So, what’s the plan for 2010?

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 5th, 2009

The surprise commitment of David Williams has left many Indiana fans trying to figure out the recruiting plan for the 2010 class. A quick glance at our scholarship numbers page shows two available spots for the 2010 class. (Three if IU wishes to oversign by one.) There’s a camp that believes that IU could hold a couple of spots for the loaded 2011 class and there are those who believe the Hoosiers will fill the two remaining spots.

Here’s a look at the names IU is recruiting for 2010:

– Kyrie Irving – Irving tops the wishlist for Indiana and several other schools because he is a versatile point guard who has the ability to make others around him better. He prominently mentions IU when speaking about his recruitment and has developed a strong relationship with Tom Crean and Roshown McLeod. Scout.com recently moved him into the top 10 of the 2010 class. IU fans will likely have a chance to see Irving in a couple of weeks as his New Jersey Roadrunners team is expected at the Adidas May Classic. Consider him the top priority in Indiana’s recruiting efforts.

– Moses Morgan – Michigan was reportedly the school to beat for Morgan until IU made a recent push for the Las Vegas guard and now the Hoosiers could be in the driver’s seat. The son of Anderson-Madison Heights product and former IU player Winston Morgan is among the top 75 players in 2010 according to Rivals.com. Jerry Meyer recently called Morgan “a physical wing prospect with a game ready for the rigors of college basketball.” Morgan plans to visit Bloomington in June.

– Dominique Ferguson – The Lawrence North forward recently trimmed his list of schools to seven: IU, Kentucky, Arizona, Texas, UCLA, Wake Forest and Florida. If you read anything into some of his recent quotes, Ferguson sounds like he wants to be the focal point at the school he chooses. Put me in the camp that would be shocked if he becomes a Hoosier.

– DeShaun Thomas – Thomas still maintains he’s committed to Ohio State and yet, the whispers continue to circulate that Indiana is in the mix. Until there’s firm evidence Thomas is ready to look around, consider him a non-factor.

– Will Barton and Brandon Knight – You can lump both of these players in the same category because as of now you shouldn’t consider them as anything more than a pipedream. But it’s never a bad thing to have the ear of elite players, right?

Other names to keep an eye on: Jacksonville, FL guard Stacey Poole, Scott County, KY guard Ge-Lawn Guyn and Harvey, IL guard Reggie Smith.

Tags: Brandon Knight, DeShaun Thomas, Dominique Ferguson, Ge-Lawn Guyn, Kyrie Irving, Moses Morgan, Reggie Smith, Stacey Poole, Will Barton

Notanidiotfan

I am only going to say this once "Enough with the guards!!!" Unless he is the second coming of Jordan, then NO, NO, NO. I would just as soon see all 3 scholerships not be used next year if they are going to be used on guards.

gregmquinn

Don't get me wrong here; I'm a huge Crean fan, but the '09 class was not the recruiting feat everyone says it is. He was able to promise starting positions to these kids from day 1 at Indiana. As much as high level recruits are motivated by winning, their highest priority is playing time. If a coach can promise them playing time at a school that plays on national TV 15 times a year, then you're going to land a great class. I'm going to gage Crean's recruiting ability by seeing how he compliments the '09 class with the '10 and '11 classes. We need bigs!!!

Kelin Blab

Yes Crean did promise starting spots, but kids are not busting down the door to head to a 1-17 squad, no matter who it is. They want the Big Dance and a Big Chance sooner rather than later.........Surely Wateford, Creek, Hulls, and Elston all could have gone elsewhere and not to a rebuilding program.....Duke was after Hulls.

gregmquinn

They certainly wouldn't come to IU if they thought we were going to repeat last season, but you can't seriously think that Hulls chose IU over Duke because he thought we would get to the Final Four before Duke does. I also can't imagine he thought Crean was more likely to help him develop than Coach K (especially considering the type of point guards Coach K has mentored in the past.) The bottom line is playing time and the exposure needed to get to the NBA. There are a lot of factors to a recruit choosing a school, but PT is #1.

Kelin Blab

True true true..........I am for certain PT helped a ton, along with Indiana's exposure, I don't downplay the wade factor either for some of the recruits......good points. I hope we get at least ONE of the targets for 2010 and work on the 2011 class.

IUGrad05

One more little piece to the recruiting of the '09 class that Crean had to battle against was the possibility of sanctions that could include a post season ban. Which I am sure every other coach used against IU. Granted he won't have that restriction going forward so I do agree that we will see alot about his recruiting ability by his next 2 classes. I'm not sure I hold too much against him for the 2010 class because he was way behind on it due to existing sanctions that limited him, and having to work so hard to get a team this past year... plus ink the '09 class.

BFowler

How would someone red-shirting affect scholarship numbers. Let's say someone like, I don't know, David Williams, decides a red-shirt season would be best, would that open a scholly?

Hardwood83

No- R/S still counts against scholarship limit. I'm all for top-flight PG play, as we saw last year (lack of) it's brutal without it. I would also like to see some more bigs but I'm not panicked- Crean did an admirable job in his first class with very limited time & a ridiculous situation and his second is a well-rounded consensus top 10. I think he'll be fine.

BFowler

OK, let me re-phrase....If it happens, that IU oversigns by one, does that mean it can be done if someone red-shirts without having to releive someone of their scholarship?

Hardwood83

Nope- you get 13 scholarships regardless of red-shirt status, injury etc. I do hope that we'll now have enough depth to redshirt 1 or 2 guys (I'm looking at you Roth) to develop for down the road.

BFowler

Thanks, that stuff seems reaelly fluid and the more I hear the more it seems like there is a loophole here or there, so what you are saying makes sense.

BFowler

Put me in the camp of an Irving fan. I watched him on ESPN2 here about a month ago and was very impressed with his ability to make teammates better he seemed athletic and flowed in the game very well. Seemed like a smooth operator who did not force his game. (that is a one game assessment).

I have not heard of Moses Morgan's game, but he seems just like all the other guards we have recruited here recently (i.e. - Maurice Creek, VJ III, and etc.). I would love to see Ferguson come because of his length, and Thomas would be good as well because of keeping the top Indiana talent in Indiana (and the kid is VERY talented). However, I see both as long shots.

I would like to see some more height, but if the current crop of big men stays around, we could have a good group of solid contributors inside who are rugged and good defenders/rebounders (see: Wisconsin) and a group of guards who can star.

Huna

Ferguson is NOT goin got UK with their loaded roster. UCLA, Wake Forest, Texas also have loaded rosters. If it is about the focus on him, IU or Arizona will battle. He would be the ONLY top 30 front-line player on IU's team - a true catalyst for a run to the Final 4.

Rivers dad should man up and pay for his way, they do not need the scholarship.

Kelin Blab

There is nothing in me that says Fergunson is headed to IU....I too would be surprised if he did.

My thoughts are if we get Kyrie Irving I cannot see us getting Teague as well....

Deshaun Thomas, I have not even considered although, it would be hard for that kid to live in our backyard and continue to ignore the job Crean is doing.

I am good with filling out this class with one more player, maybe two.

Brad

Gotta get Irving. He would be just as big or bigger get than Teague. In a dream scenario, we land both, but I would be happy with either.

BGleas

Lots of guards on that list.

Joe

Don't be surprised if DeShaun Thomas goes to Europe.

jam

I still think the David Williams thing is a head scratcher. We got a solid class in 2009 but need to have an impact player or two in the next class to contend at the conference or national level. Morgan and Williams might be solid contributors in a few years. I understand how Roth and Pritchard were brought in by Sampson to fill specific team roles as backup big and situational shooter. All teams need those, but I haven't heard anyone suggest that we have the talent in the program now to get us back to where most of us would like to believe we belong. If we follow up this dismal season with two low to middle of the conference seasons, we may never get back to the big time again. If Irving commits, scratch this comment, but it remains to be seen if we can outrecruit anyone for a 5* candidate that the big time programs want and that we aspire to.

ichaser

Where's all the big men?

McD

I saw Jeremiah Davis play for the first time at the ICBA Top 100 shootout and I was very impressed. Very quick, great vertical, solid B10 ready body, can stroke the ball, can get to the hole and finish, good vision and willing to give up the ball, all the things you might expect. Reminded me of a better version of Dom James. The things I were most impressed with was he hustled back on defense, rebounded, and was a good teammate - he did all the little things at an event that often is about showboating and scoring points. I'd be very happy with a commit from JD.

Alex

One thing I just caught: Davis is 2011. So I mistakenly put him in this article. Shame on me.

So, what’s the plan for 2010?

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