Indiana’s 2013 recruiting class received a huge boost last November when Warren Central forward Devin Davis Jr. made a verbal pledge to join Tom Crean and the Hoosiers.
Check out Inside the Hall’s footage of ESPN.com’s No. 28 player nationally in the 2013 class from this past weekend’s IndyBall.com Shootout in the embedded media player below:
A video Q & A with Davis Jr. is available after the jump:
The latest addition to Indiana’s 2012 recruiting class — Lawrence Central wing Jeremy Hollowell — took the court for the first time as a member of Indiana Elite this past weekend at the IndyBall.com Shootout.
Watch highlights of the versatile 6-7 IU commit in the media player below:
Some White (No. 8 jersey) highlights from three recent Bobcats games.
For two and a half seasons, D.J. White lead a life of NBA anonymity.
He occupied the end of the bench in Oklahoma City. Spent time in the D-League.
But after a trade landed him with the Bobcats on Feb. 24, things have changed. White has seen steady minutes in a reserve frontcourt role under coach Paul Silas — in part because Tyrus Thomas has been out with injury. He’s averaging 8.3 points (52.1 percent shooting) and 4.4 rebounds in 19.4 minutes per contest.
White’s knocking down the mid-range jumper. He’s hustling down the court, beating the defense and dunking it home for two. He’s looking more filled out, mature and polished than his IU days.
White likely won’t ever be a star or even a starter. (Silas saying he’d like White to play in the Summer League is an indication of that.) And this limited sample size of games with the Bobcats can’t paint the whole picture.
But if Charlotte retains Silas for next season — he was hired after Larry Brown’s swift departure earlier this year — it’s possible White will continue to factor into the team’s rotation. Which could set him up for a longer career in the league.
Ft. Wayne Bishop Luers guard James Blackmon Jr. became the youngest recruit to commit to Indiana in the Tom Crean era when the talented freshman gave a verbal pledge to the Hoosiers in September of 2010.
Inside the Hall (along with Kyle Neddenriep of The Indianapolis Star) talked to the Spiece Indy Heat shooting guard about a variety of topics following a pool play game of the IndyBall.com Shootout at North Central High School. (Photo credit: Jamie Owens of J. Scott Sports.)
On what he’d like to accomplish this spring and summer in AAU:
“I just want to get back to where I was conditioning wise. I just came off of spring break and I haven’t really touched a ball all that much. I got (Team) USA tryouts (coming up) and I just want to get my conditioning back to what it was.”
On the level of comfort playing with the same group of guys again this year in AAU:
“We all started playing together last year. And the team, as soon as we stepped on the court together, we just had a good mixture of play. And now we’re adding older guys to our team, so that makes it even better.”
On the opportunity to play against older guys at the 16-and-under level:
“I look forward to competition whenever I can get it so I look forward to that.”
Inside the Hall caught up with a pair of 2012 IU commits — Broad Ripple’s Ron Patterson and La Porte La Lumiere’s Hanner Perea — at this past weekend’s IndyBall.com Shootout at North Central.
Q & A’s with both players, as well as a short highlight reel, are available in the media players below:
Inside the Hall hit the spring AAU trail in Indianapolis over the weekend for the IndyBall.com Shootout, which featured several IU commits and recruiting targets. Here are notes on prospects in the 2012 class from editor Alex Bozich and recruiting analyst Joe Eberhardt. (Photo credit: Jamie Owens of J. Scott Sports)
Hanner Perea, La Porte La Lumiere, Indiana Elite Team Indiana
- Bozich’s take: The Colombia native was somewhat limited by a sore hamstring, but still managed to display that elite athleticism that is responsible for his rise up the national recruiting rankings. Offensively, he’s far more dangerous at this point hovering around the paint and looking for lobs and putbacks. Playing with a point guard like Ferrell that will drive into the lane and look his way should produce plenty of opportunities for easy buckets. But in order for Perea to become more well-rounded offensive threat, he’ll need to develop a more consistent post game and continue working on his jump shot out to 10 or 12 feet. Defensively, Perea changed a number of shots with his tremendous length.
Jeremy Hollowell, Lawrence Central, Indiana Elite Team Indiana
- Eberhardt’s take: A late addition to the Indiana Elite team, Hollowell didn’t appear to miss a beat. He looked great all weekend long, scoring by knocking down perimeter jump shots and attacking defenders off the dribble. Hollowell looks to have improved his athleticism heading into this weekend, finishing several dunks in traffic and pleasing the crowd with his bounce. He also played a big part in Indiana Elite’s defensive game plan on Gary Harris, helping to hold the fellow 2012 star to just four field goals in the Indiana Elite vs. D3 Pride matchup. This weekend was a solid all-around performance for Hollowell, showing off the versatility that makes him so impressive. As long as Hollowell continues to assert himself, he should be one of the most productive players on the AAU circuit this summer.
