07/25/2014 7:53 am // Alex Bozich
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — His Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) career may have ended with a loss in the Peach Jam semifinals, but class of 2015 guard Kenny Williams still has a chance to go out on a winning note in his final AAU event.
Williams, who plays for Boo Williams, averaged 10.0 points and 2.6 rebounds at the Peach Jam, but struggled with his shooting over five games. He connected on just 15 of his 45 field goal attempts.
“I was really cold at Peach Jam, especially from inside the 3-point line,” Williams said. “I couldn’t really get my midrange going a lot, so it was tough for me to get my offensive game going with those jump shots not falling.”
The loss in the Peach Jam, however, wasn’t the end for Williams as he’s in the midwest this week for the AAU Super Showcase, where he’s being scouted by numerous high major schools.
Indiana associate head coach Tim Buckley was in Louisville on Thursday to watch Williams and his Boo Williams teammates win a pair of pool play games over ABC/Bank Hoops and the Oklahoma Wizards.
The Hoosiers offered Williams a scholarship in late May and with two former Boo Williams players already on campus in Bloomington, he’s quite familiar with the program.
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07/24/2014 3:55 pm // Alex Bozich
After his recent decision to re-open his recruitment, Indiana has jumped into the mix for class of 2015 Duncanville (Tex.) guard Matt McQuaid.
The 6-foot-5 guard, who had been committed to SMU, opted to reopen the process on July 20 and has attracted a crowded list of suitors according to Jeff Borzello of CBSSports.com:
SMU will remain on McQuaid’s list, but several other schools have already reached out since the news over the weekend. North Carolina, Virginia, Indiana, Texas, Baylor, LSU, Creighton and others are all showing interest, with everyone besides North Carolina and Virginia extending offers.
McQuaid averaged 15.6 points on the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) circuit for Team Texas Elite, which failed to qualify for the EYBL Finals at the Peach Jam. He hit 46 of his 102 attempts from behind the 3-point arc in 16 games.
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07/24/2014 11:17 am // Alex Bozich
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — As the summer moves along, the recruitment of class of 2016 Southport center Joey Brunk continues to add new suitors.
The 6-foot-9 big man added an offer from Indiana following the first July evaluation period and now two other Big Ten schools have followed with offers.
Brunk entered July with offers from Iowa and Purdue and has added Indiana, Michigan State and Northwestern as a result of his strong play with Grassroots Indiana.
In an interview with Inside the Hall at the AAU Super Showcase, he broke down the new offers from the Spartans and Wildcats.
“Coach (Tom) Izzo thinks I fit in well, playing with my back to the basket,” Brunk said. “I can help, I can get people shots from the inside when they double, I can kick it back out and they can play through me. I take what they say and try to use it to get better.
“Coach (Chris) Collins was talking to me on the phone and told me, ‘I’ve won at every level and this isn’t going to be any different.’ He means business, he expects to win and he wants to turn it around.”
At this point, Brunk said he has no leaders in recruitment and is focusing on continuing to grow his game. As a sophomore at Southport, he averaged 15.3 points, 8.1 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.4 blocks per game as the Cardinals finished 15-8.
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07/24/2014 8:55 am // Alex Bozich
LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Class of 2015 Columbia (Mo.) guard Jimmy Whitt has been one of the biggest risers in the national rankings thanks to his play this summer.
The 6-foot-3 guard was a standout at last month’s NBPA Top 100 camp and last week, he led his KC Run GMC team to the semifinals of the Under Armour Finals in Suwanee, Georgia.
As a result, Whitt has risen up to No. 51 nationally in the latest 247Composite rankings and has a strong list of schools in pursuit. After KC Run GMC dropped its opener of the AAU Super Showcase to BABC in overtime at Freedom Hall, Whitt went through some of the schools who are involved in his recruitment.
“SMU, Arkansas, Missouri, Creighton, Colorado, Marquette, Memphis, Illinois,” he said.
Indiana, which scouted Whitt at the Under Armour Finals and had associate head coach Tim Buckley in attendance for his first game in Louisville on Wednesday night, is also in the mix, but has yet to offer a scholarship.
“I hear from them a lot,” Whitt explained. “I hear from coach Crean. I’ve talked to them recently, I want to say in the last four days. We’ve just been catching up on the tournaments we’re going to and how things have been going. It’s been going real smooth.”
Whitt is very familiar with the IU program as he took an unofficial visit to Bloomington earlier in his prep career and also has family that resides in Fort Wayne.
He also has a cousin who currently attends IU and another cousin who also plans to attend the school.
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07/24/2014 7:39 am // Ryan Corazza
Class of 2016 guard Tyus Battle and big man Thomas Bryant failed to advance to the Nike Peach Jam finals, as their Team Scan fell to Playaz Basketball 65-55 in Sunday’s semifinals.
Battle filled it up from deep (4-of-9) and at the line (7-of-10) to finish with a game-high 18 points. Bryant got his points in early, scoring five along with grabbing six boards.
Watch most of their highlights in the embedded media players below.
Battle:
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07/23/2014 8:14 am // Ryan Corazza
Indiana targets Chris Clarke and Kenny Williams of Boo Williams fell in the semifinals of the EYBL Nike Peach Jam on Sunday to Team Penny, 77-68.
Clarke finished with 13 points on 4-of-11 shooting, mostly slashing to the basket off the baseline and getting out on the break and to the line. Williams scored 12 points off two 3-pointers, a jumper and a 4-of-4 performance at the line.
Watch Clark’s highlights in the embedded media player below:
Williams’ highlights are after the jump.
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07/22/2014 12:33 pm // Alex Bozich
Welcome to offseason storylines, a look into some of the biggest storylines surrounding the 2014-2015 Indiana Hoosiers. Next up, a look at the potential role of Hanner Mosquera-Perea as a junior. (Previously: A look at Indiana’s youth and how it got here, Is Troy Williams ready to make a leap?, Where can Ferrell grow as a junior?)
Indiana will enter the 2014-2015 season with one of the Big Ten’s best backcourts. Yogi Ferrell returns with a legitimate shot to challenge for first team All-Big Ten honors. James Blackmon Jr. arrives with numerous accolades, including a selection to the McDonald’s All-American team. Stanford Robinson will bring a year of experience and the ability to get to the basket. And Robert Johnson arrives with a college ready body and shooting stroke.
The frontcourt situation, however, is far less certain and full of questions.
The loss of Noah Vonleh to the NBA and the midseason transfer of Luke Fischer to Marquette leaves the Hoosiers with very few options up front. IU did add a bit of depth last spring with the signing of Jeremiah April, a 7-footer from Phoenix, Arizona, but the majority of the frontcourt minutes figure to go to sophomore Devin Davis and junior Hanner Mosquera-Perea.
At 6-foot-9, Mosquera-Perea is much more of a center than the 6-foot-7 Davis, although IU did use Davis at the five situationally last season against teams with similar size up front, like Michigan. But against teams with size, it stands to reason that Mosquera-Perea should get the first crack at the minutes that were mostly taken by Vonleh a season ago.
So what does Indiana need from Mosquera-Perea, largely unproven through his first two collegiate seasons, as a junior? In comments last week, Tom Crean said that it starts with consistency for the Colombia native.
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