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
Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Maybe you haven't heard already, but No. 11 Indiana is playing No. 3 Kansas tonight (Friday) at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN in the Armed Forces Classic for its regular-season opener. It's the highest-ranked opponent Indiana has faced in a season-opener since taking on No. 2 UCLA at the beginning of the 1975-76 season. You can find all of our pregame coverage over at GameDay Central.
Prior to that, IU sophomore center Thomas Bryant and junior guard James Blackmon Jr. both picked up national recognition this week as two of 50 players named to the Naismith Trophy watch list. It's given annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top college basketball player in the country. The list can add or subtract players, too, prior February 9, 2017, when the club will narrow the nominees to 30.
OG Anunoby was left off that list, but did make Sporting News' cut for its Preseason All-American Third-Team.
On the pro level, former IU All-American guard Yogi Ferrell made his NBA Debut earlier this week, finishing with 5 points, 3 assists, 1 steal and 3 turnovers in 14 minutes off the bench for the Brooklyn Nets. Ferrell got called up from the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn's Developmental League affiliate, after Brooklyn released injured point guard Greivis Vasquez.
Lastly, be sure to check back later tonight for postgame coverage of the IU-Kansas game.
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Sam Beishuizen / Football Beat & Recruiting News
So Juan Harris is back into the picture.
The three-star defensive tackle who was once committed to Indiana only to decommit after being committed to Iowa three separate times is expected to maybe visit Bloomington this weekend. He told me he "might" be in town for an unofficial visit. He's already taken his official to IU. So there's still a bit of an unknown whether or not he's here. Harris will be graduating in December and want to enroll early. IU has about five available spots there.
Despite Harris backing off his pledge and some off-the-field stuff going on, sounds like Indiana still wants him. And if you're willing to take on baggage, that clearly means they really like what they see in him as a football player. From what I've gathered, don't be surprised if he winds up being a Hoosier after all. But if he doesn't actually make this trip, and he might not, it's safe to say he's cooled off.
Speaking of visits, 2018 QB Trey Lowe told me he'll be in town this weekend for a visit as well. The dual-threat quarterback out of Tennessee is listed at three-stars and hasn't made too much hype as of yet. He's not exactly top-of-the-line material, but it sounds like Indiana wants to take a look at the kid. He has offers from Memphis, Alcorn State and Southern Miss currently. Oregon has also reached out.
A quick side note: Kevin Wilson doesn't play favorites in terms of which kind of quarterback he recruits. Sometimes he wants a pro guy, sometimes a scrambler. He just wants someone good. But I do think he's leaning more towards a scrambler in the 2018 class. That ability to open up the passing game with the rushing attack just isn't easily repeatable. It worked when a guy like Nate Sudfeld was here because he was just on another level, but I think Wilson's creativity really gets to come into play when he's got a kid with legs. But that's just my two cents there.
Keep an eye out for visitors popping up on here as they come in.
Talking about the team on the field for a moment, they're running into a pretty stellar Penn State team this weekend, but I think an upset is possible, just not probable. With five wins already, IU can afford to play pretty loosely trying to get to a legitimate six wins. I wouldn't be shocked to see it come here.
You can't really take momentum into bowl season because of the month-long gap between the final game of the regular season and the bowl game itself, but I don't think it would benefit IU to go into whatever bowl it would receive as losers of three in a row. Considering that Penn State could win by quite a few points, Michigan could get ugly and Purdue would be taking back the Old Oaken Bucket, that's not exactly a ton of reason for IU to be excited about whatever bowl it would make. But that'll be up to the team to control.
Looks like Saturday could be a cold one in Bloomington. Noon kick. Looking forward to it.
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
- Al Durham - In case you missed it, here’s our signing day profile on him here (LINK). This includes some basic facts, a scouting report, a recruitment summary, other articles we’ve written on Durham, video highlights and more. The 6-4, 175-pound guard from Lilburn (Ga.) Berkmar is rated as a three-star prospect by Rivals.com.
- Justin Smith - We did the same deal for Smith as we did with Durham (LINK). The 6-6, 200-pound forward from Lincolnshire (Ill.) Stevenson is ranked as the No. 105 prospect nationally.
- Billy Preston - He’s expected to announce a decision this signing period. The smart people think it’s between Kansas and USC, as we’ve thought for a while, but it’s at least worth following to see where he picks. Preston has been all over the place in his recruitment, so you just never really know what could happen. The 6-9, 220-pound forward from Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy is ranked as the No. 8 player nationally.
Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Maybe you haven't heard already, but No. 11 Indiana is playing No. 3 Kansas tonight (Friday) at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN in the Armed Forces Classic for its regular-season opener. It's the highest-ranked opponent Indiana has faced in a season-opener since taking on No. 2 UCLA at the beginning of the 1975-76 season. You can find all of our pregame coverage over at GameDay Central.
Prior to that, IU sophomore center Thomas Bryant and junior guard James Blackmon Jr. both picked up national recognition this week as two of 50 players named to the Naismith Trophy watch list. It's given annually by the Atlanta Tipoff Club to the top college basketball player in the country. The list can add or subtract players, too, prior February 9, 2017, when the club will narrow the nominees to 30.
OG Anunoby was left off that list, but did make Sporting News' cut for its Preseason All-American Third-Team.
On the pro level, former IU All-American guard Yogi Ferrell made his NBA Debut earlier this week, finishing with 5 points, 3 assists, 1 steal and 3 turnovers in 14 minutes off the bench for the Brooklyn Nets. Ferrell got called up from the Long Island Nets, Brooklyn's Developmental League affiliate, after Brooklyn released injured point guard Greivis Vasquez.
Lastly, be sure to check back later tonight for postgame coverage of the IU-Kansas game.
------------------------------------
Sam Beishuizen / Football Beat & Recruiting News
So Juan Harris is back into the picture.
The three-star defensive tackle who was once committed to Indiana only to decommit after being committed to Iowa three separate times is expected to maybe visit Bloomington this weekend. He told me he "might" be in town for an unofficial visit. He's already taken his official to IU. So there's still a bit of an unknown whether or not he's here. Harris will be graduating in December and want to enroll early. IU has about five available spots there.
Despite Harris backing off his pledge and some off-the-field stuff going on, sounds like Indiana still wants him. And if you're willing to take on baggage, that clearly means they really like what they see in him as a football player. From what I've gathered, don't be surprised if he winds up being a Hoosier after all. But if he doesn't actually make this trip, and he might not, it's safe to say he's cooled off.
Speaking of visits, 2018 QB Trey Lowe told me he'll be in town this weekend for a visit as well. The dual-threat quarterback out of Tennessee is listed at three-stars and hasn't made too much hype as of yet. He's not exactly top-of-the-line material, but it sounds like Indiana wants to take a look at the kid. He has offers from Memphis, Alcorn State and Southern Miss currently. Oregon has also reached out.
A quick side note: Kevin Wilson doesn't play favorites in terms of which kind of quarterback he recruits. Sometimes he wants a pro guy, sometimes a scrambler. He just wants someone good. But I do think he's leaning more towards a scrambler in the 2018 class. That ability to open up the passing game with the rushing attack just isn't easily repeatable. It worked when a guy like Nate Sudfeld was here because he was just on another level, but I think Wilson's creativity really gets to come into play when he's got a kid with legs. But that's just my two cents there.
Keep an eye out for visitors popping up on here as they come in.
Talking about the team on the field for a moment, they're running into a pretty stellar Penn State team this weekend, but I think an upset is possible, just not probable. With five wins already, IU can afford to play pretty loosely trying to get to a legitimate six wins. I wouldn't be shocked to see it come here.
You can't really take momentum into bowl season because of the month-long gap between the final game of the regular season and the bowl game itself, but I don't think it would benefit IU to go into whatever bowl it would receive as losers of three in a row. Considering that Penn State could win by quite a few points, Michigan could get ugly and Purdue would be taking back the Old Oaken Bucket, that's not exactly a ton of reason for IU to be excited about whatever bowl it would make. But that'll be up to the team to control.
Looks like Saturday could be a cold one in Bloomington. Noon kick. Looking forward to it.
