Welcome to The Hoosier Insider, our weekly staff roundup of IU basketball & football news, notes and recruiting. Let's get to it:
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Man, what a busy week. Here are some capsules to recap where things stand with a lot of targets:
Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
We’re officially two weeks away from the start of the college basketball season, so that’s good news.
Yesterday, Indiana basketball held its first media availability of the season providing a slew of offseason updates. Most notable is that 6-foot-4, 200-pound junior guard James Blackmon Jr. just recently got cleared for full participation in practice. If you remember, he had surgery in early January to repair a torn ACL in his right knee. Before getting injured, he was Indiana’s second-leading scorer, too, so the impact of his return can’t be overstated enough.
I’ll have a few more stories from that availability, but in the meantime you can head here for some quick news & notes from the press conference.
In other team news, the ACC 2016-17 schedule release earlier this week revealed that Indiana’s New Year’s Eve matinee with Louisville at Bankers Life Fieldhouse will tipoff at 12:30 p.m. ET. Though many of the tipoff times and broadcast information remain unannounced, ultimately it’s one step closer to the completion of IU’s 2016-17 schedule.
It was also announced during the football game last week that Hoosier Hysteria will be held Oct. 22. It will serve as the official tip-off of the 2016-17 season for the basketball program.
IU’s coaching staff is out on the recruiting trail this week with the first recruiting period of the fall beginning Sept. 9 Since then, coaches have been able to talk players and their parents. Jordan covered most of the action on that end over the last week, but one tidbit I got was that IU assistant coach Rob Judson was at Indianapolis Tindley Prep’s open gym to check out 2018 four-star guard Eric Hunter Jr. A 6-foot-3, 170-pound combo guard, Hunter is rated as the No. 86 junior in the country by Rivals.com.
I had the chance to watch Hunter during the final July evaluation period in Las Vegas. Athletic kid with a nice shooting touch, but he’s still working on attacking the basket to create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. Team Harris Elite head coach Omar Dillard, Hunter’s AAU coach, said back in July that was something they’d been emphasizing, so I’m sure he’s made improvement in that area in the seven weeks since.
-------------------
Sam Beishuizen / Football Beat & Recruiting News
I'd say happy bye week, but there isn't much to be happy about with a bye week.
The Hoosiers were off this weekend, which was pretty early, but will get back at it next week against a pretty strong Wake Forest team at Memorial Stadium. The off time allowed Kevin Wilson and the rest of Indiana's staff to hit the recruiting trail a bit this week, which should set the table for the rest of the fall.
We'll get to that in a moment, but let's talk briefly about team news.
Dan Feeney (concussion) and Simmie Cobbs (ankle) both have their status up in the air. Cobbs had surgery earlier this week and might have to redshirt, which would be a tough break for the junior receiver who has so much potential. Feeney's injury is more difficult to put a timetable on because we don't understand much about concussions still. He could be ready next week. He could be ready two weeks from now, five weeks from now or never again. It just depends on the severity. Luckily for the fifth-year senior All-American, Wilson sounded pretty optimistic in talking about his return. So I'd imagine we'll get a more firm update on Monday.
I've loved the discussion about the impact of these two being hurt on the board. Feeney is the best NFL talent on the team. You're going to miss that. Cobbs might be second in that regard, but his production is a little easier to replace because of all the depth at receiver. I'm starting to grow concerned that injuries could derail IU at the rate they're going. Indiana is without Jordan Fuchs for the whole year, lost J-Shun Harris before the season began and now this. IU can't afford much else.
In positive news, it sounded like Camion Patrick is getting back soon. He's still not cleared for practice, but he's getting there. We saw him warm up with the receivers before IU played Ball State. It sounds like that's where he's starting out for now just because of the lack of contact at the position. I could see him there or at running back by the time he gets going again.
Let's talk about recruiting a bit. Jordan and I are heading up to watch Caleb Jones play Britt Beery tonight. That should be a good time. I'm really looking forward to that.
But Indiana had quite a bit happen this week. We'll start with a note that I've heard Indiana is fighting hard to keep up in the race for Cameron McGrone, a three-star linebacker out of Indianapolis. That wasn't reported or anything, just something I've heard in passing lately. He's in the class of 2018, and it sounds like the Hoosiers want to build a long-term relationship here with the hopes that he remembers how much IU wanted him.
Recent Michigan decommit Antwuan Johnson visited Indiana at the last minute last week and told me he enjoyed it. He's nowhere near making a decision, he said, but the three-star linebacker out of Dayton, Ohio, was high on the Hoosiers. He's one of the types of players I'd classify as a really, really great get if he ever decided to commit to IU. That much will be an uphill battle as other top programs jump in, but it's always good to hang around with those types of kids at the very least.
Along those same lines, four-star offensive lineman Mekhi Becton picked up an Indiana offer, which was his 28th, but said IU will definitely get consideration. The Virginia native is one of the highest-ranked prospects IU has jumped in on in the class of 2017.
Wilson absolutely needs a 2018 quarterback, and Jason Whittaker could be the guy. The Michigan three-star prospect visited last weekend and sounded like he liked it. IU hasn't offered, but he's picking up a ton of Big Ten interest. He's in Michigan State's backyard, and I get the feeling that if the Spartans offered, they'd be hard to beat. But this is another name to know there in the "candidates for future quarterback" category.
As is Jack Tuttle, who picked up an IU offer. The four-star QB and I are talking later this weekend, so I should have more soon.
Sidenote: I liked the discussion about Peyton Ramsey on the board earlier this week. Wilson seems really high on him lately, and he rarely goes all-in on true freshmen. Assuming he redshirts this year, he'd probably be set to join the QB battle realistically as a redshirt sophomore after Lagow has moved along.
I'm not going to put a ton of stock into this kid, but Austin Daulton visited IU last weekend as well. He's a two-star defensive tackle in the class of 2017 from Kentucky. He could be one of the guys that fills out the class near the end if IU decides to take a risk on a kid, but the interest is pretty cool right now. I get the impression that if IU really wanted him, an offer would get him.
Lawrence Reeves has a bit of an IU connection which led to a visit last week. The Michigan safety was pretty high on IU after his visit as well. The 2018 prospect is the nephew of former IU great Mike Dumas. So he's one to keep an eye on of his develops.
Inside linebacker Chad Bailey picked up an Indiana offer this week as well. He sounded pretty excited to get a Big Ten offer and had a good impression of William Inge. More on him in the next day or so.
As quickly as Beau Corrales went on the board, he went off it. The two-star receiver out of Texas was high on IU but committed to Iowa. That sounds pretty firm. So much for that one, right?
Stu got in touch with a few of the current IU commits who were visiting last week. You can read all the details of that here, but it sounds like Bryant Fitzgerald is going to practically live in Bloomington on Saturdays.
Be on the lookout for a story on Kyle Bolden in a little bit today. The three-star linebacker visited IU and has the Hoosiers near the top of his list for now.
Other than that, enjoy your bye weekend!
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Man, what a busy week. Here are some capsules to recap where things stand with a lot of targets:
- Kris Wilkes - Indiana head coach Tom Crean stopped by his open gym this week. Kris’ father told me: "He just wanted to come in and talk to Kris a little bit just to see where his head was at. Just wanted to say hello and let him know that he is still a priority for Indiana. It was a very good visit; very informational.” Rivals released an article for five-star prospect predictions and national analyst Eric Bossi penciled in Indiana for his pick. I’m feeling a little better about IU here as time goes on but I still think the visits are important, so, just being cautious with a ways to go here. UCLA trip is scheduled for next weekend. The 6-7, 185-pound five-star forward from Indianapolis North Central is ranked as the No. 18 player nationally.
- Tremont Waters - Is visiting Kentucky this weekend, as reported by our Jacey Zembal. This is interesting because Waters had visits set up for a while just to IU, Georgetown and Kansas, and you had to feel really good about IU there. Then Calipari visited him this week, and consequently they schedule a visit to UK ASAP. Is Kentucky thinking they are going to miss on Trae Young (who could go to Oklahoma,) and now they’re heating it up with Waters? Are they still confident in Young but just want to get Waters in the boat too? Is it another scenario? Young visits Oklahoma this weekend for his official, btw. Also, Waters will visit IU over Sept. 24 weekend, then Kansas Oct. 1 weekend, as expected. The 5-11, 160-pound four-star point guard from West Haven (Conn.) Notre Dame is ranked as the No. 36 player nationally.
- Al Durham - Indiana commit will take his official visit starting Sept. 29 for his 18th birthday on the 30th. I really love this one's attitude; genuinely a good kid. Anyway, he visits the same weekend as Wilkes. Pretty cool for him to get to spend his 18th bday as his official visit. The 6-4, 175-pound guard from Lilburn (Ga.) Berkmar is rated as a three-star prospect.
- Bigs - We’ve said for a while that IU is looking good with wings, and you’ve got a top PG target in Waters with combo point three-star David Beatty also in the mix. But bigs, it was really unclear on IU’s direction. Aside from the fact they obviously want one in the class, nobody's really felt good about IU and any of the touted names. They first offered three-star center Brandon Huffman, but then UNC followed up with an offer and that put the Tar Heels at the front of the pack. Insert IU evaluating 6-10, 230-pound three-star Pickerington (Ohio) Central center Sterling Manley this week, and offering 6-10, 195-pound three-star Horsham (Pa.) Hatboro Horsham Senior forward Clifton Moore. We’ve got additional info on Moore here (link), including some great insight from national analyst Eric Bossi and Jacey Zembal. IU is still supposed to get an official visit from four-star Deng Gak, which is scheduled for the Oct. 15 weekend. The 6-9, 210-pound four-star forward from Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy is ranked as the No. 78 player nationally.
- Justin Smith - Visited over the last weekend which we had plenty of coverage on, including photos (link) and a recap (link). Still set to visit Villanova this weekend and Stanford over the Sept. 30 weekend. Continue to feel good about IU here, but they are adamant about taking these other visits, so you have to take the other possibilities seriously. The 6-6, 200-pound four-star forward from Lincolnshire (Ill.) Stevenson is ranked as the No. 105 player nationally.
- Billy Preston - Surprised everyone by slotting Indiana into his top five. Academics are a question here and USC seems to be considered a heavy favorite, but there’s no questioning his talent, and you can’t say the arrow is anything but up for Indiana given they come from nowhere into his top five. The rest of his top five is USC, NC State, Kansas and Maryland. Jacey Zembal spoke with a coach here (link), and Krysten Peek got some great stuff from Preston breaking down his top five (link). The 6-9, 220-pound five-star forward from Mouth of Wilson (Va.) Oak Hill Academy is ranked as the No. 8 player nationally.
- Damezi Anderson - 2018 in-state four-star forward also visited Indiana unofficially for the Ball State game. He has an IU offer and according to what he told me about his conversation with the staff, they are extremely interested in him. Look for that visit recap over the weekend on the site. The 6-5, 180-pound forward from South Bend (Ind.) Riley is ranked as the No. 93 junior nationally.
- Romeo Langford - Crean stopped by his open gym this week. We did a feature on him and reported on the other coaches coming to see him here (link). He will visit Louisville unofficially for a big day there this weekend, with College Gameday coming to town for UL vs. Florida State. The 6-4, 185-pound five-star shooting guard from New Albany (Ind.) High is ranked as the No. 3 junior nationally.
- Other in-state 2018 guys - Indiana also saw four-star guard Eric Hunter this week in open gym. The 6-3, 170-pound four-star guard from Indianapolis Tindley School is ranked as the No. 86 junior nationally. One of Kevin Easley Jr.’s assistant coaches also told me IU stopped by there. The 6-6, 185-pound three-star forward from Indianapolis Lawrence North is ranked as the No. 115 junior nationally.
Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
We’re officially two weeks away from the start of the college basketball season, so that’s good news.
Yesterday, Indiana basketball held its first media availability of the season providing a slew of offseason updates. Most notable is that 6-foot-4, 200-pound junior guard James Blackmon Jr. just recently got cleared for full participation in practice. If you remember, he had surgery in early January to repair a torn ACL in his right knee. Before getting injured, he was Indiana’s second-leading scorer, too, so the impact of his return can’t be overstated enough.
I’ll have a few more stories from that availability, but in the meantime you can head here for some quick news & notes from the press conference.
In other team news, the ACC 2016-17 schedule release earlier this week revealed that Indiana’s New Year’s Eve matinee with Louisville at Bankers Life Fieldhouse will tipoff at 12:30 p.m. ET. Though many of the tipoff times and broadcast information remain unannounced, ultimately it’s one step closer to the completion of IU’s 2016-17 schedule.
It was also announced during the football game last week that Hoosier Hysteria will be held Oct. 22. It will serve as the official tip-off of the 2016-17 season for the basketball program.
IU’s coaching staff is out on the recruiting trail this week with the first recruiting period of the fall beginning Sept. 9 Since then, coaches have been able to talk players and their parents. Jordan covered most of the action on that end over the last week, but one tidbit I got was that IU assistant coach Rob Judson was at Indianapolis Tindley Prep’s open gym to check out 2018 four-star guard Eric Hunter Jr. A 6-foot-3, 170-pound combo guard, Hunter is rated as the No. 86 junior in the country by Rivals.com.
I had the chance to watch Hunter during the final July evaluation period in Las Vegas. Athletic kid with a nice shooting touch, but he’s still working on attacking the basket to create scoring opportunities for himself and his teammates. Team Harris Elite head coach Omar Dillard, Hunter’s AAU coach, said back in July that was something they’d been emphasizing, so I’m sure he’s made improvement in that area in the seven weeks since.
-------------------
Sam Beishuizen / Football Beat & Recruiting News
I'd say happy bye week, but there isn't much to be happy about with a bye week.
The Hoosiers were off this weekend, which was pretty early, but will get back at it next week against a pretty strong Wake Forest team at Memorial Stadium. The off time allowed Kevin Wilson and the rest of Indiana's staff to hit the recruiting trail a bit this week, which should set the table for the rest of the fall.
We'll get to that in a moment, but let's talk briefly about team news.
Dan Feeney (concussion) and Simmie Cobbs (ankle) both have their status up in the air. Cobbs had surgery earlier this week and might have to redshirt, which would be a tough break for the junior receiver who has so much potential. Feeney's injury is more difficult to put a timetable on because we don't understand much about concussions still. He could be ready next week. He could be ready two weeks from now, five weeks from now or never again. It just depends on the severity. Luckily for the fifth-year senior All-American, Wilson sounded pretty optimistic in talking about his return. So I'd imagine we'll get a more firm update on Monday.
I've loved the discussion about the impact of these two being hurt on the board. Feeney is the best NFL talent on the team. You're going to miss that. Cobbs might be second in that regard, but his production is a little easier to replace because of all the depth at receiver. I'm starting to grow concerned that injuries could derail IU at the rate they're going. Indiana is without Jordan Fuchs for the whole year, lost J-Shun Harris before the season began and now this. IU can't afford much else.
In positive news, it sounded like Camion Patrick is getting back soon. He's still not cleared for practice, but he's getting there. We saw him warm up with the receivers before IU played Ball State. It sounds like that's where he's starting out for now just because of the lack of contact at the position. I could see him there or at running back by the time he gets going again.
Let's talk about recruiting a bit. Jordan and I are heading up to watch Caleb Jones play Britt Beery tonight. That should be a good time. I'm really looking forward to that.
But Indiana had quite a bit happen this week. We'll start with a note that I've heard Indiana is fighting hard to keep up in the race for Cameron McGrone, a three-star linebacker out of Indianapolis. That wasn't reported or anything, just something I've heard in passing lately. He's in the class of 2018, and it sounds like the Hoosiers want to build a long-term relationship here with the hopes that he remembers how much IU wanted him.
Recent Michigan decommit Antwuan Johnson visited Indiana at the last minute last week and told me he enjoyed it. He's nowhere near making a decision, he said, but the three-star linebacker out of Dayton, Ohio, was high on the Hoosiers. He's one of the types of players I'd classify as a really, really great get if he ever decided to commit to IU. That much will be an uphill battle as other top programs jump in, but it's always good to hang around with those types of kids at the very least.
Along those same lines, four-star offensive lineman Mekhi Becton picked up an Indiana offer, which was his 28th, but said IU will definitely get consideration. The Virginia native is one of the highest-ranked prospects IU has jumped in on in the class of 2017.
Wilson absolutely needs a 2018 quarterback, and Jason Whittaker could be the guy. The Michigan three-star prospect visited last weekend and sounded like he liked it. IU hasn't offered, but he's picking up a ton of Big Ten interest. He's in Michigan State's backyard, and I get the feeling that if the Spartans offered, they'd be hard to beat. But this is another name to know there in the "candidates for future quarterback" category.
As is Jack Tuttle, who picked up an IU offer. The four-star QB and I are talking later this weekend, so I should have more soon.
Sidenote: I liked the discussion about Peyton Ramsey on the board earlier this week. Wilson seems really high on him lately, and he rarely goes all-in on true freshmen. Assuming he redshirts this year, he'd probably be set to join the QB battle realistically as a redshirt sophomore after Lagow has moved along.
I'm not going to put a ton of stock into this kid, but Austin Daulton visited IU last weekend as well. He's a two-star defensive tackle in the class of 2017 from Kentucky. He could be one of the guys that fills out the class near the end if IU decides to take a risk on a kid, but the interest is pretty cool right now. I get the impression that if IU really wanted him, an offer would get him.
Lawrence Reeves has a bit of an IU connection which led to a visit last week. The Michigan safety was pretty high on IU after his visit as well. The 2018 prospect is the nephew of former IU great Mike Dumas. So he's one to keep an eye on of his develops.
Inside linebacker Chad Bailey picked up an Indiana offer this week as well. He sounded pretty excited to get a Big Ten offer and had a good impression of William Inge. More on him in the next day or so.
As quickly as Beau Corrales went on the board, he went off it. The two-star receiver out of Texas was high on IU but committed to Iowa. That sounds pretty firm. So much for that one, right?
Stu got in touch with a few of the current IU commits who were visiting last week. You can read all the details of that here, but it sounds like Bryant Fitzgerald is going to practically live in Bloomington on Saturdays.
Be on the lookout for a story on Kyle Bolden in a little bit today. The three-star linebacker visited IU and has the Hoosiers near the top of his list for now.
Other than that, enjoy your bye weekend!
