Here's our roundup of IU basketball, football and recruiting news:
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Not a ton of new news in basketball recruiting this week. The Hoosiers did extend a new offer to 2019 four-star forward Zeke Nnaji.
It’s an interesting offer as this is yet another big/forward on the board.
Some fans are asking what this means - is IU not in as good of shape with Center Grove five-star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (6-9, 210 pounds, No. 22 player nationally) as we thought?
My opinion, they’ve been watching Nnaji for a while. Kid is really talented. They have ties to D1 Minnesota - signed both Race Thompson here and signed McKinley Wright at Dayton from the program - no real downside to offering him.
I’m a tad curious about the timing of it - why not offer him right after seeing him this spring - but sometimes we like to look into things that simply aren’t there.
This is probably as simple as IU doing their due diligence on a prospect they liked and finally deciding to pull the trigger.
…
Speaking of Jackson-Davis, a rumor was circulating this week that he might reclassify to 2018 and join IU’s roster. According to someone close to him, there’s “no truth whatsoever” to that rumor.
Our Jacey Zembal caught up with Jackson-Davis in Hampton at EYBL - https://indiana.rivals.com/news/indiana-zeroing-in-on-five-star-trayce-jackson-davis
…
The Indiana Junior All-Stars face the Kentucky group this weekend, but both Jackson-Davis and Fort Wayne North Side four-star forward Keion Brooks will be at USA Basketball trying to make the upcoming FIBA U18 roster.
You can read more about that here - https://indiana.rivals.com/news/indiana-basketball-junior-all-stars-face-kentucky-this-weekend
…
La Lumiere five-star forward Isaiah Stewart cut his list to 10 schools, including the Hoosiers - https://indiana.rivals.com/news/ind...-forward-isaiah-stewart-includes-iu-in-top-10
This was expected, but it will be interesting to see if IU makes a next cut or gets an official visit.
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Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
A sold-out crowd was on hand at Huber's Orchard & Winery in Borden to hear what IU men's basketball head coach Archie Miller and IU football head coach Tom Allen had to say about their respective programs heading into the 2018 season.
For Miller, it afforded him the opportunity to update both attending fans and media on the outlook on some of the Hoosiers' returnees. Here's what he had to say:
On Zach McRoberts: "He's probably one of my favorite guys, I'm sure he's one of your favorite guys as well. It's hard not to like him. I wish I would've played him a few games earlier, we may have won at least one more game. Ultimate competitor, ultimate winner. Anybody who's hiring in a about year, you want a guy like that in your organization. We've got to get him better. I think last year, he showed so much of the fabric of how we could win and how we could play, how tough-minded he is. His goal this year and his role this year is going to be a guy who can have more confidence offensively, taking more shots for us, making more shots for us, because I think he's capable. He's really improved in the spring. He's been working here in the last three weeks. As we continue in the summer, I think he's going to have an added role in that dimension."
On De'Ron Davis: "His recovery is slow, we're taking our time with it. He's not yet doing any basketball-related things other than some stationary work with Coach (Ostrom) and (head athletic trainer) Tim Garl. Tim's got his rehab planned so that as we go through the next month of June, hopefully he continues to elevate without restrictions, and then as we approach August, September, get into our fall, we'll start to move him that way. Even though he's a little bit slow, the surgery was successful, the progress was successful, it just takes some time with a guy like him and his size. We're hopeful he can stay consistent."
On Devonte Green: "Devonte had a great spring. The conversations that Devonte needed to have was he needed to realize, to untap all of his potential and all of his talent, and step aside and ask himself how good he wants to be. How good do you really want to be? How much do you really want to invest in yourself? Because you can only get so much out of talent and the same routine. People can ask you and prod you and plead to you, but until you open up and say, I"m going to give more to my game, I'm going to give more on my own, I'm not going to get any further. I thought he did a great job this spring. He's shot the ball as well as any guard I've shot with other than James Blackmon the first few weeks here."
On Race Thompson: "Race really did a great job using a redshirt year. Sometimes you can waste it, he didn't. Right now he's supposed to be graduating high school. If he'd be graduating high school (right now), he'd be light years behind where he was when he first started. He's changed his body, he's gotten healthier and he's able to compete in practice every day as a player and he got a lot better. He's got to evolve his game, he's got to continue to improve his skill and I think he's a guy that's going to help us win games in his career."
On Al Durham Jr.: "Gotta get stronger, and he knows that. He's had a great mindset and I think he'll come back very strong as a sophomore. Much more comfortable shooting the ball as an older player. He's a better shooter than he was in mid-January where he struggled a little bit."
On Justin Smith: "We all saw great things out of Justin. He had flashes of great talent where he helped us win games and made big plays. Now the thing for him is to get a guy that's very comfortable with his talent start be more aggressive and learn to how play more physical because he has so many gifts. Justin's experience coming off freshman year, he can really make a big jump."
On Clifton Moore: "He's gotten a lot stronger. He's gotten a lot better as a player. Over the offseason, he's got to continue to evolve as a player to have a chance to impact us."
Among the incoming freshman class, Miller said point guard signee Robert Phinisee will play an "immediate role" for IU this season due to need at the position. Damezi Anderson's size, shooting and athleticism will help Indiana space the floor better this year. Jerome Hunter is a lengthy, versatile athlete who can play multiple positions. Jake Forrester is "the ultimate competitor" and a "live wire" who has a great motor. Miller called Romeo Langford "as decorated a player as I've been around" and hopes Langford makes choosing IU cool again for other elite in-state talent.
IU AD Fred Glass at the event mentioned there really is no news regarding Indiana-Kentucky. The programs have engaged in preliminary talks about resuming the series, Glass said, but nothing more.
Additionally, it's been confirmed that Indiana will travel to Duke for this year's Big Ten-ACC Challenge. Should be a good matchup between two very young but talented teams. It's set for Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.
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Stu Jackson / Football Beat & Recruiting News
Recruiting News:
One of Indiana's top in-state targets in 2019 3-star Brownsburg (Ind.) High wide receiver Bryce Kirtz told me earlier this week he's committing by Monday, June 4 at the latest. He mentioned Allen and Indiana receivers coach Grant Heard are two of the coaches he has the strongest relationships with among his Top 4 - Indiana, Purdue, Duke and Northwestern. He told me he was considering taking one last visit to Duke or Purdue before deciding, but everything I've gathered suggests Kirtz will be choosing between Indiana and Northwestern.
Meanwhile, 2019 3-star Michigan defensive end Ruke Orhorhoro released his top 4 schools this week and Indiana made the cut, along with Kentucky, Michigan and Clemson. Orhorhoro collected 24 offers over the course of his recruitment, so the fact that the Hoosiers made the cut says a lot about the program. Indiana defensive line coach Mark hagen and running backs coach Mike hart have been key in Orhorhoro's recruitment and are a big reason why the Hoosiers remain in contention.
Josh Helmholdt caught up with Orhorhoro here: https://n.rivals.com/news/top-4-and-two-official-visits-for-ruke-orhorhoro. Orhorhoro told Helmholdt he will be taking an official visit to Indiana the weekend of June 15-17, which also happens to be the same weekend when three-star Alabama defensive tackle C.J. Person will be taking his official visit to IU.
June is going to be the big month for Indiana for official visits going forward. Official visits can be taken in the spring, but Allen told me the staff feels a player taking an official any earlier than June leaves too much time between the visit and potential commitments as well as the early signing period itself.
Also, followed up with 2019 three-star Ohio defensive end Dontay Hunter recently and he still doesn't have an official visit date nailed down yet. Hunter told us at the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp in Columbus on May 13 he was in the process of scheduling one, but so far that has yet to happen. Hunter currently has an official visit to Virginia scheduled for this weekend, then he'll he'll head to West Lafayette for an official visit to Purdue the weekend of June 15-17.
Team news:
Members of Indiana's incoming freshman class began arriving on campus Wednesday and are going through summer orientation today (picture below).
There are several of those players Allen is eager to get on campus and in the fold as they trickle into Bloomington.
In the secondary, Allen told me two-star Florida defensive back Devon Matthews and three-star Tennessee cornerback Jaylin Williams are two newcomers who he thinks have a chance to contribute sooner rather than later.
At linebacker, three players who came to mind for Allen were three-star Tennessee athlete Cam Jones, three-star Florida linebacker James Miller and three-star Florida defensive back Jamar Johnson. (Miller, by the way, was the first to arrive on campus).
Allen also mentioned Stevie Scott has the size to play his evaluated position or linebacker at 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds. Allen is also excited about three-star Fishers (Ind.) Hamilton Southeastern three-star defensive end Madison Norris and the speed he'll bring to that side of the ball. On offense, Allen is eager to work with reigning Indiana Mr. Football and three-star athlete Reese Taylor. Three-star wide receiver Miles Marshall could have an early impact as well given how strong of a need depth is for that group.
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Not a ton of new news in basketball recruiting this week. The Hoosiers did extend a new offer to 2019 four-star forward Zeke Nnaji.
It’s an interesting offer as this is yet another big/forward on the board.
Some fans are asking what this means - is IU not in as good of shape with Center Grove five-star forward Trayce Jackson-Davis (6-9, 210 pounds, No. 22 player nationally) as we thought?
My opinion, they’ve been watching Nnaji for a while. Kid is really talented. They have ties to D1 Minnesota - signed both Race Thompson here and signed McKinley Wright at Dayton from the program - no real downside to offering him.
I’m a tad curious about the timing of it - why not offer him right after seeing him this spring - but sometimes we like to look into things that simply aren’t there.
This is probably as simple as IU doing their due diligence on a prospect they liked and finally deciding to pull the trigger.
…
Speaking of Jackson-Davis, a rumor was circulating this week that he might reclassify to 2018 and join IU’s roster. According to someone close to him, there’s “no truth whatsoever” to that rumor.
Our Jacey Zembal caught up with Jackson-Davis in Hampton at EYBL - https://indiana.rivals.com/news/indiana-zeroing-in-on-five-star-trayce-jackson-davis
…
The Indiana Junior All-Stars face the Kentucky group this weekend, but both Jackson-Davis and Fort Wayne North Side four-star forward Keion Brooks will be at USA Basketball trying to make the upcoming FIBA U18 roster.
You can read more about that here - https://indiana.rivals.com/news/indiana-basketball-junior-all-stars-face-kentucky-this-weekend
…
La Lumiere five-star forward Isaiah Stewart cut his list to 10 schools, including the Hoosiers - https://indiana.rivals.com/news/ind...-forward-isaiah-stewart-includes-iu-in-top-10
This was expected, but it will be interesting to see if IU makes a next cut or gets an official visit.
------
Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
A sold-out crowd was on hand at Huber's Orchard & Winery in Borden to hear what IU men's basketball head coach Archie Miller and IU football head coach Tom Allen had to say about their respective programs heading into the 2018 season.
For Miller, it afforded him the opportunity to update both attending fans and media on the outlook on some of the Hoosiers' returnees. Here's what he had to say:
On Zach McRoberts: "He's probably one of my favorite guys, I'm sure he's one of your favorite guys as well. It's hard not to like him. I wish I would've played him a few games earlier, we may have won at least one more game. Ultimate competitor, ultimate winner. Anybody who's hiring in a about year, you want a guy like that in your organization. We've got to get him better. I think last year, he showed so much of the fabric of how we could win and how we could play, how tough-minded he is. His goal this year and his role this year is going to be a guy who can have more confidence offensively, taking more shots for us, making more shots for us, because I think he's capable. He's really improved in the spring. He's been working here in the last three weeks. As we continue in the summer, I think he's going to have an added role in that dimension."
On De'Ron Davis: "His recovery is slow, we're taking our time with it. He's not yet doing any basketball-related things other than some stationary work with Coach (Ostrom) and (head athletic trainer) Tim Garl. Tim's got his rehab planned so that as we go through the next month of June, hopefully he continues to elevate without restrictions, and then as we approach August, September, get into our fall, we'll start to move him that way. Even though he's a little bit slow, the surgery was successful, the progress was successful, it just takes some time with a guy like him and his size. We're hopeful he can stay consistent."
On Devonte Green: "Devonte had a great spring. The conversations that Devonte needed to have was he needed to realize, to untap all of his potential and all of his talent, and step aside and ask himself how good he wants to be. How good do you really want to be? How much do you really want to invest in yourself? Because you can only get so much out of talent and the same routine. People can ask you and prod you and plead to you, but until you open up and say, I"m going to give more to my game, I'm going to give more on my own, I'm not going to get any further. I thought he did a great job this spring. He's shot the ball as well as any guard I've shot with other than James Blackmon the first few weeks here."
On Race Thompson: "Race really did a great job using a redshirt year. Sometimes you can waste it, he didn't. Right now he's supposed to be graduating high school. If he'd be graduating high school (right now), he'd be light years behind where he was when he first started. He's changed his body, he's gotten healthier and he's able to compete in practice every day as a player and he got a lot better. He's got to evolve his game, he's got to continue to improve his skill and I think he's a guy that's going to help us win games in his career."
On Al Durham Jr.: "Gotta get stronger, and he knows that. He's had a great mindset and I think he'll come back very strong as a sophomore. Much more comfortable shooting the ball as an older player. He's a better shooter than he was in mid-January where he struggled a little bit."
On Justin Smith: "We all saw great things out of Justin. He had flashes of great talent where he helped us win games and made big plays. Now the thing for him is to get a guy that's very comfortable with his talent start be more aggressive and learn to how play more physical because he has so many gifts. Justin's experience coming off freshman year, he can really make a big jump."
On Clifton Moore: "He's gotten a lot stronger. He's gotten a lot better as a player. Over the offseason, he's got to continue to evolve as a player to have a chance to impact us."
Among the incoming freshman class, Miller said point guard signee Robert Phinisee will play an "immediate role" for IU this season due to need at the position. Damezi Anderson's size, shooting and athleticism will help Indiana space the floor better this year. Jerome Hunter is a lengthy, versatile athlete who can play multiple positions. Jake Forrester is "the ultimate competitor" and a "live wire" who has a great motor. Miller called Romeo Langford "as decorated a player as I've been around" and hopes Langford makes choosing IU cool again for other elite in-state talent.
IU AD Fred Glass at the event mentioned there really is no news regarding Indiana-Kentucky. The programs have engaged in preliminary talks about resuming the series, Glass said, but nothing more.
Additionally, it's been confirmed that Indiana will travel to Duke for this year's Big Ten-ACC Challenge. Should be a good matchup between two very young but talented teams. It's set for Tuesday, Nov. 27 at Cameron Indoor Stadium in Durham, N.C.
---------
Stu Jackson / Football Beat & Recruiting News
Recruiting News:
One of Indiana's top in-state targets in 2019 3-star Brownsburg (Ind.) High wide receiver Bryce Kirtz told me earlier this week he's committing by Monday, June 4 at the latest. He mentioned Allen and Indiana receivers coach Grant Heard are two of the coaches he has the strongest relationships with among his Top 4 - Indiana, Purdue, Duke and Northwestern. He told me he was considering taking one last visit to Duke or Purdue before deciding, but everything I've gathered suggests Kirtz will be choosing between Indiana and Northwestern.
Meanwhile, 2019 3-star Michigan defensive end Ruke Orhorhoro released his top 4 schools this week and Indiana made the cut, along with Kentucky, Michigan and Clemson. Orhorhoro collected 24 offers over the course of his recruitment, so the fact that the Hoosiers made the cut says a lot about the program. Indiana defensive line coach Mark hagen and running backs coach Mike hart have been key in Orhorhoro's recruitment and are a big reason why the Hoosiers remain in contention.
Josh Helmholdt caught up with Orhorhoro here: https://n.rivals.com/news/top-4-and-two-official-visits-for-ruke-orhorhoro. Orhorhoro told Helmholdt he will be taking an official visit to Indiana the weekend of June 15-17, which also happens to be the same weekend when three-star Alabama defensive tackle C.J. Person will be taking his official visit to IU.
June is going to be the big month for Indiana for official visits going forward. Official visits can be taken in the spring, but Allen told me the staff feels a player taking an official any earlier than June leaves too much time between the visit and potential commitments as well as the early signing period itself.
Also, followed up with 2019 three-star Ohio defensive end Dontay Hunter recently and he still doesn't have an official visit date nailed down yet. Hunter told us at the Rivals 3 Stripe Camp in Columbus on May 13 he was in the process of scheduling one, but so far that has yet to happen. Hunter currently has an official visit to Virginia scheduled for this weekend, then he'll he'll head to West Lafayette for an official visit to Purdue the weekend of June 15-17.
Team news:
Members of Indiana's incoming freshman class began arriving on campus Wednesday and are going through summer orientation today (picture below).
There are several of those players Allen is eager to get on campus and in the fold as they trickle into Bloomington.
In the secondary, Allen told me two-star Florida defensive back Devon Matthews and three-star Tennessee cornerback Jaylin Williams are two newcomers who he thinks have a chance to contribute sooner rather than later.
At linebacker, three players who came to mind for Allen were three-star Tennessee athlete Cam Jones, three-star Florida linebacker James Miller and three-star Florida defensive back Jamar Johnson. (Miller, by the way, was the first to arrive on campus).
Allen also mentioned Stevie Scott has the size to play his evaluated position or linebacker at 6-foot-1 and 240 pounds. Allen is also excited about three-star Fishers (Ind.) Hamilton Southeastern three-star defensive end Madison Norris and the speed he'll bring to that side of the ball. On offense, Allen is eager to work with reigning Indiana Mr. Football and three-star athlete Reese Taylor. Three-star wide receiver Miles Marshall could have an early impact as well given how strong of a need depth is for that group.
