2014 Wapahani guard Grant Evans grew up following Indiana basketball and the sophomore has gained even more familiarity with the program Tom Crean is rebuilding after taking two unofficial visits in the last month.
Evans’ latest trip to Bloomington, which is roughly 120 miles from his home in Selma, came on Saturday for the Indiana-Virginia football game at Memorial Stadium.
The sophomore left impressed with both Cook Hall and the newly renovated academic center in the north end zone.
“They’re definitely top of the line,” Evans said. “They are great and Indiana’s pretty lucky to have facilities like that.”
Another highlight of the visit was the chance to play open gym against several of Indiana’s current players and other recruits who were also taking unofficial visits.
“I thought I did pretty well,” he said. “Obviously my defense has to get better, but that will come just because I need to get stronger.”
After a strong finish to the summer with his Best Choice Elite AAU team at the GRBA National Championships in Fort Wayne, Evans picked up a scholarship offer from Gardner-Webb to go along with a previous offer from Wright State.
A solid mix of high-major and mid-major schools have also expressed interest including Ball State, Belmont, Butler, Cincinnati, Penn State, Purdue, Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Xavier.
Evans, who averaged 20.7 points and 5.2 rebounds per game as a freshman, said he’ll use the next month to squeeze in more unofficial visits before his high school season begins.
Even though he just recently started his sophomore year of high school at Lexington Henry Clay, Jordan Green has already embarked on unofficial visits to Louisville, Purdue, Tennessee and Xavier.
Inside the Hall had a chance to catch up with Eric Gordon All-Stars coach Brian Keeton earlier this evening to discuss 2014 North Central forward Perry Poindexter’s unofficial visit to Bloomington on Wednesday.
2011-2012 Big Ten Preview: Top non-conference games
We continue our 2011-2012 Big Ten preview today with a look at seven non-conference games, listed in no particular order, that you’ll want to mark on your calendars as must see.
Michigan State vs. North Carolina on Friday, November 11
Event: Veteran’s Day Carrier Classic at San Diego Bay
TV coverage: ESPN
Two of the top programs from the past decade will square off in front of 7,000 on an aircraft carrier to celebrate Veteran’s Day. Not only will it be the first game of the season broadcast on ESPN or ESPN2, it will be the most unique setting for a college basketball game ever.
Michigan State vs. Duke on Tuesday, November 15
Event: Champions Classic at Madison Square Garden
TV coverage: ESPN
After opening against what will likely be the country’s No. 1 team in North Carolina, Tom Izzo and the Spartans will head east to MSG for a meeting with top ten Duke. It’s an ambitious non-conference start for a program that struggled to meet expectations last winter, but Izzo will quickly find out what he’s working with by mid-November.
Michigan vs. Memphis on Monday, November 21
Event: Maui Invitational
TV coverage: ESPN2
The Wolverines are the Big Ten representation in Maui and you might not see a larger contrast in styles all season than in this contest. Memphis is loaded with young talent and loves to push the tempo, but failed to take care of the ball last season. Michigan, on the other hand, is far more deliberate and less turnover prone. A win for Michigan could set up a rematch of last year’s NCAA Tournament meeting with Duke.
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