Will Moses Morgan be the next addition to the 2010 class?

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | April 30th, 2009

It’s certainly looking that way. Morgan indicated the Hoosiers were leading in a piece penned earlier in the week by John Decker of Hoosier Nation and a short blurb in this morning’s Las Vegas Review Journal has the Hoosiers on top:

Though he doesn’t expect to make an oral commitment until summer, Moses Morgan said Indiana tops the list of schools he is considering.

“The tradition they have there and coach (Tom) Crean, I love,” said Moses Morgan, who has made an unofficial visit to Michigan and plans to visit Indiana in June.

Indiana is followed on Morgan’s list by Michigan and Marquette. He also has offers from UNLV and Texas Tech. Utah, Texas and Oklahoma recently expressed interest.

Moses, of course, is the son of Winston Morgan who played at IU for Bob Knight in the 80’s. I’ve scoured the Web looking for more info on the younger Morgan and came across a couple of scouting reports from UMHoops.com, a brilliant Michigan hoops blog. You can read those reports here and here.

Since I haven’t watched Morgan play myself, I can only go by an opinion of a national recruiting guru who told me last night that he wasn’t sure that Morgan is the caliber of player that IU should be coveting. But logical thinking should suggest that it’s best to sit back and let Crean work his magic. We’ll continue to keep a close eye on the situation.

Thanks to ITH reader Jake for the tip.

Tags: Moses Morgan, Winston Morgan

dougshouse

Moses has a bright future and would fit in well at this level (Big Ten). He is a very skilled young player who will continue to grow not to mention he has rich basketball blood in his veins. Moses is actually closer to 6'6' and has a shooter touch and high basketball IQ. I feel that he has the ability to help any program in division 1 basketball.

Andrew Gregory

If Creek, Hulls, Rivers, and Watford stay, Morgan will be a solid backup SG

Kelin Blab

IU will get the studs when IU stars winning again in the tourney. Kids don't want to be part of a rebuilding no matter how much PT they may get. If a kid feels IU will be in position to go to and do well in the NCAA tourney they will get the 5star kids more often......especially if they won't be there beyond ONE year.......

MillaRed

Looks to me like we are all learning as we go. We have a few guys from last year and a solid class this year that are THE FOUNDATION. We already saw Story and Williams bolt. If we continue down a path that displaces players on an annual basis it will be a recipe for disaster.

I think we all are underating this current class. If/when we land the 2010, 2011 on and done guy that's all we can handle! We're bringing these kids in to play not watch four "one and dones" take their minutes.

I think we need more patience throughout this ordeal instead of instant gratification. We built houses all over the country people couldn't afford and ended up in a recession. We can do the same thing to this program if we are merely a stepping stone for top 10 recruits!

JerryCT

These debates will never stop . Everybody make good points albeit with different 1) concepts of a good recruitnig class and 2) concepts of how to develop a winning team

Since its Derby week perhaps a horse race analogy is valuable. One rule in betting on horses is that if there are more than 2 horses who need to lead the race they will burn each other out and open the door for a "closer", bet the closer.

Take the top 25 players, one or two and done, potentially selfish players or develop 3,4,5 year players with a bit more team character ?

GFDave

I'd like to point out that a highly rated 5 star player in the top 20 nationally for 2010 will likely be one and done or two and done. In other words, they will be gone before our 2009 class become seniors. What I think we want, in a perfect world, are a couple of 5 star sophmores playing with the senior class of Creek, et al. That, it seems to me, is the formula for the fast track to the Final Four. I would also argue that the class of 2011 is full of Indiana kids that fit this bill perfectly.

Unknown

Exactly what i am saying....thank you

Dylan

Hey guys,

Dylan from UMHoops.com here. The two scouting reports on Moses are from one of our commenters from Vegas.

As you probably read, he wasn't that fond of Moses. A lot of this came from the fact that Vegas hoops isn't very competitive and he thought he should dominate the game much more. Looking back at some of his ESPN scouting reports, he has seemed to be up and down, sometimes he will look like a top 50 prospect and others he will be pretty much invisible.

We followed his season over on my site and his team ended up losing in the state title. I think this summer will be make or break time for him, he'll either step up or slide down. For Michigan right now I think he's in that second level of targets, behind our #1 guys Trey Zeigler and Casey Prather. However I always figured an IU offer will mean he's probably not going to end up in Ann Arbor.

Hardwood83

So the problem with Williams commitment was he wasn't ranked high enough by the recruiting services and now with Morgan it's that he's not getting recruited by the 'right' schools? That reasoning seems a little suspect. I would prefer a can't miss big man too, but what if that doesn't happen? Obviously signing the top 3 players in the Country every year is a great plan, but doesn't always work out.

jgongora86

Yeah but we can afford to look for the top talent because our 2009 class is solid from top to bottom with quality kids. They are all four year players. You might disagree but we need a highly recruited stud to give us a chance to win a national championship.

ind23

we do need studs and we do need role players. we will get some studs. we are recruiting them right now. it's just that those guys arent going to be so fast to give a commitment as some of the lower ranked guys

Hardwood83

No, I don't disagree. By all means, IU should go after the studs and get in on every top-ranked guy that fits our system. But, like others have said, it isn't a fact these guys aren't studs- it's just not a consensus opinion- and the consensus is often wrong. Second, we won't get all the top ranked guys but still need to recruit other players.

Unknown

Why do we need to recruit these super stars and become a Uconn team...were you have the talent but cant win it. Why not leave Crean alone because you dont know what the hell your talking about, you dont even sound like a IU fan. Crean is recruiting just like Tom Izzo, he lands more 4stars than 5stars...and if you havent noticed they all stay for atleast 3 years and they win...they W-I-N...

Hardwood83

What are you babbling about? Maybe you should read my post before going on a rant. My point was IU should go after 5 star guys. It's foolish not to pursue the most talented players (that fit your system) if you expect to win at a high level. And btw, UConn has won 2 NC in the last 10yrs- so not the best example of a team that 'can't win it'. I thought I made it clear I don't believe top-ranked guys the be all/end all since there are under-rated players that develop and role players needed too. I didn't even mention Coach Crean at all & you've caught me- I am not an IU fan but am compelled to spend my time on this site, anyway. Sheesh.

Unknown

Yes i know Uconn has won 2 titles in the past 10 years...but i am talking about recently....Calhoun has recruited super stars Thabeet, Walker, and Robinson. But his talented 5star recruits under-achieve. When the Uconn won their last title with Ben Gordon and Okafor they weren't necessarily top rated recruits. I am saying that he has recruited Stanley Robinson who were Top 10 recruits but seem to work-out. I would rather have a team that is cohesive like Florida in 2006 and 2007 who didn't have one 5 star but had one of the greatest teams ever...Maybe i went off the handle but i just don't like hearing everybody say get the 5 stars or will never win it, so i will apologize for my rant but still believe that championships can be built with 4 stars

superhoops

No, No, No. This guy should be a last resort. Until all the good ones are taken, we shouldn't even be thinking that hard about this guy. Competing against scholarship offers from Utah, Marquette and MI is not the toughest thing to do. Crean needs to understand he isn't at Marquette anymore and can recruit higher quality players. Crean or anyone else will not win championships with a team full of role players. Yes the incoming class is great, but we're following this up with a bunch of no names? Makes no sense to me.

Kelin Blab

The problem with making this kid a last resort is, if you do that with others in pursuit of the blue chippers you run the risk of finding yourself with a team of juco guys and marginal players if you get jilted. I like what Crean is doing for this reason....give me the elston, hulls, creek, wateford.....and ad at least ONE teague or Irving......and you have a great team. They all have to fit......

You surround Teague or Irving with low end players and it won't work. Secondly....I don't want a bunch of blue chippers who don't fit together.....Teague and Irving, we don't need both.....

Unless we want to rebuild every other year, you better get some 3-4 year guys who will stick with the program and get better and ad a blue chipper here and there......

I will stop rambling but a kid like Irving or Teague could be the Isaih Thomas piece we need.........zeke was a soph who played with some solid 4 year guys and the rest is 1981 history.

Hardwood83

Right- we need balance since you can't have all superstars or all grunts. I think the point some are missing is it isn't a matter of one or the other as if Crean can just go get the 4-5 star guys whenever he wants. It's a process he'll get a few and miss on most. I don't want to be Memphis with one & done thugs. But UNC & Kansas bring in top flight guys that stay for 3-4 yrs, go to class & win big. That is the ideal for IU to me.

Jim McHie

Marquette and Michigan were both tourney teams last year, both are in major conferences. So, what, we turn our nose up at a kid because he doesn't have an offer yet from UNC? A sure way to end up with projects and late signees.

Are IU fans that nostalgic for the days of Mike Davis?

GFDave

On one hand we have the Michigan Blogger and a National Recruiting Guru who don't like the kid much. On the other hand Rivals has him listed fairly high, with a 4 star rating and coming in as the number 68 player in 2010. What I see is incomplete and contradictory info. So I think we should wait until we get more info before we jump to conclusions about Moses.

Does anybody know what AAU team he plays for? We should be watching that to get a better feel.

I am happy with the way Crean is recruiting. I love the 2009 group in all respects. I think the 2010 group is incomplete and we should withhold judgment until it is complete. The addition of a couple big names, including a tall player, would have people singing a different tune.

jgongora86

I know I'm in the minority, but I don't like what he's doing recruiting wise. i perfectly understand if players like ferguson and teague decide not to come to IU, but can't we wait until we hear their decisions? We are wasting scholarships on role players, who would have waited anyway. I like Coach Crean, because he's a nice guy and the man knows his X's and O's, but I don't like how he's recruiting.

Jim McHie

That's exactly the trap Mike Davis fell into. Always shooting for the big fish, then when they didn't commit all the guys just behind them, the kinds of guys Crean is landing now, have committed elsewhere. He was left with late pickups and projects and a couple of highly ranked players. You really think that a kid rated 68th in the country by Rivals is going to just sit and wait to see if we whiff on Irving and Ferguson? Especially when he already has offers from the Big East, Big 12 and the Big 10?

In any event, he hasn't committed yet, so who knows what will happen. I for one like Crean's recruiting strategy which I see as recruiting solid, high character players. When he does land a top name (and he will land several over time) that will help put us over the top, but we'll always be solid with his strategy. If Crean and IU cool on him over the coming months, then I would similarly trust their assessment at this point.

jgongora86

I agree that was the fault of MIke Davis, but look at our 2009 class. It has quality from top to bottom to make a team respectable. With the limited scholarships we have for the 2010 and 2011 class we should be trying to use them for top 25 talent to give us a chance to win a national championship. The difference between then and now is that we already have the complimentary players.

Jim McHie

That's exactly the Mike Davis problem, though. If we shoot for the stars but fall a bit short for the 2010 and 2011 classes, then what happens when the 2009 class graduates? Or even assuming you hit with one or more 1-and-dones in 2010/2011 and then the 2009 class graduates? We're not UNC at this point, capable of restocking each class full of 4* and 5* talent. I don't want to hit 2012 and suddenly be left looking backwards and a couple decent years and wondering whether we'll make the NIT.

Crean is trying to build, from scratch mind you, a year-in, year-out tourney program (what we had under Knight before he and IU parted ways). Even that is going to take time. Each class at this point should have solid, 3/4-year players, at which point you can really afford to pull out the stops for the top ranked kid(s).

As Crean gets into the middle of his contract and the program is on the upswing, then maybe we can afford to be recruit snobs. How about though we wait until we get an NCAA appearance w/ Crean before dubbing ourselves too great for Marquette and Michigan offerees?

jgongora86

I went to grad school at unc, just before this five year period they had horrible teams that did not make the tourney. All they needed was a great recruiter with charm and thats what roy williams ( not a great x's and O's coach though )was. So is tom Crean or at least he can be. We can turn things around and I believe we can do it quickly. 2012 is the year we can easily recruit tough minded kids with hustle to replace the 2009 class. But we need a star in order to win a national championship. Not two or three but we need one. i don't want to win just big ten championships ( which I think this 2009 class can do by themselves one year), I want to win the whole thing.

George

Great shooter with big upside and good blood line...I like him!

Jim McHie

If Rivals has him as a top-100 (I believe top 75), 4* prospect, and he brings with him a deep understanding and appreciation for IU's basketball tradition from his father, then said national recruiting guru can go pound sand.

Will Moses Morgan be the next addition to the 2010 class?

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