Inside the Hall | Indiana Hoosiers Basketball News, Recruiting and Analysis

2016 guard Quentin Goodin excited by Indiana offer

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 6th, 2013

eirid7cx After extending a scholarship offer to 2014 guard Dion Wiley on Sunday, the Indiana staff remained active on Monday afternoon with an offer to one of the top guards in the class of 2016.

Quentin Goodin, a 6-foot-2, 165-pound point guard from Campbellsville (Ky.), was watched closely by the Indiana staff at Boo Williams last month and received an offer today from the Hoosiers.

Goodin visited Bloomington in February for Indiana’s 83-55 win over Purdue, an experience his father says was beneficial in evaluating how the Indiana program is run.

“It was a good experience. They sat us right behind the bench so we actually got to feel like we were in the game,” Chris Goodin told Inside the Hall. “We got to see how coach (Crean) interacts with the players, how he coached the players, how intense and involved everything was. And the atmosphere was really good. Quentin really enjoyed it.”

The offer was the third for Goodin as the Hoosiers joined Northern Kentucky and Western Kentucky in offering early.

But several high majors have also expressed interest, including Louisville, Kentucky, Purdue, Tennessee, West Virginia and others.

“It’s very early, but he’s interested in IU,” Chris Goodin said. “He enjoyed the visit and he’s very happy that a school like that is taking the time to recruit him. He’s very, very excited that he received the offer from them.”

Goodin will have a busy summer playing for his travel team, Hoop Dreams, and he’ll also head west to Colorado this later month to try out for USA Basketball’s 16U developmental team.

Tags: Quentin Goodin

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HD Video: JaQuan Lyle at 2013 Spiece Run-N-Slam

by Alex Bozich in Video | May 6th, 2013

Evansville Bosse and Spiece Indy Heat guard Jaquan Lyle is a consensus top 20 player nationally in the 2014 class and is considering seven schools: Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Louisville, Ohio State, Tennessee and UCLA.

We’ve compiled two and a half minutes of high definition quality video of Lyle from pool play games from this past weekend’s Hensley Memorial Run-N-Slam at the Spiece Fieldhouse in Fort Wayne in the embedded media player below:

Tags: Jaquan Lyle

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One-on-one with 2014 commit James Blackmon Jr.

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 6th, 2013

IPSAC110061a James Blackmon Jr. is putting together a fantastic spring with Spiece Indy Heat as the class of 2014 Indiana commit has proven himself as one of the nation’s most efficient perimeter scorers in Nike Elite Youth Basketball League (EYBL) play.

At this weekend’s Hensley Memorial Run-N-Slam Classic in Fort Wayne, Inside the Hall went one-on-one with Blackmon Jr. as he watched his younger brother Vijay.

A full transcript of our Q & A is available below:

Inside the Hall: First off, let’s talk about Vijay. How has he developed over the past year and what similarities do you see between the two of you?

James Blackmon Jr.: Him and I have similar games because we can play the one and the two. He’s been developing ever since the high school season got over, working on his shot and working on his strength. I think he’s gotten a lot stronger as you can see out there.

ITH: As far as how you’re feeling now, obviously you had a big junior year coming off the injury. Are you to the point now that you don’t even think about the fact that you were hurt?

JB: Yeah, I really don’t even think about it. When I’m on the court playing, I really don’t feel any different. Off the court sometimes I think about how long I was out. Now that I’m back, it’s just great because I had to sit out and watch. That’s kind of helped me be more hungry on the court.

ITH: Besides the rehab and getting stronger, is there anything else that, from being out all of that time, you were able to get better at?

JB: Being on the sidelines, I thought that I was going to come in and be a little rusty and my timing was going to be off, but actually when I came back I was better at that. That kind of surprised me.

ITH: You’ve played well in the first two EYBL sessions. Just talk about what’s been going well for you there and what you’d like to do better as well.

JB: It’s a totally different game coming from my high school team where I had to score 40 for my team to be in it. But on this team, there are a lot of guys that can score the ball so that just means that guys can’t double team and it’s just one-on-one. It’s a lot easier for me to get my shot off.

ITH: Your shooting percentages have been really high. Is that just a matter of you looking for the right shots?

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Tags: James Blackmon Jr.

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Lyle recaps Indiana in-home visit, updates process

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 5th, 2013

071712 Indiana was the first school to offer a scholarship to JaQuan Lyle in late 2010.

And as his list of schools has been trimmed to seven — Indiana, Florida, Illinois, Louisville, Ohio State, Tennessee and UCLA — the Hoosiers remain active with the five-star guard from Evansville Bosse.

Tom Crean and associate head coach Steve McClain were in Evansville on April 24 for an in-home visit. Also in that week for in-home stops were Florida, Louisville, Ohio State and Tennessee.

The meeting with IU was a positive one, according to Lyle.

“We just talked a lot about the academic part and a lot about what I need to work on and what I need to do to be the best player I can be now and at the next level,” Lyle told Inside the Hall this weekend. “Coach Crean, he’s a great guy and really told me a lot of stuff that I didn’t know. We talked about the player development on the court, off the court and in the classroom. It was a great visit.”

Lyle has played well this spring for the Spiece Indy Heat, which has compiled a 6-3 record in EYBL play and is in good position for a berth in July’s Peach Jam.

At the first EYBL session in Los Angeles, he averaged 7.8 points, 6.0 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 2.8 steals and followed that up with 15.4 points, 6.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.2 steals per game at the second EYBL session at Boo Williams. This weekend at the Spiece Run-N-Slam Classic in Fort Wayne, Lyle had a 44-point game in a win over the Eric Gordon All-Stars.

He said some schools are recruiting him as a point guard and some view him as a combo guard. Regardless of his position in college, he knows there a few areas he needs to improve upon before he arrives on a campus in the fall of 2014.

“Decision making. Sometimes I make the wrong pass or do the wrong thing,” Lyle said. “Staying in shape and getting a lot stronger.”

After this weekend’s Run-N-Slam, Lyle has two more EYBL sessions (Dallas and Minneapolis) before he takes his ACT on June 8. He’ll then look to set up his official visits.

He plans to take all five that are available to him.

Tags: Jaquan Lyle

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2015 forward Carlton Bragg “very excited” by IU offer

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 5th, 2013

050513sbcx Carlton Bragg was one of the top prospects at last October’s John Lucas Midwest Invitational in Louisville, Kentucky and at the time, he had just started to hear from Indiana.

That interest, which had been building through the high school season, culminated in an offer last week after Tom Crean watched Bragg, a 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward, at the adidas Hoop Classic in Wadsworth, Ohio.

At this weekend’s Bill Hensley Spiece Run-N-Slam Classic, Bragg reacted to his latest offer.

“I was kind of glad. I was very excited,” he said in an interview at SportOne in Fort Wayne. “It was another offer. They like my style of play, how I run back on defense and my motor.”

The Hoosiers joined Cleveland State, West Virginia, Illinois and Ohio State as early offers for Bragg, who is ranked the No. 24 prospect in the 2015 class according to ESPN.com. His ESPN profile also lists offers from Cincinnati, Missouri and Texas.

Kentucky, Duke, DePaul and Wisconsin have also expressed interest.

At the Lucas Camp, Bragg was primarily a mid-range and in player, but he added the 3-point shot to repertoire during the high school season at Cleveland Villa Angela St. Joseph.

“I’ve always been an inside player,” Bragg said. “Towards the middle of the (high school) season, that’s when I started. I made two threes in practice, and (my coach) said I should start shooting threes, and that’s when I really focused on it.”

He’s still relatively early in the process, but Bragg said he’s got an idea of what he’s looking for in a school.

Tags: Carlton Bragg

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Emerging 2016 big man Caleb Swanigan talks development, recruiting

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 5th, 2013

050513ncs Standing 6-foot-8 and weighing 260 pounds at 16 years old, it’s hard for Caleb Swanigan to blend in on the basketball court.

Swanigan, who plays at Homestead in Fort Wayne and for two Spiece AAU teams, is putting together a fantastic spring. At the 15-and-under level, he’s virtually unstoppable at his size. And at the 17-and-under level, he’s a valuable contributor on one of the top Elite Youth Basketball teams (EYBL) in the country.

This weekend at the Bill Hensley Memorial Run-N-Slam Classic at Spiece Fieldhouse, Swanigan pulled double duty and ran with both clubs.

“Just playing with both teams makes sure I’m in shape,” Swanigan told Inside the Hall. “Cardio is a really important thing. I’m always running, wearing weight vests. It simulates playing more than one game back to back so I’m ready to play.”

Swanigan also plays offensive tackle for Homestead’s football team and has already had inquires from SEC powers like Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Mississippi.

His preference in college, however, is to suit up on the hardwood.

“I’m supposed to keep growing. The cutoff is 6-foot-8,” he said. “If I get any taller, I’m not playing football my sophomore year, I’m just going to play basketball. I’m getting recruited for football, but I don’t know how it’s going to go. I prefer basketball.”

His play at the first two EYBL sessions in Los Angeles and Hampton turned heads and his recruiting picture for basketball is beginning to take shape. He said Michigan State, Ohio State, Purdue and Georgetown have all expressed interest and Indiana has been in touch via questionnaires.

Swanigan said playing up this summer should help keep his development steady as he matches up against the nation’s elite in the EYBL.

Tags: Caleb Swanigan

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Notebook: Hensley Memorial Run-N-Slam Day 1

by Alex Bozich in Recruiting | May 4th, 2013

050413ancx FORT WAYNE, Ind. — The 20^th annual Bill Hensley Memorial Run-N-Slam Classic tipped off Friday night at Spiece Fieldhouse and Inside the Hall was there to get a look at several prospects, including 2014 commit James Blackmon Jr., Trevon Bluiett, JaQuan Lyle, Eron Gordon, Vijay Blackmon, Caleb Swanigan and Carlton Bragg.

Here are our notes and observations from the first night of Spiece:

Spiece Indy Heat 17′s coast: Based on the teams this group has faced over the past two weekends in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League, tonight’s opener for Blackmon Jr., Lyle, Bluiett, Trey Lyles and company probably felt like a scrimmage.

Led by 20 points from Bluiett, Spiece crushed the Michigan Titans, 91-45. Lyle added 18 and Blackmon Jr., who looks noticeable stronger in his upper body and more explosive in transition, had 13.

Lyle said postgame that he plans to take all five official visits and make a decision this fall and Bluiett also mentioned the possibility of five officials, but also noted that he’s been so busy, he hasn’t had time to talk much about recruiting with his father and AAU coach, Reynardo.

With the return of Lyles, Spiece Indy Heat looks like a serious contender to win July’s Peach Jam.

Bragg talks about Indiana offer: Cleveland Villa Angela St Joseph (Oh.) forward Carlton Bragg (pictured) received an Indiana offer on Thursday night and the No. 24 player in the 2015 class according to ESPN.com was productive on Friday, scoring 21 points in a comfortable win for the Ohio Basketball Club 16-and-under team.

Afterward, Bragg talked about his latest offer and what the IU staff likes about his game

“I was very excited,” he said. “They like my style of play, how I run back on defense and my motor.”

Bragg also has offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Missouri, Ohio State, Texas and others. He said he’s looking to show off his versatility this spring and summer, among other things.

“My shooting, dribbling, my defense and guarding guys that are smaller than me. Just playing defense, mostly.”

2016 big man emerging: Caleb Swanigan, a 6-foot-8, 265-pound forward who played both basketball and football at Homestead in Fort Wayne, looks like a legitimate high major post prospect.

Swanigan played with both the 15-and-under and 17-and-under Spiece Indy Heat teams on Friday and was impressive with his ability to make tough catches around the rim and finish plays. Swanigan said the interest he’s received thus far from Indiana has been in the form of questionnaires and also mentioned Purdue, Michigan State, Ohio State and Georgetown. He’s also being recruited as a football prospect by Alabama, Auburn and LSU.

Tags: Carlton Bragg, James Blackmon Jr., Trevon Bluiett

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