
2017 Florida DE Zach Carter (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Zachary-Carter-169115)
2017 Florida RB Erin Collins (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Erin-Collins-181936)
2017 Florida WR Daewood Davis (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Daewood-Davis-176909)
2017 Florida LB A.J. Deshazor (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-A.J.-DeShazor Jr.-162241)
2017 Florida safety De’Vante Mitchell (https://rivals.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-DeVante-Mitchell-171106)
2018 Florida LB Donovan Georges (https://rivals.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Donovan-Georges-170166)
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Former IU signee Taj Williams tweeted this week that he plans on visiting Bloomington next month. We got in touch with him about his visit plans and he confirmed that he will be on campus the weekend of June 12-14 for an official visit. Williams signed with the Hoosiers as a member of the 2013 class but he was forced to go the juco route because of academics. He is currently playing at Iowa Western C.C. and he is considered one of the top junior college players overall for the 2016 class. Williams has several offers from some of the best football programs in the nation so landing him will be tough, but the one edge IU has is their prior relationship with him dating back to when he originally signed with them a few years ago.
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Peegs.com has gotten in touch with a handful of players that recently picked up offers from IU to see where things stand with their recruiting and to see what they think about Indiana. The Hoosiers were the first offer for Florida cornerback Mark Williams. The talented prospect did not start last fall as a junior but he also played behind five seniors that all signed with D-I programs. You can read what Williams had to say here (https://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1768073).
Illinois prospect Albert Okwuegbunam is listed as an athlete by Rivals.com but Indiana sees him as a tight end in their offense. He told Peegs.com that he is very intrigued by how he would be used as a tight end by the Hoosiers. Here (https://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1767822) is the story we did on Okwuegbunam.
Another prospect that IU is in good shape after recently extending an offer is Florida defensive end Kordell Slater. After picking up the Indiana offer Slater told Peegs.com that the Hoosiers are one of his top three schools along with Virginia and East Carolina. Here (https://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1766757) is the story we did on Slater.
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There aren’t many prospects that are being more heavily recruited than Florida safety Craig Watts. The four-star prospect has more than 30 offers, including several from some of the top programs in the country. Even with all that attention he told Peegs.com this week that IU is a school he is very high on. He also told us that he plans on making an unofficial visit to Bloomington next month. His decision is not far off as he plans on committing on his mother’s birthday which is July 14th. You can check out the story we did on Watts here (https://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1767430).
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Missouri running back Tre Bryant tweeted out his top seven earlier this week and the Hoosiers were one of the schools to make the cut. Besides IU the other schools on Bryant’s list are Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Northwestern, Syracuse and UNLV.
Made a late decision to head up for the EYBL as the number of prospects that we could interview this weekend could be as many as we've every had at one of these events. So we should be able to finish off the month of May with some great IU hoop recruiting coverage.
---------
Still waiting on grad transfer Max Bielfeldt's decision between Iowa State, Indiana, Nebraska and DePaul. Most of the speculation behind the scenes has him choosing the Hoosiers but to have the decision delayed now until this weekend indicates he's not been the heavy lean that many thought.
Most fans here seem worried about Fred Hoiberg and ISU for obvious reasons but Nebraska has done a very good job with him and shouldn't be dismissed. Significant playing opportunity for him in Lincoln.
---------
Team Final is one EYBL group we'll be watching quite a bit here this weekend as Indiana has now offered three players on this Philly area teams. Multiple reports that 2017 guard Lonnie Walker of Reading, Pennsylvania, added an IU offer this week. He's a 6-foot shooting guard ranked No. 53 in the Rivals150.
The other two with offers are 2016 prospects Tony Carr, a point guard, and Lamar Stevens, a forward. We've written quite a bit about those two and they continued to shine at the last EYBL stop in Houston.
Here are the stats for all three IU targets through 12 games of EYBL play:
Lamar Stevens: 16.0 ppg, 6.8 rpg, 46.1 FG%, 69.2 FT%
Tony Carr: 14.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.3 apg, 40.1 FG%, 27.3 3FG%, 75.5 FT%
Lonnie Walker: 12.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.1 apg, 41.7 FG%, 33.9 3FG%, 64.5 FT%
Another emphasis will be on catching up with some of the 2016 prospects from state of Ohio as it is a very deep class, way more Big Ten level guys than what's coming out of Indiana, Illinois and other Midwest states. Some of the newer names there include Jarron Cumberland (Wilmington) and Ibi Watson (Pickerington), both big wings. We expects wings to be an area of high emphasis with this class of 2016.
Cumberland is a physically punishing guard we wrote about after this fine play in Lexington last month. He's one of the higher scorers in EYBL at 17.5 ppg. Watson is more an under the radar guy, someone that has spurted up here recently to the 6'5/6'6 area and taking on more of a role with the All Ohio Red team (he's averaging 10.1 ppg) that is often dominated by recent MSU commit Nick Ward.
---------
Many here have brought up Noah Dickerson's name since the Florida power forward signee went back on the open market this month. While we believe some IU contact here the four-star player is now set to take visits to Cal, Texas and Washington. Since hes from Georgia that list was a bit surprising. He is getting mentioned a lot also with LSU.
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One time Indiana target Josh Cunningham may be headed to the Big Ten. His home state Illinois is the rumored favorite to land the Bradley transfer. In his freshman year at Bradley he average 7.9 points and 7.5 rebounders per game. Has always been a terrific rebounder for a guy who's not real bulky and only about 6'6. IU is not involved this time around with Cunningham, who would have to sit out a year as a traditional transfer.
---------
Indiana A.D. Fred Glass had some interesting things to say this week at the Big Ten meetings as one of the focus points was the 20-hours per week practice rule:
Glass was quoted as saying "We are never going to be able to stop a kid that wants to go take a run around the campus or look at film they downloaded on their iPad. What I think we really need to get after are these so called optional practices that are “captain led” that are at our facilities."
---------
While many D1 schools have already reached out to Devin Davis, we hear there's also a strong push from junior colleges trying to sell him that he could play immediately there and not give up a season as he would if he transferred to another D1 program.
---------
Not a lot to add to the Thon Maker story other that it is becoming clearer that he will be a rare mid-year guy, looking to possibly enroll in college for the spring semester.
Many have asked what that might mean for his draft eligibility. The rule is you need to be a graduate of high school and then have a full NBA season pass. That's how Dante Exum was eligible with his fall graduation situation. It may be that Maker is a graduate in September by Canadian local standards but stays on for classwork that is needed for NCAA school enrollment. Not a lot of details have ever been provided here so take this with a big grain of salt. Have to think guardian Ed Smith didn't move the two Maker brothers from Virginia all the way to Ontario just for basketball reasons.
Speaking of the Maker brothers, both are playing this weekend in NYC with Canada Elite, an Under Armour program. Matur is expected to remain with the program for the summer. While he may not ever get the hype of his older brother, Matur's college stay may be longer and he may have a better idea what his role at the next level should be. Matur Maker is a top-30 prospect in the 2017 class.
Another note here is the brothers' Orangeville teammate, Jamal Murray, visited Kentucky this week. Oregon has been the favorite but UK is also a Nike school and making a push here. Murray is still listed in Class of 2016 but can graduate early and given his age and huge Nike Summit game, many still think he'll be in college this fall.
---------
Matt Weaver's weekly football update:
Another week and another batch of offers from the IU staff to prospects in the 2016, 2017 and 2018 classes. Peegs.com has once again put together a list of the names of recruits that picked up an offer from the Hoosiers in the last week.
2016 Florida OL Ean Biancardi (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Ean-Biancardi-162229)
2016 Georgia CB Monquavion Brinson (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Monquavion-Brinson-161541)
2016 Florida DT Keyshon Camp (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Keyshon-Camp-159814)
2016 Texas RB Mulbah Car (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Mulbah-Car-165187)
2016 Georgia DE Allen Cater (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Allen-Cater-170101)
2016 Texas DE Isaiah Chambers (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Isaiah-Chambers-158705)
2016 Pennsylvania CB Therran Coleman (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Therran-Coleman-168928)
2016 Florida CB Michael Hampton (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Michael-Hampton-177721)
2016 Alabama LB Terrence Harris (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Terrence-Harris-172403)
2016 Floridahttp://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Dawun-Hylton-170256)
2016 Louisiana LB Pernell Jeffers (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Pernell-Jefferson-170861)
2016 Virginia DT Sulaiman Kamara (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Sulaiman-Kamara-155506)
2016 Georgia WR Dimetrios Mason (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Demetrius-Mason-181731)
2016 Texas RB Kene Nwangwu (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Kene-Nwangwu-181049)
2016 Texas WR Bubba Ogbebor (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Bubba-Ogbebor-171023)
Texas WR Audie Omotosho (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Adewale-Omotosho-165102)
2016 Florida RB Twonnie Pollard (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Twonnie-Pollard-1622740
2016 Texas LB Robert Revels (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Robert-Revels-165331)
2016 Florida LB Shemar Smith (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Shemar-Smith-171966)
2016 Florida RB Tyrek Tisdale (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Tyrek-Tisdale-164988)
2016 Florida CB Antione Webster (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Antione-Webster-156793)
2016 Pennsylvania DT Rashad Wheeler (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Rashad-Wheeler-167638)
2017 Florida DE Zach Carter (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Zachary-Carter-169115)
2017 Florida RB Erin Collins (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Erin-Collins-181936)
2017 Florida WR Daewood Davis (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Daewood-Davis-176909)
2017 Florida LB A.J. Deshazor (http://sports.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-A.J.-DeShazor Jr.-162241)
2017 Florida safety De’Vante Mitchell (https://rivals.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-DeVante-Mitchell-171106)
2018 Florida LB Donovan Georges (https://rivals.yahoo.com/indiana/football/recruiting/player-Donovan-Georges-170166)
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Former IU signee Taj Williams tweeted this week that he plans on visiting Bloomington next month. We got in touch with him about his visit plans and he confirmed that he will be on campus the weekend of June 12-14 for an official visit. Williams signed with the Hoosiers as a member of the 2013 class but he was forced to go the juco route because of academics. He is currently playing at Iowa Western C.C. and he is considered one of the top junior college players overall for the 2016 class. Williams has several offers from some of the best football programs in the nation so landing him will be tough, but the one edge IU has is their prior relationship with him dating back to when he originally signed with them a few years ago.
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Peegs.com has gotten in touch with a handful of players that recently picked up offers from IU to see where things stand with their recruiting and to see what they think about Indiana. The Hoosiers were the first offer for Florida cornerback Mark Williams. The talented prospect did not start last fall as a junior but he also played behind five seniors that all signed with D-I programs. You can read what Williams had to say here (https://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1768073).
Illinois prospect Albert Okwuegbunam is listed as an athlete by Rivals.com but Indiana sees him as a tight end in their offense. He told Peegs.com that he is very intrigued by how he would be used as a tight end by the Hoosiers. Here (https://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1767822) is the story we did on Okwuegbunam.
Another prospect that IU is in good shape after recently extending an offer is Florida defensive end Kordell Slater. After picking up the Indiana offer Slater told Peegs.com that the Hoosiers are one of his top three schools along with Virginia and East Carolina. Here (https://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1766757) is the story we did on Slater.
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There aren’t many prospects that are being more heavily recruited than Florida safety Craig Watts. The four-star prospect has more than 30 offers, including several from some of the top programs in the country. Even with all that attention he told Peegs.com this week that IU is a school he is very high on. He also told us that he plans on making an unofficial visit to Bloomington next month. His decision is not far off as he plans on committing on his mother’s birthday which is July 14th. You can check out the story we did on Watts here (https://indiana.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1767430).
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Missouri running back Tre Bryant tweeted out his top seven earlier this week and the Hoosiers were one of the schools to make the cut. Besides IU the other schools on Bryant’s list are Kansas, Kansas State, Missouri, Northwestern, Syracuse and UNLV.
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