Here's a list of the recruits that were at Sunday's big win over Ohio State:
Kris Wilkes, 2017 forward, North Central
Paul Scruggs, 2017 guard, Southport
Zach Gunn, 2017 forward, Hamilton Southeastern
Grant Gelon, 2016 guard, Crown Point (committed)
Robert Phinisee, 2018 guard, McCutcheon
Romeo Langford, 2018 guard, New Albany
Damezi Anderson, 2018 wing, South Bend Riley
Austin Boucher, 2018 guard, Fort Wayne South
Since then Indiana coach Tom Crean has scouted Wilkes and Scruggs this week at the Marion County tournament. In fact Indiana has seen Wilkes play three times in the last couple weeks. If that's not a sign that he's a big priority, not sure what is.
None of the Indy 2017 guys are really package deals. But landing one would probably help with another. With Gunn, there is a lot of debate if he's quite at Indiana's level. He's a good shooter but has to probably show more in other parts of the game.
Of course there's no debate with Scruggs and Wilkes. The latter is No. 10 overall, and Scruggs may get to five-star range himself if he continues to show progress with his jumper. His handle appears improved as well.
As far as recruiting, Indiana and Michigan State get the most mention with Scruggs. Kentucky could be a factor if they offer this summer. He has a January 31st unofficial scheduled to East Lansing.
Wilkes is anybody's guess right now because he really hasn't given it much thought. Butler, Indiana and maybe Purdue have worked it hard, as you would expect. Kentucky and Kansas are lurking and his good academics makes schools like Vanderbilt and Stanford potential destinations.
This weekend, we plan to catch up with as well as shoot video of both Phinisee and Boucher, a pair of interesting but less heralded 2018 prospects that were at the Sunday game. Tonight I'll watch Phinisee battle against the athletic Jalen Adaway (6'5 2017, Indiana State offer) at unbeaten No. 5 Logansport. Boucher, a very good shooter, will be with his Fort Wayne South team at Broad Ripple on Saturday night.
This whole 2018 class in Indiana is starting to get ridiculously good. Not sure there is a player in any class right now in the state with as much upside as Romeo Langford. He's that special. Weakness is learning to play with more passion, especially on the defensive end. He's going to be a tough get from what New Albany are sources indicate, but getting him in once again on Sunday was a good sign for the Hoosiers.
South Bend's Damezi Anderson is also full of long term potential. He's 6-foot-6 with athleticism and a jumper. Those three things alone make him a terrific prospect. Last month he hit 8-for-10 from 3-point distance in Riley's win over Northridge.
Anderson also visited Bloomington in September.
Of course Indiana has offered local 2018 wing Musa Jallow of Bloomington North. Both Jeff and I have watched him once the last couple weeks. Jallow didn't show an outside shot either game, which is the main knock on his game, but those who follow North insist he can shoot it and expect him to improve in that skill over time.
Jallow is about 6-foot-4, nice frame, a good athlete and has a decent handle. HIs best attribute in my opinion is he's very unselfish. Probably too unselfish right now. Very good at finding teammates and doing a lot of the dirty work in the post. Potential to be a great glue guy who could be much more with a better jumper.
The early top 2018 guy was Kevin Easley of Lawrence North. He's often been the top-ranked in-state guy from that class and he owns an Indiana offer. His averages won't be eye popping because LN is full of a future college players but an improving shooter with size. MIchigan State will be at Southport tonight to watch Easley and Paul Scruggs do battle in semis of the Marion County Tournament. IU, Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Maryland, Stanford and others have already been to see Easley.
A sleeper 2018 guy to note is Indianapolis Tindley point guard Eric Hunter. Under the radar since he's just at a Class 1A program, but he was at Hoosier Hysteria and has visited Ohio State. Getting regular looks from MVC and A-10 programs this winter.
Maryland is trying to make Indiana a recruiting territory. Terps have made three swings through Indy to see various players since the start of the fall evaluation period, including 2017 Jaren Jackson Jr. of Park Tudor.
Speaking of Jackson, not a lot of confidence in DC right now that Georgetown can land the legacy forward.
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Take note that tomorrow's game at Minnesota is an early 12:30 pm tip-off. I'll be there and post a thread for chat and a separate in-game thread for discussion. We recently added the ability to hold a chat right in the forums.
Also ask for your patience as we transition to the new front page. Just this morning we added some of the custom links you've liked over the years (scholarship chart, hot board, game day, etc.). Need to add a forum index page as soon as possible but use the new feature of Watch Forums as it will get you a customized index of forums that you frequent and is always on the drop down Forums menu on the front page. The "Watch Forum" feature is a link above the front page of each board.
In anticipation of tomorrow's game with Minnesota, here are some coach Tom Crean quotes:
"We have a had a productive week of practice and our guys have been able to get adjusted to their spring class schedules but we are ready to continue to improve and get better each day."
"Minnesota is always a tough place to play at. It’s a unique setting and their fans give them tremendous support. I wouldn’t expect anything different on Saturday morning."
"You can’t look at their record. This is a team that beat Clemson, and Clemson just beat Louisville and Duke. They’re a good team. They lost so many key players from the last two years that it’s been a lot like starting over.”
"I think Richard is an excellent coach and I don’t think there’s any question about it, he’s his own man. He has an excellent style, they’re very athletic. We’re looking at this team with great respect."
"I continue to believe that there is a lot of room for improvement with our team. I’ve really been pleased with the way different guys have stepped up in different situations. When you have that, you can allow players to work through tough stretches without the pressure that can come with the adversity. Our guys know that and they have developed a greater trust amongst each other and allowed the game to come back to them naturally."
"We have to do a good job of taking care of the basketball. Minnesota wants to pressure you and wants to get easy baskets off of turnovers. We can’t allow that to happen if we expect to have success."
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The big news of the week for Indiana football was the new six year contract that head coach Kevin Wilson and IU agreed to. The deal is for a total of $15.3 million which makes it an average of $2.55 million per year. It is a significant deal for a number of reasons, but first and foremost it shows a commitment from IU to the football program that quite frankly has never happened before. When IU hired Kevin Wilson they took a big step in their commitment to football with the seven year contract he got, but this new contract takes it to a whole new level and shows that the school is becoming very serious about its football program. It is also big for Coach Wilson and his staff because they were dealing with other schools talking about their future on the recruiting trail since there were only two years left on his original contract and it was starting to be an issue when it came to recruiting. Now when Wilson or his staff go into a recruit’s home they can look them in the eye and tell them they will be there for the duration of their career. Another reason it is big is it makes IU a more attractive option if Wilson ever needs to make staff changes or wants to for whatever reason. It is tough to higher quality assistants when you don't have the support from your administration, which Wilson clearly has at Indiana.
You can check out this video of Coach Wilson meeting with the media earlier this week where he talked about his new contract and what it means for the program.
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The other big news of the week for the program was the hiring of a new strength and conditioning coach following the departure of Mark Hill. Coach Hill was one of Coach Wilson’s first hires and had been with the program for the last five years but he left for an opportunity at Kentucky. Hill’s replacement is Keith Caton from Baylor University. It is a hire that makes sense when it comes to preparing football players for playing at IU because Baylor and Indiana are very similar in how they do things offensively with the tempo offenses and how they want to play fast. Here is the story from IUHoosiers.com on Caton being named the head strength and conditioning coach for the Hoosiers.
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With the dead period in recruiting ending yesterday at midnight it means recruiting is back to full go and this weekend will be the first of three weekends where schools can host official visitors. The IU staff has five prospects scheduled to be on campus and Peegs.com has this preview of the recruits who will be on campus this weekend.
One of the recruits who will be in Bloomington this weekend is three-star DE/OLB Quayshon Alexander. The New Jersey native is currently committed to Nebraska but is looking around a few different schools. Here is the story we did on him earlier in the week.
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Peegs.com put out an Offensive Hot Board earlier this week that talks about the top offensive targets for the Hoosiers. Some new names have already popped up since then so another update will be coming soon, but until then here is the hot board for offense we had out earlier in the week. A Defensive Hot Board will be coming this weekend.
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Even though the staff is hard at work on the 2016 class that does not mean they aren’t also recruiting other classes. One of the top players in the 2017 class in Indiana is R.J. Potts from Fishers H.S. Rivals.com Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt recently spoke to Potts about his recruiting and his interest in Indiana. You can read that story here.
Kris Wilkes, 2017 forward, North Central
Paul Scruggs, 2017 guard, Southport
Zach Gunn, 2017 forward, Hamilton Southeastern
Grant Gelon, 2016 guard, Crown Point (committed)
Robert Phinisee, 2018 guard, McCutcheon
Romeo Langford, 2018 guard, New Albany
Damezi Anderson, 2018 wing, South Bend Riley
Austin Boucher, 2018 guard, Fort Wayne South
Since then Indiana coach Tom Crean has scouted Wilkes and Scruggs this week at the Marion County tournament. In fact Indiana has seen Wilkes play three times in the last couple weeks. If that's not a sign that he's a big priority, not sure what is.
None of the Indy 2017 guys are really package deals. But landing one would probably help with another. With Gunn, there is a lot of debate if he's quite at Indiana's level. He's a good shooter but has to probably show more in other parts of the game.
Of course there's no debate with Scruggs and Wilkes. The latter is No. 10 overall, and Scruggs may get to five-star range himself if he continues to show progress with his jumper. His handle appears improved as well.
As far as recruiting, Indiana and Michigan State get the most mention with Scruggs. Kentucky could be a factor if they offer this summer. He has a January 31st unofficial scheduled to East Lansing.
Wilkes is anybody's guess right now because he really hasn't given it much thought. Butler, Indiana and maybe Purdue have worked it hard, as you would expect. Kentucky and Kansas are lurking and his good academics makes schools like Vanderbilt and Stanford potential destinations.
This weekend, we plan to catch up with as well as shoot video of both Phinisee and Boucher, a pair of interesting but less heralded 2018 prospects that were at the Sunday game. Tonight I'll watch Phinisee battle against the athletic Jalen Adaway (6'5 2017, Indiana State offer) at unbeaten No. 5 Logansport. Boucher, a very good shooter, will be with his Fort Wayne South team at Broad Ripple on Saturday night.
This whole 2018 class in Indiana is starting to get ridiculously good. Not sure there is a player in any class right now in the state with as much upside as Romeo Langford. He's that special. Weakness is learning to play with more passion, especially on the defensive end. He's going to be a tough get from what New Albany are sources indicate, but getting him in once again on Sunday was a good sign for the Hoosiers.
South Bend's Damezi Anderson is also full of long term potential. He's 6-foot-6 with athleticism and a jumper. Those three things alone make him a terrific prospect. Last month he hit 8-for-10 from 3-point distance in Riley's win over Northridge.
Anderson also visited Bloomington in September.
Of course Indiana has offered local 2018 wing Musa Jallow of Bloomington North. Both Jeff and I have watched him once the last couple weeks. Jallow didn't show an outside shot either game, which is the main knock on his game, but those who follow North insist he can shoot it and expect him to improve in that skill over time.
Jallow is about 6-foot-4, nice frame, a good athlete and has a decent handle. HIs best attribute in my opinion is he's very unselfish. Probably too unselfish right now. Very good at finding teammates and doing a lot of the dirty work in the post. Potential to be a great glue guy who could be much more with a better jumper.
The early top 2018 guy was Kevin Easley of Lawrence North. He's often been the top-ranked in-state guy from that class and he owns an Indiana offer. His averages won't be eye popping because LN is full of a future college players but an improving shooter with size. MIchigan State will be at Southport tonight to watch Easley and Paul Scruggs do battle in semis of the Marion County Tournament. IU, Ohio State, Michigan State, Michigan, Maryland, Stanford and others have already been to see Easley.
A sleeper 2018 guy to note is Indianapolis Tindley point guard Eric Hunter. Under the radar since he's just at a Class 1A program, but he was at Hoosier Hysteria and has visited Ohio State. Getting regular looks from MVC and A-10 programs this winter.
Maryland is trying to make Indiana a recruiting territory. Terps have made three swings through Indy to see various players since the start of the fall evaluation period, including 2017 Jaren Jackson Jr. of Park Tudor.
Speaking of Jackson, not a lot of confidence in DC right now that Georgetown can land the legacy forward.
------
Take note that tomorrow's game at Minnesota is an early 12:30 pm tip-off. I'll be there and post a thread for chat and a separate in-game thread for discussion. We recently added the ability to hold a chat right in the forums.
Also ask for your patience as we transition to the new front page. Just this morning we added some of the custom links you've liked over the years (scholarship chart, hot board, game day, etc.). Need to add a forum index page as soon as possible but use the new feature of Watch Forums as it will get you a customized index of forums that you frequent and is always on the drop down Forums menu on the front page. The "Watch Forum" feature is a link above the front page of each board.
In anticipation of tomorrow's game with Minnesota, here are some coach Tom Crean quotes:
"We have a had a productive week of practice and our guys have been able to get adjusted to their spring class schedules but we are ready to continue to improve and get better each day."
"Minnesota is always a tough place to play at. It’s a unique setting and their fans give them tremendous support. I wouldn’t expect anything different on Saturday morning."
"You can’t look at their record. This is a team that beat Clemson, and Clemson just beat Louisville and Duke. They’re a good team. They lost so many key players from the last two years that it’s been a lot like starting over.”
"I think Richard is an excellent coach and I don’t think there’s any question about it, he’s his own man. He has an excellent style, they’re very athletic. We’re looking at this team with great respect."
"I continue to believe that there is a lot of room for improvement with our team. I’ve really been pleased with the way different guys have stepped up in different situations. When you have that, you can allow players to work through tough stretches without the pressure that can come with the adversity. Our guys know that and they have developed a greater trust amongst each other and allowed the game to come back to them naturally."
"We have to do a good job of taking care of the basketball. Minnesota wants to pressure you and wants to get easy baskets off of turnovers. We can’t allow that to happen if we expect to have success."
--------------------
The big news of the week for Indiana football was the new six year contract that head coach Kevin Wilson and IU agreed to. The deal is for a total of $15.3 million which makes it an average of $2.55 million per year. It is a significant deal for a number of reasons, but first and foremost it shows a commitment from IU to the football program that quite frankly has never happened before. When IU hired Kevin Wilson they took a big step in their commitment to football with the seven year contract he got, but this new contract takes it to a whole new level and shows that the school is becoming very serious about its football program. It is also big for Coach Wilson and his staff because they were dealing with other schools talking about their future on the recruiting trail since there were only two years left on his original contract and it was starting to be an issue when it came to recruiting. Now when Wilson or his staff go into a recruit’s home they can look them in the eye and tell them they will be there for the duration of their career. Another reason it is big is it makes IU a more attractive option if Wilson ever needs to make staff changes or wants to for whatever reason. It is tough to higher quality assistants when you don't have the support from your administration, which Wilson clearly has at Indiana.
You can check out this video of Coach Wilson meeting with the media earlier this week where he talked about his new contract and what it means for the program.
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The other big news of the week for the program was the hiring of a new strength and conditioning coach following the departure of Mark Hill. Coach Hill was one of Coach Wilson’s first hires and had been with the program for the last five years but he left for an opportunity at Kentucky. Hill’s replacement is Keith Caton from Baylor University. It is a hire that makes sense when it comes to preparing football players for playing at IU because Baylor and Indiana are very similar in how they do things offensively with the tempo offenses and how they want to play fast. Here is the story from IUHoosiers.com on Caton being named the head strength and conditioning coach for the Hoosiers.
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With the dead period in recruiting ending yesterday at midnight it means recruiting is back to full go and this weekend will be the first of three weekends where schools can host official visitors. The IU staff has five prospects scheduled to be on campus and Peegs.com has this preview of the recruits who will be on campus this weekend.
One of the recruits who will be in Bloomington this weekend is three-star DE/OLB Quayshon Alexander. The New Jersey native is currently committed to Nebraska but is looking around a few different schools. Here is the story we did on him earlier in the week.
-----
Peegs.com put out an Offensive Hot Board earlier this week that talks about the top offensive targets for the Hoosiers. Some new names have already popped up since then so another update will be coming soon, but until then here is the hot board for offense we had out earlier in the week. A Defensive Hot Board will be coming this weekend.
-----
Even though the staff is hard at work on the 2016 class that does not mean they aren’t also recruiting other classes. One of the top players in the 2017 class in Indiana is R.J. Potts from Fishers H.S. Rivals.com Recruiting Analyst Josh Helmholdt recently spoke to Potts about his recruiting and his interest in Indiana. You can read that story here.
