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Hulls, Oladipo to tour far east with Reach USA

by in Media | May 16th, 2011

(Photo credit: Jamie Owens of J. Scott Sports)

Per IU media relations:

Bloomington, Indiana – Indiana University men’s basketball players Jordan Hulls and Victor Oladipo will join eight other Division I college basketball players on a trip to the Far East with Reach USA from May 17-31.

“I think it is a great honor to represent Indiana University in something like this,” said Hulls, who averaged 11.0 points and 2.9 assists as a sophomore. “I’m really looking forward to the experience.”

The group, coached by retired Oldham Co. (Kentucky) High School coach Gary Forrest, will be involved with a cultural exchange trip throughout the area. The team will play a club team from Lithuania, seven times, and an all-star squad from Brazil, twice. Daily updates can be found on www.sportsreach.org.

Other members of the group include former Hoosier Malik Story (Nevada), Justin Bocot (Southern Illinois), Austin Hollins (Minnesota), Garlon Green (TCU), Marcus Thornton (Georgia), Keith Clanton (Central Florida), Devonte Elliott (Nevada) and Eloy Vargas (Kentucky).

“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity,” said Oladipo, who averaged 7.4 points and 3.7 rebounds during his freshmen season. “I’m very humbled and honored to have the chance to play basketball and experience a trip like this at the same time.”

Recruitment blowing up for 2012 big man McGary

by in Recruiting | May 15th, 2011

(Photo creditJamie Owens of J. Scott Sports)

A year ago, Mitch McGary’s recruitment was limited due to question marks about his academics.

So the 6-foot-11, 255-pound Chesterton native made the decision to transfer to Brewster Academy in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire to focus on getting his grades in order and also to play against some of the country’s top competition.

Fast forward to the spring of 2011 and McGary, now a member of the class of 2012, is making waves as one of the nation’s most sought after big men.

“It’s been blowing up actually the last couple of weeks,” McGary told Inside the Hall on Sunday at the adidas May Classic. “I think it’s been mainly because I moved out to Brewster. The transition out there got me better on and off the court. Grades were a factor for most schools last year, but now my grades are well.”

The list of schools in regular contact with McGary is impressive. He reeled off Duke, Texas, Arizona, Florida, Florida State, Michigan, Indiana, Purdue, West Virginia, Connecticut, Kentucky, Kansas, Memphis, Louisville and Maryland as schools showing interest.

The move to Brewster has not only helped McGary academically, it’s also helped him transform his body.

“I’ve gained about 30 pounds, but I’ve cut out all the fat. A lot more lean muscle,” he said. “My endurance, I haven’t been showing it a lot lately but my motor is what the coaches usually like and how I hustle after rebounds.”

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Jurkin’s right leg improving, could return for July

by in Recruiting | May 15th, 2011

As Indiana fans have shown up in droves to watch the 2012 class this spring, the first recruit to join the class, Peter Jurkin, has yet to step foot on the court with his future Indiana teammates.

The 7-foot Jurkin, a native of Sudan, is still recovering from a stress fracture in his right leg that he sustained last August at adidas Nations in Chicago.

Jurkin was unaware of the severity of his injury until going to a doctor a few months later.

The IU commit played sparingly during the high school season at United Faith Christian Academy in Charlotte as the stress fracture failed to heal completely.

“One of the doctors he went to (in North Carolina) said that it was a stress fracture and said it was OK to play him two minutes a quarter (during the high school season),” Mark Adams, Jurkin’s AAU coach, told Inside the Hall at the adidas May Classic in Bloomington. “And it wasn’t. When he came back here (to Indiana), we took him to St. Vincent’s, they looked at it and he shouldn’t have been playing during the school year.”

The recovery process has been a lengthy one for Jurkin, but the only recipe for a return to 100 percent health is to rest the leg.

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adidas May Classic: Day Two

by in Recruiting | May 14th, 2011

Inside the Hall spent the majority of Saturday at Assembly Hall and Cook Hall in Bloomington for day two of the adidas May Classic. Our Saturday notebook follows:

Picking up where they both left off a week ago in Ft. Wayne, both James Blackmon Jr. and Trey Lyles were impressive in a pair of pool play games. The duo helped lead Spiece Indy Heat past a formidable SW Illinois Jets team (led by 2013 standout Malcolm Hill) in a morning game at Cook Hall. In an afternoon game at Assembly Hall, Indy Heat fell to Dan Dakich’s Indiana Elite South squad. After that game, we talked to Dakich to get his thoughts on the pair of IU commits:

“I think he’s (Lyles) really good. I’ve said this before, all the guys they have committed, those two I guys I think are great. The rest of them are good and all that. If there’s better players than that in the freshman class, Blackmon and Lyles, I can’t imagine. Those two guys are great.”

Blackmon Jr. had 25 in the loss to Indiana Elite South and 12 in the win over SW Illinois Jets. Lyles had 13 points in the win and six points in the loss. Trevon Bluiett also continues to shoot the ball well from the perimeter for Spiece Indy Heat. The Park Tudor freshman had 28 points in the loss to Indiana Elite South.

It was our first in-person look at Indiana Elite South’s Mark Donnal and the big man did not disappoint. He poured in 23 points and came up with a key block late in the upset win over Spiece Indy Heat. Donnal’s footwork, motor and ability to shoot the ball from the perimeter will make him a sought after prospect. Donnal lists Michigan, Indiana, Michigan State, Ohio State Wisconsin and Butler as schools of interest.

– It was also our first look at MBA Select and Mishawaka Marian guard Demetrius Jackson. The 6-foot-1 lead guard is out of the AMC after MBA Select dropped its first game in tournament play tonight at Cook Hall, but Jackson’s stock is steadily on the rise this spring. Jackson’s court vision, quickness and ability to score the ball probably put him close to the top of the list of 2013 point guards in the state. We’ll have more on Jackson next week.

Jeremy Hollowell admitted that his knee and wrist slowed him down a little in his return for Indiana Elite, but despite the layoff, Hollowell still showed off his ability to score the ball in a variety of ways. At 6-foot-7, the Lawrence Central wing can shoot over smaller defenders from the perimeter and overpower small defenders in the lane and at the basket. His laid back approach is sometimes confused with a lack of effort, but Hollowell will make an instant impact upon his arrival in Bloomington.

Hanner Perea seems genuinely excited about playing with his future point guard Yogi Ferrell: “I love playing with him. Now he knows me much better. I tell him a lot of times he’s not used to playing with big guys on his high school team. With me and Big O (Obij Aget), he needs to get used to it. It’s getting better every day.”

The evening ended with a surprise as the Gary Harris-led D3 Pride team fell in the opening round of the 17-and-under gold bracket to the Michigan Titans, 77-75. Harris finished with 22 points and led a furious comeback in the final minutes that came up just short. When Harris has his perimeter shot working like he did at times on Saturday, he becomes an even tougher cover because he can get into the lane almost at will. One of the highlights of the afternoon came in a pool play game when Harris and North Carolina commit J.P. Tokoto of the Wisconsin Playground Warriors traded a pair of finishes above the rim.

Hollowell makes his return at adidas May Classic

by in Recruiting | May 14th, 2011

After missing three weeks following injuries to his wrist and knee at the Denver Double Pump tournament last month, 2012 Lawrence Central forward Jeremy Hollowell returned to Indiana Elite on Saturday for the adidas May Classic.

Inside the Hall caught up with the talented 6-foot-7 wing after a pool play game for his thoughts on his return, his injury, the progression of his game and more:

On returning to the floor after missing three weeks:

“It feels good to be back. I had to sit out a couple of weeks because of my injuries and it was hard watching the tournaments and not being able to play in them. It’s just good to be back playing.”

On how Indiana Elite Team Indiana is coming together this spring:

“We’re coming together pretty well. We haven’t really had our team here yet. We’ve been bonding pretty well, getting to know each other on and off the court. I think once we get everybody together we can be a real good team.”

On getting the opportunity to play with his future teammates in AAU:

“It’s going to help us a lot getting a feel for each other, knowing our strengths and our weaknesses and knowing what we can do as players. Just knowing our roles.”

On how his game has progressed over the last year:

“Just playing with confidence. Knowing I can do it and not second guessing. My wrist and my knee are kind of slowing me down a little bit. Going to the basket and my shot are the easiest way for me to score depending on my defensive player.”

On how it feels to have his recruitment out of the way:

“Just knowing where I’m going, just focusing on playing, really. It feels good having it off my back.”

On playing in front of Indiana fans in Assembly Hall:

“It’s fun. I’m glad they’ve come out and supported us. It’s real fun knowing they’re showing their support for us and it just makes us want to play hard and put on a show for them.”

Around the Hall: ESPN love for IU, 2013 rankings, more

by in Media | May 12th, 2011

Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew. So go ahead, get your read on. (Photo credit: James Brosher.)

It’s never too early to start the 2011-2012 chatter, right? Our friend and ESPN.com columnist Pat Forde weighs-in with ten things he’d like to see next season in college hoops. Indiana comes in at No. 6 on the list:

6. Indiana as a viable member of the Big Ten: It’s time for the Hoosiers to finally crawl out of the Kelvin Sampson smoking crater and rejoin the ranks of the competitive. Not necessarily the ranks of the good, but the competitive.

After three straight 20-loss seasons, Indiana should finally have the players to at least threaten to be .500 and arise from the Big Ten basement. Prep All-American Cody Zeller will not — repeat, will not — be an immediate savior, but he joins an experienced cast in a league that will hardly be impossible to handle.

College basketball isn’t as much fun when Indiana stinks. Time to change that.

Scout.com expanded its 2013 rankings to fifty prospects. Neither Collin Hartman or Devin Davis Jr. made the cut. Purdue has two recruits — Bryson Scott (42) and Kendall Stephens (46) — on the list.

The adidas May Classic is this weekend in Bloomington. Admission is $5 on Friday, $15 on Saturday and $10 on Sunday. Both The Hoosier Scoop and Peegs have put together comprehensive guides to follow the IU recruits.

James Blackmon is the new coach at Marion High School, where he played from 1980-1983. His son and IU commit, James Jr., will likely follow him there.

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