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
The recruiting period for college basketball coaches is underway. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.
Justin Smith: Taking his official visit to campus this weekend with his mother, father, and two younger sisters. We have a visit preview here where we talked to his father (link).
His HS coach said Rob Judson - who’s been the lead recruiter on his recruitment - had talked about swinging by the school today for the first day of the recruiting period, as well as coaches from Xavier, Villanova and Wisconsin.
Justin is close friends with some of the football players at his HS, so when I talked to his father and HS coach on Wednesday night, the party was still deciding on leaving Friday night or very early Saturday morning.
Regardless of when they leave for Bloomington, his father said the visit really kicks off at 11 a.m. on Saturday and looks to wrap up Sunday evening. Obviously they will take in the football game and check out the academic portion of the school, which could be a key to landing his commitment. Justin is considering an undergrad in business, and him and his family take academics very seriously - making the Kelley School a great fit.
What are the odds he commits this weekend? I posted earlier in the week that I thought it was unlikely, and still feel that way - but I wouldn’t rule it out. They are approaching this process in a very business-like manner, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll make a quick decision based off an emotional high or anything like that. Stanford’s academics are obviously outstanding, and I think that factor means they’ll at least see that visit through.
But at the end of the day, I like IU’s chances here. We’ll see how it plays out.
The 6-6, 200-pound four-star forward from Lincolnshire (Ill.) Stevenson is ranked as the No. 105 player nationally.
Tremont Waters: Taking his official visit to Georgetown this weekend. It’s already been reported his Kansas visit is over the Oct. 1 weekend, so you would think his IU visit would be over the Sept. 24 weekend when Wake Forest comes to town. But, maybe IU will host him over the bye weekend - I just doubt that.
Continue to feel good about where IU stands here. I have an old contact at Georgetown, so I’ll try to check in with him and get their perspective - but again, feel good about IU.
The 5-11, 160-pound four-star point guard from West Haven (Conn.) Notre Dame is ranked as the No. 36 player nationally.
Luka Garza: Is apparently visiting Iowa this weekend, according to a report online. Georgia was previously scheduled as the trip this weekend. He’s already taken an official visit to Iowa, so, interesting that he’s apparently making his way back there on his own dime from Washington D.C.
The 6-10, 230-pound three-star center from Washington (D.C.) Maret School is ranked as the No. 134 player nationally.
Kris Wilkes: Leaving this morning for his Illinois official visit, so, no coaches stopping by the school to see him.
I continue to feel cautious here. I think he could absolutely pick IU, but I just don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves. It’d feel awful to get attached to the idea of Wilkes at IU and then he picks Illinois or UCLA or someone else.
IU is legit in it. So are the other schools, so.
The 6-7, 185-pound five-star forward from Indianapolis North Central is ranked as the No. 18 player nationally.
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Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Quite a bit of team news this week, so we’ll start with scheduling news.
On Thursday, ESPN announced that the Armed Forces Classic (where IU will be playing Kansas to open the regular season) has been relocated from Blach Arena on Join Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawaii’s campus. The decision was made in order to “provide basketball fans of both the military and the community an opportunity to see the games up close,” according to the release. The Stan Sheriff Center seats a max of 10,300 compared to Blach Arena's 4,024. IU vs. Kansas tips Nov. 11 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
In other scheduling news, Indiana will host an exhibition vs. Hope College at Assembly Hall Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. ET. The Hoosiers’ 2016-17 schedule is close to being finalized except for the broadcast information.
Former IU guard Nick Zeisloft became the third member of Indiana’s 2015-16 Big Ten championship team to sign with an NBA franchise after signing with the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. Though the team didn’t make Zeisloft’s contract details available per team policy, Vigilant Sports’ Scott Agness reported the deal was for one year at the rookie minimum-level with $25,000 guaranteed.
NBA teams can have up to 20 players on their roster during training camp, which start on Sept. 27. Those rosters then have to be narrowed to 15 by Oct. 26, the beginning of the season. Even if Zeisloft doesn't make the Pacers' 15-man roster, they still retain his D-League rights, so there's a chance he could end up playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and have an opportunity to develop further there.
Junior guard James Blackmon Jr. is scheduled to resume full contact work before the end of September. Blackmon sustained a season-ending knee injury in January last season and has been rehabbing the injury since. It will be interesting to see how he looks this season with that injury being his third knee injury since 2012.
The Orlando Business Journal ranked this year’s Indiana apparel deal with adidas as 11th-most valuable among the Top 20 apparel deals in the country. IU is scheduled to bring in $5.63 million from adidas this season, making it the fourth-most valuable apparel deal in the Big Ten.
In recruiting news, top IU and in-state target Paul Scruggs transferred from Southport High School in Indianapolis to Prolific Prep Academy in Napa, California. Scruggs, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound combo guard, is ranked by Rivals as the No. 33 senior in the country.
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Sam Beishuizen / Football Beat & Recruiting News
Game week in Bloomington means things will be heating up both on the football field and the recruiting trail. The Hoosiers play Ball State Saturday at 4 p.m. and will have a number of visitors on hand that we will be keeping up with on Saturday as well.
Among the early players who have are coming are Jason Whittaker, a three-star 2018 quarterback from Michigan, 2017 DB/Athlete Logan McGraw, 2017 linebacker Derek Horne, 2018 DB Greg Newsome, 2018 DB Lawrence Reeves and 2017 two-star DT Austin Daulton. Three-star linebacker Kyle Bolden and his teammate Kiante Jones, a three-star safety. Mark Stickford, a teammate of current IU commit Britt Beery, is going to be with Beery on a visit this weekend as well.
This list is only going to continue to grow.
Indiana offered Mekhi Becton, he said on Twitter Thursday night. The 4-star offensive lineman is up to 28 offers from quite a few impressive schools. This 2017 prospect, if he gives IU some attention, would be a good one. IU is the 28th school to offer him, but I don't think that is too late in this situation because he's still floating around a top-10 list. I'm just surprised it took the Hoosiers this long to jump in on him when Michigan, Rutgers and more have already offered.
In the world of current commits, we have an update here on what happened last weekend. This will literally be old news as of later tonight when new games take place, but it's still fun to look around. We clearly picked the wrong week to check out Bryant Fitzgerald, because after a not-so-impressive outing against Ben Davis, he went on an absolute tear against Hamilton Southeastern with nine tackles and a 94-yard pick-six.
And for those of you who like highlights, here's highlights of Britt Beery form last weekend.
As our guy Jordan Wells reported, IU is still in the mix for Kurt Rafdal. Rafdal says he has no specific date in mind for a commitment, but the Hoosiers appear to be in really good standing. I've heard from a couple of people now that the Hoosiers are in good shape here. But at the end of the day, it's up to Rafdal to decide what he wants to do after taking an official to Auburn and having interest in a few other schools like Maryland and Pitt.
In unfortunate team news, freshman IU defensive lineman Jerome Johnson, 18, was cited for illegal possession and consumption of alcohol over the weekend. You can read more about this in Stu Jackson's story, but at the end of the day it's a kid making a poor choice. You expect him to learn from it and grow.
Another bad note here, but two-star tight end Michael Ziemba is out for the HS season with a foot fracture. I exchanged a few messages with Ziemba, and he sounds upbeat. Just a tough break, no pun intended.
We've got a bunch of Ball State preview stuff around the site worth checking out. Some of the more interesting storylines will be how IU responds without Jordan Fuchs at tight end, whether or not the defense can maintain its momentum, how IU slows down BSU's run game and Richard Lagow's development, among other things. We put together a podcast, too.
In terms of game day, make sure you guys who are coming arrive early. Traffic could be dicey. Weather could be spotty, too. If you're there early, come over to Hoosier Village on the south side of the stadium around 2:25 to listen to me appear on the IU pregame show with Greg Murray. I'll be hanging out there a bit, so say hey.
And to wrap this bad boy up, this weekend is actually a big recruiting weekend for Teri Moren and her women's hoops program. I've got some details about visitors here. IU and Maryland men's soccer also play tonight, and this could wind up being a game that determines your Big Ten No. 1 seed at the rate these two are playing at. If you're in Bloomington, you need to get to that game. It'll be a good one.
Jordan Wells / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
The recruiting period for college basketball coaches is underway. Good luck, and may the odds be ever in your favor.
Justin Smith: Taking his official visit to campus this weekend with his mother, father, and two younger sisters. We have a visit preview here where we talked to his father (link).
His HS coach said Rob Judson - who’s been the lead recruiter on his recruitment - had talked about swinging by the school today for the first day of the recruiting period, as well as coaches from Xavier, Villanova and Wisconsin.
Justin is close friends with some of the football players at his HS, so when I talked to his father and HS coach on Wednesday night, the party was still deciding on leaving Friday night or very early Saturday morning.
Regardless of when they leave for Bloomington, his father said the visit really kicks off at 11 a.m. on Saturday and looks to wrap up Sunday evening. Obviously they will take in the football game and check out the academic portion of the school, which could be a key to landing his commitment. Justin is considering an undergrad in business, and him and his family take academics very seriously - making the Kelley School a great fit.
What are the odds he commits this weekend? I posted earlier in the week that I thought it was unlikely, and still feel that way - but I wouldn’t rule it out. They are approaching this process in a very business-like manner, and it doesn’t seem like they’ll make a quick decision based off an emotional high or anything like that. Stanford’s academics are obviously outstanding, and I think that factor means they’ll at least see that visit through.
But at the end of the day, I like IU’s chances here. We’ll see how it plays out.
The 6-6, 200-pound four-star forward from Lincolnshire (Ill.) Stevenson is ranked as the No. 105 player nationally.
Tremont Waters: Taking his official visit to Georgetown this weekend. It’s already been reported his Kansas visit is over the Oct. 1 weekend, so you would think his IU visit would be over the Sept. 24 weekend when Wake Forest comes to town. But, maybe IU will host him over the bye weekend - I just doubt that.
Continue to feel good about where IU stands here. I have an old contact at Georgetown, so I’ll try to check in with him and get their perspective - but again, feel good about IU.
The 5-11, 160-pound four-star point guard from West Haven (Conn.) Notre Dame is ranked as the No. 36 player nationally.
Luka Garza: Is apparently visiting Iowa this weekend, according to a report online. Georgia was previously scheduled as the trip this weekend. He’s already taken an official visit to Iowa, so, interesting that he’s apparently making his way back there on his own dime from Washington D.C.
The 6-10, 230-pound three-star center from Washington (D.C.) Maret School is ranked as the No. 134 player nationally.
Kris Wilkes: Leaving this morning for his Illinois official visit, so, no coaches stopping by the school to see him.
I continue to feel cautious here. I think he could absolutely pick IU, but I just don’t want to get too ahead of ourselves. It’d feel awful to get attached to the idea of Wilkes at IU and then he picks Illinois or UCLA or someone else.
IU is legit in it. So are the other schools, so.
The 6-7, 185-pound five-star forward from Indianapolis North Central is ranked as the No. 18 player nationally.
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Stu Jackson / Basketball Beat & Recruiting News
Quite a bit of team news this week, so we’ll start with scheduling news.
On Thursday, ESPN announced that the Armed Forces Classic (where IU will be playing Kansas to open the regular season) has been relocated from Blach Arena on Join Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam to the Stan Sheriff Center on the University of Hawaii’s campus. The decision was made in order to “provide basketball fans of both the military and the community an opportunity to see the games up close,” according to the release. The Stan Sheriff Center seats a max of 10,300 compared to Blach Arena's 4,024. IU vs. Kansas tips Nov. 11 at 9 p.m. ET on ESPN.
In other scheduling news, Indiana will host an exhibition vs. Hope College at Assembly Hall Nov. 1 at 7 p.m. ET. The Hoosiers’ 2016-17 schedule is close to being finalized except for the broadcast information.
Former IU guard Nick Zeisloft became the third member of Indiana’s 2015-16 Big Ten championship team to sign with an NBA franchise after signing with the Indiana Pacers on Thursday. Though the team didn’t make Zeisloft’s contract details available per team policy, Vigilant Sports’ Scott Agness reported the deal was for one year at the rookie minimum-level with $25,000 guaranteed.
NBA teams can have up to 20 players on their roster during training camp, which start on Sept. 27. Those rosters then have to be narrowed to 15 by Oct. 26, the beginning of the season. Even if Zeisloft doesn't make the Pacers' 15-man roster, they still retain his D-League rights, so there's a chance he could end up playing for the Fort Wayne Mad Ants and have an opportunity to develop further there.
Junior guard James Blackmon Jr. is scheduled to resume full contact work before the end of September. Blackmon sustained a season-ending knee injury in January last season and has been rehabbing the injury since. It will be interesting to see how he looks this season with that injury being his third knee injury since 2012.
The Orlando Business Journal ranked this year’s Indiana apparel deal with adidas as 11th-most valuable among the Top 20 apparel deals in the country. IU is scheduled to bring in $5.63 million from adidas this season, making it the fourth-most valuable apparel deal in the Big Ten.
In recruiting news, top IU and in-state target Paul Scruggs transferred from Southport High School in Indianapolis to Prolific Prep Academy in Napa, California. Scruggs, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound combo guard, is ranked by Rivals as the No. 33 senior in the country.
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Sam Beishuizen / Football Beat & Recruiting News
Game week in Bloomington means things will be heating up both on the football field and the recruiting trail. The Hoosiers play Ball State Saturday at 4 p.m. and will have a number of visitors on hand that we will be keeping up with on Saturday as well.
Among the early players who have are coming are Jason Whittaker, a three-star 2018 quarterback from Michigan, 2017 DB/Athlete Logan McGraw, 2017 linebacker Derek Horne, 2018 DB Greg Newsome, 2018 DB Lawrence Reeves and 2017 two-star DT Austin Daulton. Three-star linebacker Kyle Bolden and his teammate Kiante Jones, a three-star safety. Mark Stickford, a teammate of current IU commit Britt Beery, is going to be with Beery on a visit this weekend as well.
This list is only going to continue to grow.
Indiana offered Mekhi Becton, he said on Twitter Thursday night. The 4-star offensive lineman is up to 28 offers from quite a few impressive schools. This 2017 prospect, if he gives IU some attention, would be a good one. IU is the 28th school to offer him, but I don't think that is too late in this situation because he's still floating around a top-10 list. I'm just surprised it took the Hoosiers this long to jump in on him when Michigan, Rutgers and more have already offered.
In the world of current commits, we have an update here on what happened last weekend. This will literally be old news as of later tonight when new games take place, but it's still fun to look around. We clearly picked the wrong week to check out Bryant Fitzgerald, because after a not-so-impressive outing against Ben Davis, he went on an absolute tear against Hamilton Southeastern with nine tackles and a 94-yard pick-six.
And for those of you who like highlights, here's highlights of Britt Beery form last weekend.
As our guy Jordan Wells reported, IU is still in the mix for Kurt Rafdal. Rafdal says he has no specific date in mind for a commitment, but the Hoosiers appear to be in really good standing. I've heard from a couple of people now that the Hoosiers are in good shape here. But at the end of the day, it's up to Rafdal to decide what he wants to do after taking an official to Auburn and having interest in a few other schools like Maryland and Pitt.
In unfortunate team news, freshman IU defensive lineman Jerome Johnson, 18, was cited for illegal possession and consumption of alcohol over the weekend. You can read more about this in Stu Jackson's story, but at the end of the day it's a kid making a poor choice. You expect him to learn from it and grow.
Another bad note here, but two-star tight end Michael Ziemba is out for the HS season with a foot fracture. I exchanged a few messages with Ziemba, and he sounds upbeat. Just a tough break, no pun intended.
We've got a bunch of Ball State preview stuff around the site worth checking out. Some of the more interesting storylines will be how IU responds without Jordan Fuchs at tight end, whether or not the defense can maintain its momentum, how IU slows down BSU's run game and Richard Lagow's development, among other things. We put together a podcast, too.
In terms of game day, make sure you guys who are coming arrive early. Traffic could be dicey. Weather could be spotty, too. If you're there early, come over to Hoosier Village on the south side of the stadium around 2:25 to listen to me appear on the IU pregame show with Greg Murray. I'll be hanging out there a bit, so say hey.
And to wrap this bad boy up, this weekend is actually a big recruiting weekend for Teri Moren and her women's hoops program. I've got some details about visitors here. IU and Maryland men's soccer also play tonight, and this could wind up being a game that determines your Big Ten No. 1 seed at the rate these two are playing at. If you're in Bloomington, you need to get to that game. It'll be a good one.
