Join myself and Chris Korman of the H-T/Hoosier Scoop tonight at 7:30 ET for the first of our offseason live chats. Assuming some of you actually show up, the plan is to talk a little bit of everything: Recruiting, Tom Crean tweeting, the Nick Williams transfer and anything else IU basketball related that’s on your mind. The tentative plan is to do these twice a month (on Mondays) and we’re already working on lining up some guests to join us. More on that at a later date.
Hoosiers enter the picture for two junior guards
by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | April 20th, 2009
According to Louisville Courier-Journal sports columnist Rick Bozich, Indiana has entered the mix for Brandon Knight, the No. 2 player in the 2010 according to Rivals and Moses Morgan, a four-star guard from Las Vegas:
Indiana is now involved with two solid juniors — Brandon Knight, a 6-3 point guard from outside Miami, considered the top point guard in the 2010 class. Knight already has offers from Connecticut, Duke, Florida, Georgia Tech and Miami.
The Hoosiers are also making a push on Moses Morgan, a 6-5 wingman from Las Vegas. He’s the son of former IU player Winston Morgan, who played at Anderson Madison Heights. Michigan appears to be the leader on Morgan, who moved into the top 100 prospects in the 2010 class last winter.
It’s the first I’ve heard of IU being involved with either player but it certainly makes sense as Knight is making a push for the No. 1 overall spot in the 2010 class and Morgan’s father is a former Indiana player.
The Palestra recaps fan appreciation day and awards ceremony
by Alex Bozich in Video | April 20th, 2009
Ryan Cost, senior producer at the Palestra, sent along video of fan appreciation day and the awards ceremony for the 2008-2009 season. You can view the clips after the jump:
Tom Crean tweeting on Twitter
by Alex Bozich in Media | April 18th, 2009
For those of you unfamiliar with Twitter, which by this point shouldn’t be many of you, it’s a micro-blogging service that allows users to post short updates about what they’re doing. Everyone’s favorite basketball coach, Tom Crean, has apparently found the platform viable enough that’s he’s decided to enter the fray:
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Coach Tom Crean wants to give you the chance to be informed with what is going on with him and the Indiana Hoosiers.
Keep yourself updated by visiting twitter.com/tomcrean.
So far, Crean has been tweeting several times per day and here’s a quick sampling:
Paul davis from msu and the clippers is trying 2 find the girl of his dreams on bravo. A indiana alum would never need a show 2 get a date
The Evans Scholars house on campus busted into the IU fight song when jeremiah and matt ran past. ITS INDIANA
Two quick observations: 1) Believe it or not, I actually caught Paul Davis on Millionaire Matchmaker or whatever the show is called. Incredibly awkward dude. 2) With the enormous growth Twitter is currently experiencing, I have a feeling you’ll be seeing more and more college coaches interacting with their respective fanbases, and indirectly with recruits, this way.
Shameless plug: Follow us here on Twitter.
Jeremiah Davis looking for the right fit
by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | April 18th, 2009
Muncie Central’s Jeremiah Davis was thrust into the national spotlight when then Kentucky coach Billy Gillispie offered him a scholarship following his freshman season. With his sophomore season in the books, Davis is on the spring AAU circuit with Indiana Elite’s Team Indiana and is enjoying playing alongside a talented cast.
“We’ve got a real talented team. My teammates are great,” Davis said. “We play together. We’ve got a lot of heart.”
The 6-3 guard averaged 13 points, 5.3 rebounds and 4.4 assists as a sophomore and has picked up offers from Indiana, Purdue, Ball State and Tennessee in addition to his UK offer. Xavier and Ohio State watched him work out last week at Muncie Central.
“I don’t know about Kentucky, but hopefully once everything settles down, we’ll go down there and visit the campus,” he added. “Right now I’m just surveying to see what’s going on. We’re going to have to see what the right fit for me is.”
As far as his interest in the Hoosiers, Davis likes what he’s been able to see of the campus so far and says he keeps in regular contact with Tom Crean.
“I talk to Coach Crean a lot. He’s a good guy. He’s very energetic,” Davis said. “I’ve been down to campus about three times already. It’s really nice, I like it a lot.”
Scouting report: Davis is a strong point guard that can hit the jump shot off the dribble and also get to the basket and finish. In games on Friday evening and Saturday morning, Davis showed the ability to distribute the ball and also score in bunches. He’ll need to improve on defense and with his agility. He’s definitely a prospect the Indiana staff will be keeping tabs on over the summer.
Zeller looking to find his role with Indiana Elite
by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | April 17th, 2009
6-9 Washington (HS) junior-to-be Cody Zeller has one leg up on most of his peers going through the recruiting process for the first time. He heard the pitches various schools made to his older brothers Luke and Tyler, both Mr. Basketball’s and McDonald’s All-American’s that ended up at high profile programs.
And although Luke and Tyler haven’t passed on much advice as his recruitment heats up, the youngest Zeller kept his eyes and ears open as they went through the process.
“They haven’t passed on much advice but I know how it goes. I went on most of their trips with them. I sat in on some of the conversations Dad and them had,” Cody Zeller said. “I know that every college coach is going to make their school sound great but you’ve gotta look through all the stuff they put out there. You’ve gotta find the real details. Ask around and figure out what the school’s really about.”
With two years of high school left, the immediate focus for Zeller, who has a scholarship offer from IU, is improving over the summer and gelling with his Indiana Elite teammates.
“I need to get stronger. It will help my defense and rebounding,” Zeller said. “I’m just trying to figure out my role. In high school I was having to shoot the most but with this team I don’t have to shoot as much. I’m trying to figure out what I need to do to help the team win.”
