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Archive for August, 2011

Notebook: Individual workouts begin, rankings and more

by in Media | August 30th, 2011

(Photo credit: Tom Crean on TwitPic)

– Individual workouts begin: The start of the fall academic semester on Monday also signaled the start of individual workouts with the IU coaches and players in Assembly Hall. Tom Crean shared the following observations from day one (and also some photos) via his Twitter account:

Some things I liked yesterday after our 1st workouts: Verdell ‘s strength and finishing, Cody’s potential for range on his shot, Austin’s jumper, Will’s pullup and increased range, Victor’s release on his shot and Christian’s patience at reading defenders. Jordan was our best % shooter in our tests yesterday and that is no surprise. Maurice goes for the 1st time today. That will be great to see. I loved the way Derek moved and shot the ball yesterday. Having him healthy could make a big difference. He has to develop consistency.

– Rankings, rankings and more rankings: Scout.com revealed team rankings for the 2012 class and Indiana debuted at No. 1. Our friends at UMHoops.com are tracking recruiting efforts across the Big Ten and the Hoosiers also sit atop there. Rivals revealed its top 150 for 2013 and both Collin Hartman and Devin Davis are in the top 100. And finally, Ballin’ is a Habit has consensus post-July rankings for 2012 which are an aggregation of Rivals, Scout, ESPN, CBS and 247Sports.

– Better luck? Andy Glockner of SI.com profiled five teams, including Indiana, that found themselves in the bottom 50 of Ken Pomeroy’s luck rating, a statistic that measures the difference between a team’s actual record and its expected performance based on efficiency ratings. His conclusion? Things are looking up in Bloomington. It should be noted that the Hoosiers were actually 343rd out of 345 teams in last year’s Pomeroy “luck” rating.

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Patterson talks July, potential impact for 2012 class

by in Recruiting | August 30th, 2011

Inside the Hall had a chance to catch up with 2012 IU commitment Ron Patterson on Monday evening as the senior guard begins his final high school season at Broad Ripple.

Here are some notes and quotes from our conversation:

– July’s impact: After making the move from Indiana Elite Team Indiana to Indiana Elite One after the spring portion of the AAU schedule, Patterson played in the adidas Invitational and adidas College Coaches Classic in early July and used the rest of the summer to work on his game. “I just felt like I needed to work on my game other than playing (in AAU),” he said of the decision to skip the second July evaluation period. “I’ve just been doing it off God given talent, I’ve never really worked (on my game). I think it was beneficial because I’d already committed and I wasn’t really hurting or losing anything.”

– Recent trip to Bloomington: While the visits of Luke Fischer and D’Angelo Russell made headlines over the weekend, Patterson confirmed that he and two of his future teammates also made the trip down to Bloomington. “It was just me, Jeremy (Hollowell) and Yogi (Ferrell) going down to play in open gym. That’s about it. We got in a couple of good runs,” he said of the experience.

– Building relationships: One of the built-in advantages for Indiana’s 2012 recruiting class is the familiarity that the group will have with one another upon their arrival in Bloomington. Four of the five recruits (Ferrell, Hollowell, Hanner Perea and Patterson) played together this spring and also traveled to the NBA Camp in Charlottesville, Virginia in June. “Our relationships are growing more,” Patterson said. “We’re learning each other’s games, our dislikes and likes, where we want the ball.”

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ESPN.com: Arizona overtakes Indiana in 2012 class rankings

The Wildcats are on top of the basketball recruiting world again, however, these Wildcats are from Arizona and not Kentucky. With the addition of Brandon Ashley, the No. 4 overall player in the 2012 class, coach Sean Miller’s Wildcats fly past Indiana, which was entrenched at the top since the beginning.

Arizona now has two recruits in the top 10 overall and three in the top 40. In the Wildcats’ rear view mirror are Indiana, Pittsburgh, Michigan State and Texas. Villanova recently dropped to No. 6 after Savon Goodman decided to open up his recruitment.

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2013 Texas guard Matt Jones talks Indiana interest

by in Recruiting | August 29th, 2011

Even with nine verbal commitments secured for the next three recruiting classes, the Indiana coaching staff continues to relentlessly pursue top prospects from around the country.

One of the latest players to garner interest from the Hoosiers is Matt Jones, a guard from DeSoto, Texas.

The 6-foot-5, 180-pound sharpshooter is the No. 21 player nationally in the 2013 class according to ESPN.com and a consensus top 30 prospect.

After watching him play with the Texas Titans at the Super Showcase in Orlando, the Indiana coaching staff quickly reached out to express their interest and offer a scholarship.

“The message was really just telling me stuff about IU,” Jones told Inside the Hall of a conversation he had with Indiana coach Tom Crean. “Just telling me about the program and how great it is academic wise and trying to get me down for an unofficial.”

Jones, who described his recruitment as wide-open, also holds offers from Baylor, Duke, Houston, TCU, Texas A & M and Texas and interest from numerous high-major schools including Florida, Kansas and Memphis.

The Texas native has garnered accolades from national scouts for his ability to shoot from the perimeter, but he has a well-rounded game.

“I can play defense, shoot the ball, go to the hole,” he said. “I can basically just do whatever the coach needs me to do.”

The next step in the process for Jones will be unofficial visits this fall. He’s already planning trips to Duke, Florida and Kansas and didn’t rule out the possibility of making a trip to Bloomington.

“If I ever get a chance, I would go up there,” he said.

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Here’s a look at Jones from the Spiece Run ‘N Slam Classic last May from CityLeagueHoopsTV:

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Luke Fischer recaps weekend trip to Bloomington

by in Recruiting | August 28th, 2011

2013 Germantown (WI) forward Luke Fischer checked out Bloomington for the second time on Saturday and the 6-foot-9, 200-pound junior says Indiana sits near the top of his list of suitors.

“They would be high up,” Fischer told Inside the Hall by phone on Sunday afternoon. “I enjoy going there. It feels like a great place to play. I don’t think you can get much better than Assembly Hall and the past that they have had. And hopefully, a good future, too.”

Indiana offered Fischer a scholarship in July and has been aggressive in pursuing the rapidly improving forward who grew up following Tom Crean at Marquette.

On Saturday’s unofficial visit, the Indiana staff showed him a recently renovated area of Memorial Stadium’s north end zone.

“The newest thing that we didn’t see last time is they re-did the academic center,” Fischer said. “It’s brand new, they just finished it last week they said. So we got to tour that a little bit and we were impressed with it.”

Beyond getting more familiar with the campus, Fischer also had a chance to run up and down with some of the current Indiana players.

“It was really cool playing against Cody (Zeller) and Austin (Etherington) and some of those guys,” he said. “Obviously they have a couple of years on me, a couple of pounds on me, too. It was a little tough, but all in all, it was a good experience.”

Battling with Zeller, in particular, stood out as an eye-opening experience for the Wisconsin native.

“Even in open gym, he was playing real competitive,” Fischer said. “That’s just what you need to be the best I guess. And that’s what he wants to be. Hopefully I can start playing like that too and be where he is.”

After his Saturday visit to Bloomington concluded, Fischer checked in with another in-state program about 55 miles to the north that recently entered his recruiting picture.

“We just visited Butler this morning,” he said. “We met with Coach (Brad) Stevens and their staff, too. We pretty much did the same thing, went around the campus, talked with them. They seem interested.”

Fischer currently holds offers from Boston College, Creighton, Drake, Indiana, Marquette, UW-Green Bay and UW-Milwaukee. He said plans to visit both Boston College and UW-Milwaukee, which recently offered, are in the works for the fall.

With a short break between AAU wrapping up and the beginning of high school practice this fall, Fischer’s focus will shift to the weight room.

“I think just getting bigger and stronger,” Fischer said about his biggest goal for the fall. “I think I’m still growing, so that kind of sets me back a little bit. But that’s also a good thing. I just have to get in there (the weight room) and start getting bigger.”

Related:

- HD Video: Luke Fischer at 2011 Kentucky Hoopfest (July 10, 2011)
- Luke Fischer “real excited” about offer from Indiana (July 10, 2011)

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IU offers 2014 Louisville Central guard D’Angelo Russell

by in Recruiting | August 28th, 2011

2014 Louisville Central guard D’Angelo Russell, a top 20 prospect nationally according to ESPN.com, arrived in Bloomington on Sunday with two scholarship offers.

He left the Indiana campus with a third.

“Coach (Tom) Crean shook my hand and was like, it’s a pleasure. I feel good. It’s a pleasure to offer you,” Russell told Inside the Hall by phone on Sunday.

Russell, who also has offers from Louisville and Xavier, took in Bloomington for the first time with Louisville Magic AAU coach Ellis Myles.

“It was real nice. I got to see the football field. The campus, all of the dorms. Assembly Hall. It was nice,” he said.

The 6-foot-4 guard said he had a chance to talk to IU freshman Remy Abell, who is also a Louisville native, on the visit. The family atmosphere amongst the IU players and coaches was a positive takeaway from the visit for Russell.

“There’s something different about each school,” he said. “I noticed that they care about you (at Indiana). They care about you on and off the court. And that kind of caught my eye a lot.”

Russell plans to visit Missouri, Tennessee, Xavier, Kentucky and Ohio State this fall.

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(Photo credit: Jody Demling)

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