If I were to bet today on someone joining the 2016 recruiting class for Indiana it probably would be 6-foot-1 shooting guard Devonte Green from Long Island. He's unranked and undersized but the Curry family has shown never to underestimate those kind of prospects with proven shooting ability and NBA lineage. Devonte has the latter with his older brother Danny, a six-year league veteran who passed Larry Bird yesteray in career 3-pointers.
Don't expect any news soon but the fact that Tom Crean made the trip himself last week, followed with an IU offer and now a visit is in the works---it has those kind of signs.
Alpha Diallo, a 6-foot-5 Rivals150 wing, is still a name to also keep in mind for the spring. A Denver native and summer teammate of IU signee De'Ron Davis, some thought Diallo might end up at VCU since that was his only official visit this fall. But he held out and the Rams along with Florida, Indiana, Texas A&M, Miami and others are mentioned most often. Diallo is now at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.
And of course Tom Crean's scouting trip a few days ago to Lexington to see Thon Maker and Rawle Alkins shows those two are still in play for the spring. Would guess longer shots than three or four months ago but still very much spring possibilities.
Big news around Bloomington this week was Indiana's offer to Musa Jallow, a 6-foot-4 sophomore on Bloomington North. A teammate of coach Crean's son Riley, he's obviously been seen by the staff about as much as any sophomore prospect can have been watched to this point. Only had offers from Toledo and IUPUI before this but schools like Xavier and Butler were pretty interested and maybe likely to follow suit here in the future.
Had the chance to watch Jallow play in the Crossroads Elite Camp last June. That was full of younger but highly pursued talents like Trendon Watford, Kevin Easley, Jontay Porter and more high major targets and Jallow more than held his own, making the camp's ending All-Star game. Here is the quick snippet I wrote at that time:
"this is the best we've ever seen from the Bloomington North (Ind.) soph-to-be. He's pushing 6-foot-4 now and with his terrific bounce off the floor, he can sky with the best of them in his class. Hit some jumpers and if that continues, he really does become a high major level player."
Should add that I really like his court demeanor and the way he plays within himself. You can see that in his high shooting percentage from the field (68.4 percent) and the fact that he's selective from beyond the arc, hitting 3-for-6 from the distance coming into this week.
The 2018 class in Indiana is turning out to be a very good group. Right now Romeo Langford of New Albany looks to be the top prospect followed closely by Kevin Easley at Lawrence North. But now you have Jallow, Robert Phinisee (PG - McCutcheon) and Austin Boucher (2G - FT Wayne South) joining those two with early Big Ten offers.
As requested on the board earlier this week, I have run down how several former Indiana players are doing at their new programs:
Remy Abell - Has started 44 consecutive games at Xavier since becoming eligible last season. Currently averaging 7.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for a 10-0 team currently ranked No. 10 in the AP poll. Struggling a bit more this year from the floor, shooting just 35.6 percent. Last season he shot 48.9 percent from the floor, averaging 8.4 ppg and was fourth in Big East with a 3FG% of .411
Luke Fischer - this is his first full season at Marquette after becoming eligible mid-year last season. Currently averaging 14.3 points and 7.8 rebounds and leads the team with 2.2 blocks per game and is among the nation's top 20 with his 66.3 percent field goal rate. Last year he averaged 11.0 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 60.9 percent from the floor. Marquette is 8-2 and coming off a win at Wisconsin.
Jeremy Hollowell - has started all seven games thus far in his first season playing for former IUPUI coach Ron Hunter at Georgia State. Averaging a team high 16.1 points to go along with 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and is shooting exactly 50 percent from the floor. Behind Hollowell and former UL wing Kevin Ware, Georgia State is 5-2 and should be a contender for the Sun Belt crown this winter.
Austin Etherington - in his second and final season at Butler, Etheringon has remained a bench player and seen his time fall to 8.0 minutes a game this year. He's averaging 2.5 points and 1.6 rebounds. Last year it was about the same - 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds but he was getting out there for 12.3 minutes on average.
Peter Jurkin - Has been a role player off the bench in his first season at East Tennessee State. Seeing 10.8 minutes a game, he's currently averaging 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.4 blocks.
Devin Davis - currently a junior college sophomore at Odessa College in Texas. There he's averaging 15.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the floor and 32.1 percent (9-for-28) from beyond the arc. Odessa is 12-2 on the season.
Emmitt Holt - has helped Indiana Hills CC (Iowa) off to a 14-2 start this year by averaging 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. He's 74-for-101 from the floor for an impressive 73.3 percent field goal rate. Hitting 68.9 percent of his free throws and has blocked 1.7 shots per game.
Jeremiah April - signed with Trinity Valley late last spring, a junior college in Texas but apparently no longer there or never made it as he's not listed on the roster or anywhere on the Trinity Valley official site.
Jonny Marlin - having another big season for Indiana Wesleyan, the No. 1 ranked team in NAIA. Averaging 14.4 points and 6.0 assists per game. A year ago he was a First Team All-American after averaging 13.0 points and 6.6 assists a contest.
Sitting out this year per NCAA rules are Hanner Mosquera-Perea (East Tennessee State), Stanford Robinson (Rhode Island) and Max Hoetzel (San Diego State).
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For those heading to New York for the Pinstripe Bowl, one of our regulars here is setting up quite a tailgate there outside Yankee Stadium next Saturday. Details:
Here are the details:
We will be setting up at Mullaly Park on 165th and River Avenue. We spoke with the park and confirmed they allow for the BBQ and all that goes along with it. The company is called Long Island Tailgate. They will have a tent set up but we will also work on getting an IU flag so it is abundantly clear who we are!
We will be set up and tailgating from 11am until game time.
We will have unlimited food (ribs,wings, shrimp, steak etc) along with unlimited beer and soda etc...
Nothing is required except for your attendance.
Also, Dan from upland brewery has reached out to provide additional beer for the game. If anyone is driving from B town and has any interest in coordinating with him just let me know. If not, we have plenty and more of what we need.
Long Island tailgate will also provide tables, corn hole and footballs so just come hungry and thirsty.
Map showing Mullaly Park which is just north of the stadium:
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Indiana is just over a week away from their appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl against Duke. The team is finishing up finals today and then will have two days of practice tomorrow and Sunday before leaving for New York on Monday. Head coach Kevin Wilson met with the media yesterday and you can watch that press conference here.
Last Saturday Coach Wilson also met with the media and provided an update at that time on how the team was doing with bowl preparations. You can watch that video here.
After Coach Wilson spoke Pinstripe Bowl Senior Manager John Mosley spoke to the media and talked about how excited they are to have Indiana playing in their game. The video of Mosley speaking with the media can be seen here.
Duke got some very bad news when it was announced earlier this week that ACC Defensive Player of the Year and All-American Jeremy Cash has been ruled out for bowl game because he had to have surgery on his wrist. It is a big loss for a Duke defense that will be facing one of the top offenses in the nation. Here is a short story on Cash being out for the Pinstripe Bowl.
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The awards keep coming for Indiana offensive linemen Jason Spriggs and Dan Feeney. They have both been named First Team All-Americans, and they have been recognized by various media outlets for their play this season. Below are a few stories that talk about the different honors they have received following the season.
Spriggs, Feeney earn First Team All-America honors
Spriggs, Feeney collect First Team All-America accolades
Feeney named First-Team All-American by ESPN.com
You can also check out this story that we did on Spriggs and Feeney. Included in it is a press conference with the two IU O-linemen and offensive line coach Greg Frey.
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Indiana Football held their annual postseason banquet last Friday and quarterback Nate Sudfeld was named the MVP of the 2015 season. Here is the story that talks about what other players won what awards at the banquet.
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Indiana will have to replace one staff member will be leaving the program for another job. Offensive quality control coach Courtney Messingham has accepted the job as offensive coordinator at Montana State. It is step-up for Coach Messingham as he goes from a non-coach position at IU to coordinating the offense at Montana State. Here is the story on Messingham getting the job from SI.com.
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The big news in recruiting this week was the commitment of in-state offensive lineman Coy Cronk, and the mid-year signings of junior college standouts Richard Lagow and Jayme Thompson.
Cronk was arguably the top O-line prospect on the Indiana recruiting board so landing his commitment is huge for the staff. The three-star recruit from Central Catholic H.S. in Lafayette projects as an offensive tackle for the Hoosiers. Here is the story we did on Cronk after his decision. With Cronk and Ryan Smith in the 2016 class IU has picked up a tackle prospect and a guard prospect for their offensive line.
The Hoosiers also got some good and pretty much expected news with the signings of Lagow and Thompson. Lagow had just committed the week before and he is a big get with starting QB Nate Sudfeld set to graduate after this season. Lagow has a great opportunity to come in and keep the offense at a similar level that it has been at under Sudfeld.
With Thompson the Hoosiers are getting a big time talent for their defensive backfield. The Toledo, Ohio native originally signed with Ohio State out of high school and he has the chance to be an instant impact guy for the IU secondary. He was recruited to play safety but he has the ability to play some corner as well if needed.
Here is the story from IUHoosiers.com on Lagow and Thompson signing with Indiana.
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There were seven official visitors on campus for IU last weekend and Peegs.com was able to speak to several of them. Here are the stories we did on the guys that we were able to get in touch with following their trips to Bloomington:
Nworah impressed with Indiana
Miller recaps his visit to Indiana
IU in good shape with Swann after visit
You can also check out this story that Rivals.com Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt did on four-star Michigan WR Desmond Fitzpatrick after his visit to IU this past weekend.
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We also got in touch with a prospect that was in town he weekend before on an official visit in Georgia TE Robert Tucker. The three-star recruit told Peegs.com that after his visit to IU the Hoosiers are at the top of his list of schools. You can read more about what Tucker said here.
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One prospect that will be visiting IU next month after the dead period is three-star linebacker DyMelle Parker. The New Jersey native is currently committed to Syracuse but with the coaching change there he is a soft commit. He told Peegs.com in this story that is very interested in the Hoosiers.
Don't expect any news soon but the fact that Tom Crean made the trip himself last week, followed with an IU offer and now a visit is in the works---it has those kind of signs.
Alpha Diallo, a 6-foot-5 Rivals150 wing, is still a name to also keep in mind for the spring. A Denver native and summer teammate of IU signee De'Ron Davis, some thought Diallo might end up at VCU since that was his only official visit this fall. But he held out and the Rams along with Florida, Indiana, Texas A&M, Miami and others are mentioned most often. Diallo is now at Brewster Academy in New Hampshire.
And of course Tom Crean's scouting trip a few days ago to Lexington to see Thon Maker and Rawle Alkins shows those two are still in play for the spring. Would guess longer shots than three or four months ago but still very much spring possibilities.
Big news around Bloomington this week was Indiana's offer to Musa Jallow, a 6-foot-4 sophomore on Bloomington North. A teammate of coach Crean's son Riley, he's obviously been seen by the staff about as much as any sophomore prospect can have been watched to this point. Only had offers from Toledo and IUPUI before this but schools like Xavier and Butler were pretty interested and maybe likely to follow suit here in the future.
Had the chance to watch Jallow play in the Crossroads Elite Camp last June. That was full of younger but highly pursued talents like Trendon Watford, Kevin Easley, Jontay Porter and more high major targets and Jallow more than held his own, making the camp's ending All-Star game. Here is the quick snippet I wrote at that time:
"this is the best we've ever seen from the Bloomington North (Ind.) soph-to-be. He's pushing 6-foot-4 now and with his terrific bounce off the floor, he can sky with the best of them in his class. Hit some jumpers and if that continues, he really does become a high major level player."
Should add that I really like his court demeanor and the way he plays within himself. You can see that in his high shooting percentage from the field (68.4 percent) and the fact that he's selective from beyond the arc, hitting 3-for-6 from the distance coming into this week.
The 2018 class in Indiana is turning out to be a very good group. Right now Romeo Langford of New Albany looks to be the top prospect followed closely by Kevin Easley at Lawrence North. But now you have Jallow, Robert Phinisee (PG - McCutcheon) and Austin Boucher (2G - FT Wayne South) joining those two with early Big Ten offers.
As requested on the board earlier this week, I have run down how several former Indiana players are doing at their new programs:
Remy Abell - Has started 44 consecutive games at Xavier since becoming eligible last season. Currently averaging 7.2 points, 2.0 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game for a 10-0 team currently ranked No. 10 in the AP poll. Struggling a bit more this year from the floor, shooting just 35.6 percent. Last season he shot 48.9 percent from the floor, averaging 8.4 ppg and was fourth in Big East with a 3FG% of .411
Luke Fischer - this is his first full season at Marquette after becoming eligible mid-year last season. Currently averaging 14.3 points and 7.8 rebounds and leads the team with 2.2 blocks per game and is among the nation's top 20 with his 66.3 percent field goal rate. Last year he averaged 11.0 points and 4.8 rebounds while shooting 60.9 percent from the floor. Marquette is 8-2 and coming off a win at Wisconsin.
Jeremy Hollowell - has started all seven games thus far in his first season playing for former IUPUI coach Ron Hunter at Georgia State. Averaging a team high 16.1 points to go along with 4.4 rebounds, 2.4 assists and is shooting exactly 50 percent from the floor. Behind Hollowell and former UL wing Kevin Ware, Georgia State is 5-2 and should be a contender for the Sun Belt crown this winter.
Austin Etherington - in his second and final season at Butler, Etheringon has remained a bench player and seen his time fall to 8.0 minutes a game this year. He's averaging 2.5 points and 1.6 rebounds. Last year it was about the same - 2.3 points and 2.1 rebounds but he was getting out there for 12.3 minutes on average.
Peter Jurkin - Has been a role player off the bench in his first season at East Tennessee State. Seeing 10.8 minutes a game, he's currently averaging 4.7 points, 2.7 rebounds and 0.4 blocks.
Devin Davis - currently a junior college sophomore at Odessa College in Texas. There he's averaging 15.7 points, 7.2 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game while shooting 52.7 percent from the floor and 32.1 percent (9-for-28) from beyond the arc. Odessa is 12-2 on the season.
Emmitt Holt - has helped Indiana Hills CC (Iowa) off to a 14-2 start this year by averaging 11.9 points and 5.9 rebounds a game. He's 74-for-101 from the floor for an impressive 73.3 percent field goal rate. Hitting 68.9 percent of his free throws and has blocked 1.7 shots per game.
Jeremiah April - signed with Trinity Valley late last spring, a junior college in Texas but apparently no longer there or never made it as he's not listed on the roster or anywhere on the Trinity Valley official site.
Jonny Marlin - having another big season for Indiana Wesleyan, the No. 1 ranked team in NAIA. Averaging 14.4 points and 6.0 assists per game. A year ago he was a First Team All-American after averaging 13.0 points and 6.6 assists a contest.
Sitting out this year per NCAA rules are Hanner Mosquera-Perea (East Tennessee State), Stanford Robinson (Rhode Island) and Max Hoetzel (San Diego State).
-------------
For those heading to New York for the Pinstripe Bowl, one of our regulars here is setting up quite a tailgate there outside Yankee Stadium next Saturday. Details:
Here are the details:
We will be setting up at Mullaly Park on 165th and River Avenue. We spoke with the park and confirmed they allow for the BBQ and all that goes along with it. The company is called Long Island Tailgate. They will have a tent set up but we will also work on getting an IU flag so it is abundantly clear who we are!
We will be set up and tailgating from 11am until game time.
We will have unlimited food (ribs,wings, shrimp, steak etc) along with unlimited beer and soda etc...
Nothing is required except for your attendance.
Also, Dan from upland brewery has reached out to provide additional beer for the game. If anyone is driving from B town and has any interest in coordinating with him just let me know. If not, we have plenty and more of what we need.
Long Island tailgate will also provide tables, corn hole and footballs so just come hungry and thirsty.
Map showing Mullaly Park which is just north of the stadium:
----------
Indiana is just over a week away from their appearance in the Pinstripe Bowl against Duke. The team is finishing up finals today and then will have two days of practice tomorrow and Sunday before leaving for New York on Monday. Head coach Kevin Wilson met with the media yesterday and you can watch that press conference here.
Last Saturday Coach Wilson also met with the media and provided an update at that time on how the team was doing with bowl preparations. You can watch that video here.
After Coach Wilson spoke Pinstripe Bowl Senior Manager John Mosley spoke to the media and talked about how excited they are to have Indiana playing in their game. The video of Mosley speaking with the media can be seen here.
Duke got some very bad news when it was announced earlier this week that ACC Defensive Player of the Year and All-American Jeremy Cash has been ruled out for bowl game because he had to have surgery on his wrist. It is a big loss for a Duke defense that will be facing one of the top offenses in the nation. Here is a short story on Cash being out for the Pinstripe Bowl.
-----
The awards keep coming for Indiana offensive linemen Jason Spriggs and Dan Feeney. They have both been named First Team All-Americans, and they have been recognized by various media outlets for their play this season. Below are a few stories that talk about the different honors they have received following the season.
Spriggs, Feeney earn First Team All-America honors
Spriggs, Feeney collect First Team All-America accolades
Feeney named First-Team All-American by ESPN.com
You can also check out this story that we did on Spriggs and Feeney. Included in it is a press conference with the two IU O-linemen and offensive line coach Greg Frey.
-----
Indiana Football held their annual postseason banquet last Friday and quarterback Nate Sudfeld was named the MVP of the 2015 season. Here is the story that talks about what other players won what awards at the banquet.
-----
Indiana will have to replace one staff member will be leaving the program for another job. Offensive quality control coach Courtney Messingham has accepted the job as offensive coordinator at Montana State. It is step-up for Coach Messingham as he goes from a non-coach position at IU to coordinating the offense at Montana State. Here is the story on Messingham getting the job from SI.com.
-----
The big news in recruiting this week was the commitment of in-state offensive lineman Coy Cronk, and the mid-year signings of junior college standouts Richard Lagow and Jayme Thompson.
Cronk was arguably the top O-line prospect on the Indiana recruiting board so landing his commitment is huge for the staff. The three-star recruit from Central Catholic H.S. in Lafayette projects as an offensive tackle for the Hoosiers. Here is the story we did on Cronk after his decision. With Cronk and Ryan Smith in the 2016 class IU has picked up a tackle prospect and a guard prospect for their offensive line.
The Hoosiers also got some good and pretty much expected news with the signings of Lagow and Thompson. Lagow had just committed the week before and he is a big get with starting QB Nate Sudfeld set to graduate after this season. Lagow has a great opportunity to come in and keep the offense at a similar level that it has been at under Sudfeld.
With Thompson the Hoosiers are getting a big time talent for their defensive backfield. The Toledo, Ohio native originally signed with Ohio State out of high school and he has the chance to be an instant impact guy for the IU secondary. He was recruited to play safety but he has the ability to play some corner as well if needed.
Here is the story from IUHoosiers.com on Lagow and Thompson signing with Indiana.
-----
There were seven official visitors on campus for IU last weekend and Peegs.com was able to speak to several of them. Here are the stories we did on the guys that we were able to get in touch with following their trips to Bloomington:
Nworah impressed with Indiana
Miller recaps his visit to Indiana
IU in good shape with Swann after visit
You can also check out this story that Rivals.com Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt did on four-star Michigan WR Desmond Fitzpatrick after his visit to IU this past weekend.
-----
We also got in touch with a prospect that was in town he weekend before on an official visit in Georgia TE Robert Tucker. The three-star recruit told Peegs.com that after his visit to IU the Hoosiers are at the top of his list of schools. You can read more about what Tucker said here.
-----
One prospect that will be visiting IU next month after the dead period is three-star linebacker DyMelle Parker. The New Jersey native is currently committed to Syracuse but with the coaching change there he is a soft commit. He told Peegs.com in this story that is very interested in the Hoosiers.
