Welcome to The Hoosier Insider, our weekly insider roundup of the latest IU basketball and football news, notes & recruiting. Let's get to it:
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Obviously a lot happened this week. It’s been a busy one for Archie Miller.
----------------
Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
From a team standpoint, things have started to slow down a bit for the men's basketball program.
The big news on Thursday was the official announcement of Clif Marshall being named IU's Director of Athletic Performance. There was a question concerning Marshall's training translating to basketball after working mostly with NFL players, but he's also trained a number of NBA, MLS and MLS players as well, so that's nothing to worry about.
With head coach Archie Miller's staff set, the attention now turns to recruiting and the pro prospects of OG Anunoby, James Blackmon Jr., Thomas Bryant and Robert Johnson.
All four publicly declared for the NBA Draft on April 11. While Anunoby's future is set - he hired an agent - the remaining trio of Hoosiers have not and left the door open to return to school.
There's still two days until the deadline for players to apply/declare for the NBA Draft, then there's more waiting after that.
If an IU player gets an invite to this year's NBA Draft Combine, scheduled to take place May 9-14 in Chicago, we'll likely know in very late April or early May, as in the first week of May.
Last year's combine was held May 11-15 in Chicago, and invite lists began to emerge as early as April 30, or roughly a week and a half before the event. The NBA officially released the list of combine participants five days beforehand.
Teams can also host prospective players for pre-draft workouts after the combine. Former IU guard Yogi Ferrell didn't get a combine invite last summer but worked out for Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and New York Nicks. In other words, the combine isn't the only avenue for teams to get noticed and/or evaluated by NBA teams.
One final note is that players who declared without hiring an agent have until May 24 to decide whether to keep their name in consideration for the draft or return to school.
Shifting gears to recruiting, Miller has made a strong impression on in-state recruits from what I've been able to gather and contribute in that area. Two four-stars I talked to - Eric Hunter Jr. and Musa Jallow - both commented on serious, no-nonsense approach Miller takes, an approach that seemed to resonate positively.
Hunter's recruitment by Indiana will be one to watch this spring, as noted by Jordan Wells in his Five Storylines piece. He's had a prior relationship with the program through the previous coaching staff, but that staff never offered after evaluating him a handful of times. Hunter's father, Eric Sr., told me the staff planned to watch his son at the adidas Gauntlet in Dallas this weekend and Atlanta the next, which would align with Miller's intentions of wanting to develop a relationship with Hunter.
---------
Sam Beishuizen / Football Beat & Recruiting News
There are busy weeks in recruiting, slow weeks in recruiting and some that are in between.
This was a slow week.
But slow doesn't mean it didn't go with its own production. It appears that Indiana's coaching staff made various trips to high schools throughout the state of Indiana over the last few days to check in with local coaches.
That aligns with what Tom Allen said earlier about wanting to keep the relationships with high school coaches strong. Unlike basketball where the AAU circuit coaches are sometimes the more valuable ones to get "in" with, football only has high school. If Allen and his staff make a point of getting on the good side of these local coaches, perhaps more in-state talent decides to head IU's way.
In a way, this continues the trend Kevin Wilson really started to hammer a season ago with his Indiana "INvasion" camp series. The reviews from that summer tour were off the charts good. Kids got to be around legit coaches, sure, but so did the coaches that were there.
Don't get me wrong, some of these high school coaches are minor celebrities in their own right. But when a college coach comes to town and begins to treat you like you're a somebody, you take notice as one of those high school coaches. You feel important. You feel special. I think that's what these trips do.
And I think the Hoosiers might be able to cash in because of it.
Also, a few offers worth repeating....
The first on the list is Ivan Thomas, a three-star receiver from Miami. At this rate, the Hoosiers might as well just offer out every single player in the Miami area. They love recruiting there.
Anyway, the 6-foot-3, 197-pound prospect has offers from Bowling Green, Kentucky, Syracuse and Temple. He's said before that if Miami (Florida) were to offer, he'd commit immediately to his hometown school that he grew up rooting for.
Dillon Spalding is a new target worth keeping an eye on. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound prospect out of Lorton, Virginia, is ranked No. 84 among receivers nationally and No. 11 overall in his state. He now has offers from the likes of NC State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Syracuse, among others.
He visited Duke and Auburn in the fall and will be on Virginia Tech’s campus April 1. Spalding was also planning to check out Pitt, Penn State and UNC this fall and recently said he wanted to make a list of top schools soon.
Braden Collins, a currently unranked receiver out of Knoxville, Tennessee, reported a Hoosier offer. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound prospect has double-figure offers now, including the likes of Charlotte, Navy, Ohio, Tennessee Tech, Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky and Yale.
As a junior, Collins caught 68 passes for 1,242 yards and 16 touchdowns. His longest score was a 74-yarder.
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Obviously a lot happened this week. It’s been a busy one for Archie Miller.
- Monday - Archie and assistant coach Tom Ostrom watched Indianapolis Tindley four-star junior guard Eric Hunter workout. No offer was extended, but the staff will get to see him in actual live-action this weekend in Dallas for the adidas gauntlet. Stu Jackson checked in with Hunter about the meeting, so you can read about that here - LINK. The 6-3, 170-pound Hunter is ranked as the No. 78 prospect nationally in 2018.
- Tuesday - Archie and assistant coach Ed Schilling met New Albany High five-star junior guard Romeo Langford at his school, alongside his mother, sister and high school coach. Langford still has no idea where he wants to go to school at this point - he doesn’t even have an official list of top schools, although that could come after July. For more about the meeting, click ahead - LINK. The 6-4, 185-pound junior is ranked as the No. 3 player nationally in 2018.
- Wednesday - Archie and Schilling evaluated Fort Wayne North Side four-star sophomore forward Keion Brooks, which resulted in Miller’s first new offer as IU head coach. Michigan State and Purdue among others have put in a lot of early work here, and Izzo plus assistant Dane Fife were at the same open gym as IU’s staff to show how big a priority Brooks is for them. Still, the offer was the first step toward getting back in the recruitment. Brooks’ father was coached by Schilling for two years at Wright State, so there’s obviously some good familiarity there. Will be interesting to see where this one goes. To read more about the offer, click ahead - LINK. The 6-7, 180-pound Brooks is ranked as the No. 26 player nationally in 2019.
- Thursday - Bloomington North four-star forward Musa Jallow was scheduled to make a trip to campus. We’ll check in with him in Dallas this weekend to see how the visit went. The 6-5, 200-pound forward is ranked as the No. 85 player nationally in 2018.
----------------
Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
From a team standpoint, things have started to slow down a bit for the men's basketball program.
The big news on Thursday was the official announcement of Clif Marshall being named IU's Director of Athletic Performance. There was a question concerning Marshall's training translating to basketball after working mostly with NFL players, but he's also trained a number of NBA, MLS and MLS players as well, so that's nothing to worry about.
With head coach Archie Miller's staff set, the attention now turns to recruiting and the pro prospects of OG Anunoby, James Blackmon Jr., Thomas Bryant and Robert Johnson.
All four publicly declared for the NBA Draft on April 11. While Anunoby's future is set - he hired an agent - the remaining trio of Hoosiers have not and left the door open to return to school.
There's still two days until the deadline for players to apply/declare for the NBA Draft, then there's more waiting after that.
If an IU player gets an invite to this year's NBA Draft Combine, scheduled to take place May 9-14 in Chicago, we'll likely know in very late April or early May, as in the first week of May.
Last year's combine was held May 11-15 in Chicago, and invite lists began to emerge as early as April 30, or roughly a week and a half before the event. The NBA officially released the list of combine participants five days beforehand.
Teams can also host prospective players for pre-draft workouts after the combine. Former IU guard Yogi Ferrell didn't get a combine invite last summer but worked out for Los Angeles Lakers, Los Angeles Clippers, Phoenix Suns, Utah Jazz, Chicago Bulls, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Detroit Pistons, Washington Wizards, Brooklyn Nets and New York Nicks. In other words, the combine isn't the only avenue for teams to get noticed and/or evaluated by NBA teams.
One final note is that players who declared without hiring an agent have until May 24 to decide whether to keep their name in consideration for the draft or return to school.
Shifting gears to recruiting, Miller has made a strong impression on in-state recruits from what I've been able to gather and contribute in that area. Two four-stars I talked to - Eric Hunter Jr. and Musa Jallow - both commented on serious, no-nonsense approach Miller takes, an approach that seemed to resonate positively.
Hunter's recruitment by Indiana will be one to watch this spring, as noted by Jordan Wells in his Five Storylines piece. He's had a prior relationship with the program through the previous coaching staff, but that staff never offered after evaluating him a handful of times. Hunter's father, Eric Sr., told me the staff planned to watch his son at the adidas Gauntlet in Dallas this weekend and Atlanta the next, which would align with Miller's intentions of wanting to develop a relationship with Hunter.
---------
Sam Beishuizen / Football Beat & Recruiting News
There are busy weeks in recruiting, slow weeks in recruiting and some that are in between.
This was a slow week.
But slow doesn't mean it didn't go with its own production. It appears that Indiana's coaching staff made various trips to high schools throughout the state of Indiana over the last few days to check in with local coaches.
That aligns with what Tom Allen said earlier about wanting to keep the relationships with high school coaches strong. Unlike basketball where the AAU circuit coaches are sometimes the more valuable ones to get "in" with, football only has high school. If Allen and his staff make a point of getting on the good side of these local coaches, perhaps more in-state talent decides to head IU's way.
In a way, this continues the trend Kevin Wilson really started to hammer a season ago with his Indiana "INvasion" camp series. The reviews from that summer tour were off the charts good. Kids got to be around legit coaches, sure, but so did the coaches that were there.
Don't get me wrong, some of these high school coaches are minor celebrities in their own right. But when a college coach comes to town and begins to treat you like you're a somebody, you take notice as one of those high school coaches. You feel important. You feel special. I think that's what these trips do.
And I think the Hoosiers might be able to cash in because of it.
Also, a few offers worth repeating....
The first on the list is Ivan Thomas, a three-star receiver from Miami. At this rate, the Hoosiers might as well just offer out every single player in the Miami area. They love recruiting there.
Anyway, the 6-foot-3, 197-pound prospect has offers from Bowling Green, Kentucky, Syracuse and Temple. He's said before that if Miami (Florida) were to offer, he'd commit immediately to his hometown school that he grew up rooting for.
Dillon Spalding is a new target worth keeping an eye on. The 6-foot-3, 215-pound prospect out of Lorton, Virginia, is ranked No. 84 among receivers nationally and No. 11 overall in his state. He now has offers from the likes of NC State, Tennessee, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Rutgers and Syracuse, among others.
He visited Duke and Auburn in the fall and will be on Virginia Tech’s campus April 1. Spalding was also planning to check out Pitt, Penn State and UNC this fall and recently said he wanted to make a list of top schools soon.
Braden Collins, a currently unranked receiver out of Knoxville, Tennessee, reported a Hoosier offer. The 6-foot-2, 196-pound prospect has double-figure offers now, including the likes of Charlotte, Navy, Ohio, Tennessee Tech, Vanderbilt, Western Kentucky and Yale.
As a junior, Collins caught 68 passes for 1,242 yards and 16 touchdowns. His longest score was a 74-yarder.
