Recruiting

Theo Pinson to announce decision on Wednesday

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 18th, 2013

042113ewer One of Indiana’s top recruiting targets in the class of 2014 is ready to announce where he’ll attend college.

As first reported by Dave Telep of ESPN.com, Theo Pinson, a consensus five-star small forward from Wesleyan Christian Academy (N.C.) will make a verbal commitment on Wednesday afternoon at 12:15 p.m. at his school.

Pinson will choose from five schools: Duke, Georgetown, Indiana, Louisville and North Carolina. The 6-foot-5, 190-pound wing took an official visit to Bloomington last February for IU’s win over Michigan on ESPN College GameDay.

Indiana has pursued Pinson diligently in recent months, making several stops to see him lead Wesleyan Christian to a state championship in March. The Hoosiers staff also maintained a presence for many of Pinson’s games with the CP3 All-Stars in the two April evaluation periods.

Last weekend at EYBL Dallas, Pinson told Inside the Hall that he wasn’t ready to name a leader in his recruitment, but that IU was “looking good right now.”

Through 13 Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) games this spring, Pinson is averaging 13.6 points, 5.5 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 2.2 steals per game. He’s shooting 45.4 percent from the field and 78.1 percent from the foul line.

Indiana has one commitment in the 2014 class — James Blackmon Jr.

Related Theo Pinson content:

· Theo Pinson on IU: “They’re looking good right now”
· IU among top three schools for Theo Pinson, father says
· Video: Highlights of 2014 wing Theo Pinson
· Pinson’s second half leads CP3 to Peach Jam win
· Visit to Indiana makes an impression on five-star Pinson

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2016 big man Barret Benson no longer under the radar

by Justin Albers in Recruiting | May 17th, 2013

051713schx Barret Benson flew under the radar during his freshman season. His Hinsdale South (Ill.) High School team won only seven games and a coaching change was made. Not many scouts were paying attention to Benson.

That may soon change. Benson, a class of 2016 big man who plays for the Illinois Wolves 15-under AAU team, has drawn interest from several major programs in recent weeks, including Indiana. Benson will take unofficial visits to IU, Purdue, Michigan and Northwestern sometime in the near future, though dates have not been decided.

Playing for the Wolves, one of the perennial Illinois powers on the AAU circuit, will certainly attract more suitors for Benson.

“It’s great. We’ve got a great team together,” he said earlier this month at the Hensley Memorial Run-N-Slam in Fort Wayne. “Really good chemistry, we’re playing together well. Our defense is what’s winning our games right now, getting those stops, because we’re so offensively talented that, as long as we can stop other teams, there’s no doubt we’ll be able to score.”

The 6-foot-9, 237-pound Benson does not yet have a college offer, but he’s also received interest from DePaul, Boston College, Dayton and Detroit, along with the four schools he plans to visit.

Benson attended Purdue’s midnight madness before last season. His father, Cliff, played basketball in West Lafayette in the early 80′s before playing four seasons in the NFL as a tight end.

“It’s definitely really early on in recruiting right now,” Benson said. “I think I should take my time deciding and find which school I want to go to. I would say academics is definitely the biggest thing I’m looking for.”

Benson’s cousin went to Indiana, so Benson has followed the program in recent years. He’s been impressed by what he’s seen.

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Derrickson looking for program that’s “just like a family”

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 16th, 2013

121812auy Indiana’s recruiting efforts in the area known as the DMV (D.C./Maryland/Virginia) in the Tom Crean era have yielded talents like Victor Oladipo, Maurice Creek and Stanford Robinson over the last five years.

As arguably the most talent rich pocket of the country, it’s no surprise that the Hoosier staff continues to recruit the area hard. One of the rising players in the area with strong IU interest is Marcus Derrickson, a 6-foot-7, 240-pound forward with a versatile skill set.

Playing against elite competition in the Washington Catholic Athletic Conference, Derrickson averaged a double-double as a sophomore — 13 points and 10 rebounds — and shot 84.3 percent from the free throw line. He was first team All-WCAC.

This spring and summer, he’s playing up one year with Team Takeover in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL). Takeover also produced Oladipo, Creek and Robinson and is currently the only unbeaten EYBL team at 13-0.

“We set the tone of the game,” Derrickson told Inside the Hall of his team at EYBL Dallas last weekend. “We start out by playing defense and our offense comes through after that. We all take pride in our defense. We work hard and will always continue to look to get better and improve different aspects of our game.”

Indiana was one of the first schools to offer Derrickson a scholarship, but the Hoosiers aren’t alone in pursuing him.

He’s already got more than 15 scholarship offers and the list includes Maryland, Georgetown, North Carolina State, Virginia, Virginia Tech, Miami (FL), Rutgers, Pittsburgh, Villanova and others.

Derrickson took an unofficial visit with his high school coach at Paul VI Catholic (Va.), Glenn Farello, for IU’s final home game with Ohio State and has been impressed with the player development that’s taking place in Bloomington.

“It’s big for me. I’m always looking to get better,” he said. “That’s what I do. I play games and look at things I can get better at and make my weaknesses my strength. Coach (Tom) Crean does a great job of developing players and getting the max potential out of them.”

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Q & A: Evan Gordon talks about commitment to IU

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 15th, 2013

050913cxbs Inside the Hall had a chance to speak one-on-one this morning with the newest Hoosier, Evan Gordon, about his decision to play his final season of college basketball in Bloomington.

Here’s a transcript of our conversation:

Inside the Hall: It’s been a quick turnaround here, but talk about why you picked Indiana and how you fit into the program.

Evan Gordon: First, they have a great masters in sports administration program. I think that’s one of the biggest keys was the masters program that I was going to get into. Secondly, being from Indiana, going to IU is probably the second greatest accomplishment besides playing in the NBA. Third, coach (Tom) Crean has those guys winning. They just came off a great season and to keep that tradition rolling is another great key. I’m also close to home and my family can come see me and I can go see my family at any time.

ITH: What do remember about when Eric played at Indiana? Obviously a lot has changed since that time.

EG: I kind of remember everything. I used to go down there all the time just to hang out with him and be around him. I got to see them practice and see them play almost every home game. I was definitely with it and in it when he was. He loves the Indiana tradition and he still goes back. He always says, ‘man, I wish I would have stayed in college,’ so he goes back and visits IU constantly. You can just see the tremendous respect he has for their program.

ITH: As far as what you can bring to the program next year, talk a little about where your game is at this point and how you think you’ll fit in next year.

EG: Just playing the combo guard. Yogi (Ferrell) is there and they needed guards so I’m another guard that can score, can shoot and can pass. I think just playing on the perimeter and being a little older than the rest of the guys is also going to help me in the leadership factor on the team. Just playing a primary scoring role and being a leader I think is going to be my main focus in what we’re looking to do next year.

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Evan Gordon commits to Indiana

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 15th, 2013

After a Saturday visit to Bloomington and a Tuesday stop at Butler, Arizona State transfer Evan Gordon has decided where he’ll play his final season of college basketball.

As first reported by Kyle Neddenriep of The Indianapolis Star and then confirmed by Gordon himself on Twitter, the 6-foot-1, 170-pound guard will play for Indiana next season.

“I have decided to become a Hoosier this coming season,” Gordon said on Twitter this morning.

Gordon, the younger brother of former IU All-American Eric Gordon, averaged 10.1 points in 32 minutes per game last season for the Sun Devils and shot 34.7 percent on 3-pointers.

He came to Arizona State in the summer of 2011 after playing his first two seasons at Liberty, where he averaged 14.4 points as a sophomore.

The addition of Gordon brings Indiana to the scholarship limit of 13 players for next season.

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Elite big man Elijah Thomas talks IU, recruiting

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 14th, 2013

(Photo credit: Dallas News)

It was another big weekend in Nike’s Elite Youth Basketball League play for five-star forward Elijah Thomas.

After averaging 15.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game in EYBL session one in Los Angeles and 15.4 points, 8.2 rebounds and 2.8 blocks in session two in Hampton, the 6-foot-9, 235-pound big man continued his stellar play this spring in Dallas for session three.

Thomas averaged 17.5 points, 7.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks as Team Texas Elite finished the weekend 3-1 and improved its overall record to 8-5 as it battles for a spot in July’s Peach Jam. But rather than focusing on individual numbers, Thomas made it clear that he’s a team-first guy.

“I wouldn’t be able to do it without my teammates,” he told Inside the Hall. “All my teammates, they get us the ball and we play together as team. When we play as a team, everybody shines.”

As one of the most coveted post players in the class of 2015, the list of schools showing interest in Thomas is full of the nation’s best schools.

Indiana started recruiting him earlier this year and offered a scholarship in late April.

“They told me I fit their program well,” Thomas said. “They have a system but they feed their skilled players, so if you’re skilled you can score the ball and play in a system that fits your game. I like that a lot.”

Thomas, who plays at Prime Prep Academy in Texas, is taking his time with the recruiting process. He said he hasn’t visited any schools to this point.

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2016 guard Eron Gordon eager to make name for himself

by Justin Albers in Recruiting | May 13th, 2013

JSC_1383 His family’s name has been in the news in recent days because of his brother Evan’s transfer from Arizona State and impending college decision, but Eron Gordon is a rising prospect eager to make his own name for himself.

Gordon, a 2016 guard from North Central High School in Indianapolis, is quickly gaining interest from a number of major college programs and continues to develop the jump shot that was often inconsistent during his freshman campaign.

Gordon said at last week’s Spiece Run-N-Slam tournament in Fort Wayne that he had heard from Baylor, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State and Louisville since the end of his high school season and expects a few from that group to offer a scholarship in the near future.

Gordon already has offers from Indiana and Purdue.

“It’s pretty special,” Gordon said. “A lot of colleges are getting interested in me. I feel like it’s going in a good direction.”

Gordon, a 6-foot-2 guard, averaged 19.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game for North Central last season. He shot just 34.6 percent (46-of-133) from 3-point range and and 68 percent (70-of-103) from the free throw line, but he has tinkered with his form lately and has seen positive results.

“At first, it didn’t go in very much,” Gordon said. “But I knew it was just all repetition. It’s starting to go in a little bit more now. I feel like it’s gotten a lot better. I’m keeping my elbow in more and getting a lot more lift on my shot. I put up a lot of shots. We have days where we shoot a certain amount and I just have to make a certain percentage.”

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