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
Several nuggets from this week.
Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
It's been a pretty big week for the basketball team.
This year's Big Ten Media Day was held in Washington D.C. yesterday, and our Jacey Zembal was there. You can find plenty of coverage on the frontage and in the updates thread in the premium hoops board. Biggest takeaway from media day to me was that Indiana is still working its way back to full health with sophomore forward Juwan Morgan, junior forward Freddie McSwain and freshman forward De'Ron Davis have been on the mend, but the good news is that junior guards James Blackmon Jr. and Robert Johnson have been at full strength since the end of September. You can read more about injury updates in my notebook here.
It was announced on Wednesday that the Big Ten Network will televise Indiana's early Saturday afternoon practice, offering a "live and unprecedented look inside one of Indiana Basketball’s practices with Tom Crean." I'll probably do a live thread during the event too. Crean and BTN's Jon Cripsin will be mic'd up during the broadcast, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
Hoosier Hysteria will start at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. ESPN College Basketball Analyst Seth Greenberg will host. You can get additional details here. It's a solid choice with Greenberg's coaching experience and expertise, but it would've been nice if an Indiana alum or alumna had been selected like the previous two years because I think it gives the event more meaning that way.
Finally, a couple of recruiting notes on my end to wrap things up. Eric Hunter Sr. told me he was "not sure" if his son, 2018 four-star in-state combo guard Eric Hunter Jr., will be visiting Indiana for Hoosier Hysteria. Eric Jr. has a showcase camp that Saturday, so it may depend on when that ends. Hunter is rated as the No. 86 junior in the country by Rivals.com. Additionally, another 2018 prospect, three-star forward Kevin Easley Jr., told me he did not think he'd be able to make it to Hoosier Hysteria. However, as Jordan reported, 2018 targets will have a presence at HH with local four-star guard Musa Jallow of Bloomington High School North expected to attend.
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Sam Beishuizen / Football Beat & Recruiting News
Kevin Wilson is winning his backyard again. Seriously. He's kicking butt in it.
Kurt Rafdal committed to IU last night, becoming the 15th member of the Hoosiers' 2017 recruiting class. The three-star tight end got taken from the grips of programs like Auburn. AUBURN. He chose IU over AUBURN.
Let that sink in a second. Yes, there are plenty of reasons there that could have factored into the choice. More than a few of them have nothing to do with IU being better than Auburn, because historically it isn't, but it's still a good sign.
So now IU has Britt Beery, Harry Crider, Bryant Fitzgerald, Peyton Hendershot, Caleb Jones and LeShaun Minor all committed from the state of Indiana. If that looks like an all-star team, well, it's because it practically is. We're talking about some of the state's best players banding together to come and help the Hoosiers. That's something.
I've talked to a lot of people much smarter than me about this, including players, and it basically sounds like IU has respect again. I'm not sure when it lost it. I'm not sure when it last had it. But the program means something in this state. And the talent in Indiana is not the best, sure, but it's also not the worst. Taking some of the best kids from Indiana is a good thing, and IU has done just that.
What's next? Hard to tell. It sounds more and more like RJ Potts is considering Indiana. That would be a program-changing get. He'd come in and instantly be one of the best players on the team. The momentum from his pledge would carry over into the season and into the next recruiting class. He'd probably become Wilson's best get to date, but there's still a lot left to happen there.
We changed our visitors format. In previous posts, we'd put the kids we expect to see here in the Insider. It was decided that it would be better to make that a separate story, so I'll link that here. The big thing I stress is that we'll add more names after we see who's actually here. I'd expect quite a few visitors to be in attendance.
Hey, this football game this weekend could be good, too. No. 10 Nebraska is sort of like Iowa from a year ago in my mind. Nobody wants to give the Cornhuskers respect. Maybe being in the Big Ten west has something to do with that? Maybe not. Hard to tell.
But this is a very exciting Nebraska team. I've gone on record as saying I love Tommy Armstrong. That hasn't changed. He'll be fun to watch.
But keep checking back in over the next couple of days. It's hard to tell what commitment might come next, but IU is hitting the 2018 class hard. We might see a few of those names start to pop soon, perhaps. But many of these guys are going to want to finish their seasons before saying anything now, especially the 2017 kids.
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Several nuggets from this week.
- Kris Wilkes - Still don’t know where he’s going to school. I’m well-aware of the UCLA rumblings. Kris told the Star that his mind isn’t made up yet, however, and I believe him. So while we all want to try to piece together the puzzle of where he’s going to pick, and why it might be UCLA, the best thing to do is just wait, because really we don’t know - just like we haven’t known for months. The 6-7, 185-pound forward from Indianapolis North Central is ranked as the No. 18 player nationally.
- Tremont Waters - Bossi dropped a nugget on our forum that a decision could come within the next week or so, and that the rumblings are starting to get positive for IU again. This would make sense because Kansas is right in the mix for guys like five-star point guard Collin Sexton and it seems things aren’t working out with UK. How would everybody feel if IU missed on Wilkes but landed Waters? Wilkes obviously a major, major target for more than one reason - but landing a guy that looks like he could run the point well for the next few years is a pretty crucial pickup. The 5-11, 160-pound guard from West Haven (Conn.) Notre Dame is ranked as the No. 36 player nationally.
- Hoosier Hysteria - Right now we’ve got the following visitors: 2017 Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy five-star forward Billy Preston, ranked as the No. 8 player nationally. That is an official visit. 2018 Bloomington North four-star forward Musa Jallow, ranked as the No. 72 player nationally, who will make the trip right across town. 2018 Lafayette (Ind.) McCutcheon three-star guard Rob Phinisee, ranked as the No. 135 player nationally. This would be his second four-hour roundtrip drive down to IU this month, as he was just here for the Michigan State game on Oct. 1. We have not personally confirmed this one, but it’s been reported by Adam Zagoria that 2018 Queens (N.Y.) Archbishop Molloy five-star center Moses Brown who is ranked as the No. 17 player nationally in that class, will be there. Would be quite the long unofficial trip for the New York kid.
- Romeo Langford - Just visited IU with his coach on Tuesday, and will make the trip to Big Blue Madness at UK tonight. They could make it back to Hoosier Hysteria next weekend but his dad told me via text “don’t know, because we’ve made the last two!” So we’ll see. I wouldn’t take that as an awful sign if they don’t make it, I mean they were just here a few days ago and Romeo has a life to live outside of taking visits every other day. UK seems to want him bad, as John Calipari keeps indirectly referencing him in media. The 6-4, 185-pound five-star guard from New Albany (Ind.) High is ranked as the No. 3 player in 2018.
- David Beatty - Reopened his recruitment this week and told our Georgetown guy he wants to visit Indiana. We’ll see if that happens, because I would assume Indiana landing Waters would take him out of the mix. The 6-2, 180-pound three-star guard from Philadelphia Imhotep is ranked as the No. 135 player nationally.
Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
It's been a pretty big week for the basketball team.
This year's Big Ten Media Day was held in Washington D.C. yesterday, and our Jacey Zembal was there. You can find plenty of coverage on the frontage and in the updates thread in the premium hoops board. Biggest takeaway from media day to me was that Indiana is still working its way back to full health with sophomore forward Juwan Morgan, junior forward Freddie McSwain and freshman forward De'Ron Davis have been on the mend, but the good news is that junior guards James Blackmon Jr. and Robert Johnson have been at full strength since the end of September. You can read more about injury updates in my notebook here.
It was announced on Wednesday that the Big Ten Network will televise Indiana's early Saturday afternoon practice, offering a "live and unprecedented look inside one of Indiana Basketball’s practices with Tom Crean." I'll probably do a live thread during the event too. Crean and BTN's Jon Cripsin will be mic'd up during the broadcast, so I'm looking forward to seeing how it turns out.
Hoosier Hysteria will start at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 22 at the Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. ESPN College Basketball Analyst Seth Greenberg will host. You can get additional details here. It's a solid choice with Greenberg's coaching experience and expertise, but it would've been nice if an Indiana alum or alumna had been selected like the previous two years because I think it gives the event more meaning that way.
Finally, a couple of recruiting notes on my end to wrap things up. Eric Hunter Sr. told me he was "not sure" if his son, 2018 four-star in-state combo guard Eric Hunter Jr., will be visiting Indiana for Hoosier Hysteria. Eric Jr. has a showcase camp that Saturday, so it may depend on when that ends. Hunter is rated as the No. 86 junior in the country by Rivals.com. Additionally, another 2018 prospect, three-star forward Kevin Easley Jr., told me he did not think he'd be able to make it to Hoosier Hysteria. However, as Jordan reported, 2018 targets will have a presence at HH with local four-star guard Musa Jallow of Bloomington High School North expected to attend.
--------------------------------
Sam Beishuizen / Football Beat & Recruiting News
Kevin Wilson is winning his backyard again. Seriously. He's kicking butt in it.
Kurt Rafdal committed to IU last night, becoming the 15th member of the Hoosiers' 2017 recruiting class. The three-star tight end got taken from the grips of programs like Auburn. AUBURN. He chose IU over AUBURN.
Let that sink in a second. Yes, there are plenty of reasons there that could have factored into the choice. More than a few of them have nothing to do with IU being better than Auburn, because historically it isn't, but it's still a good sign.
So now IU has Britt Beery, Harry Crider, Bryant Fitzgerald, Peyton Hendershot, Caleb Jones and LeShaun Minor all committed from the state of Indiana. If that looks like an all-star team, well, it's because it practically is. We're talking about some of the state's best players banding together to come and help the Hoosiers. That's something.
I've talked to a lot of people much smarter than me about this, including players, and it basically sounds like IU has respect again. I'm not sure when it lost it. I'm not sure when it last had it. But the program means something in this state. And the talent in Indiana is not the best, sure, but it's also not the worst. Taking some of the best kids from Indiana is a good thing, and IU has done just that.
What's next? Hard to tell. It sounds more and more like RJ Potts is considering Indiana. That would be a program-changing get. He'd come in and instantly be one of the best players on the team. The momentum from his pledge would carry over into the season and into the next recruiting class. He'd probably become Wilson's best get to date, but there's still a lot left to happen there.
We changed our visitors format. In previous posts, we'd put the kids we expect to see here in the Insider. It was decided that it would be better to make that a separate story, so I'll link that here. The big thing I stress is that we'll add more names after we see who's actually here. I'd expect quite a few visitors to be in attendance.
Hey, this football game this weekend could be good, too. No. 10 Nebraska is sort of like Iowa from a year ago in my mind. Nobody wants to give the Cornhuskers respect. Maybe being in the Big Ten west has something to do with that? Maybe not. Hard to tell.
But this is a very exciting Nebraska team. I've gone on record as saying I love Tommy Armstrong. That hasn't changed. He'll be fun to watch.
But keep checking back in over the next couple of days. It's hard to tell what commitment might come next, but IU is hitting the 2018 class hard. We might see a few of those names start to pop soon, perhaps. But many of these guys are going to want to finish their seasons before saying anything now, especially the 2017 kids.
