Inside the Hall got its first look of the season at 2010 guard Aaron Cosby from Jeffersontown Monday night at the Gaslight Holiday Classic. Cosby scored nine points as J’Town beat Owensboro 72-55 to move into the final against Mount Lebanon, PA on Tuesday night.

Strengths: Cosby is a part of one of the top teams in the state of Kentucky that is led by one of the better coaches in the state — Jeff Morrow. After sitting out the six first games of the season due to transfer rules, Cosby is still working his way into game shape. He showed an ability to get into the lane and also a nice touch from the perimeter when left open. For the most part, his court vision appeared to be solid and he didn’t try to make plays that weren’t available to him.

Weaknesses: It’s not a knock on Cosby, but his listed height of 6-3 by Rivals is a bit deceiving (go figure). He looked to be about 6-1. He also looked to be a bit out of the flow of the game, but that seemed to be more of a result of missing the first six games of the season and not his ability. Morrow wasn’t pleased with a couple of layups he gave up and as a result, Cosby found himself benched for a couple of long stretches in the second and fourth quarters. He has the tools to be a solid defender, but will need to step up the intensity on a more consistent basis.

The Bottom Line: The Indiana staff will keep a close eye on Cosby’s progress over the course of the season. As he continues to round back into form after sitting out last season and the first six games of this season, he should become more comfortable with his new surroundings and continue to blossom. He’s an intelligent player that has the potential to become a solid college player.

In case you haven’t noticed in the sidebar on the right side of this very page, Indiana has yet to secure a verbal commitment for its 2010 recruiting class. There are two factors playing into this:

1. Tom Crean admitted that the coaching staff has ground to make up in 2010. By the time Crean arrived in Bloomington, many of the top prospects for 2010 were already starting to build solid relationships with other coaching staffs. And the recruiting sanctions placed on Crean over the summer only hampered his ability to get out and build his own relationships.

2. The availability of scholarships for 2010 (or lack thereof) has forced Crean to be more selective on who to target for this class. It’s a good bet that only two scholarships (or possibly only one) will be there for the taking.

So who is IU looking at in this class?

(more…)

A couple of days ago, I wrote about Indiana offering a scholarship to Jeffersontown’s Aaron Cosby. I’ve learned that Thursday Indiana coach Tom Crean and assistant Tim Buckley will travel to Louisville to watch Cosby in an open gym.

Cosby is already planning an unofficial visit to IU this coming weekend and he’ll be in Bloomington for Hoosier Hysteria as well.

Although Cosby is hearing from a large list of schools, two places in particular stand out for the 2010 guard.

“Right now, Indiana and Minnesota,” Cosby said when asked about the schools sitting atop of his list.

Cosby missed most of the 2007-2008 campaign after transferring from Manual to Jeffersontown and is looking forward to getting back on the court on December 19.

(more…)

With the 2009 recruiting class wrapped up barring an unforeseen event, the Indiana coaching staff is shifting its focus to 2010 and beyond.

The latest to garner an offer from Tom Crean and company: 6-3 guard Aaron Cosby from Jeffersontown High School in Louisville, according to Jody Demling of The Courier-Journal:

Jeffersontown junior guard Aaron Cosby told The Courier-Journal that Crean watched him in open gym on Thursday and offered him a scholarship this afternoon.

“He told me he was very impressed,” Cosby said. “This was the first time he had seen me play. I am going to think long and hard about it this week.”

Cosby noted the Hoosiers will only have two scholarships available in the Class of 2010. He’s making a visit to Miami of Ohio this weekend and was already scheduled for an unofficial visit to Bloomington next weekend.

Cosby sat out most of last season after transferring from Manual to Jeffersontown. He committed to Travis Ford and Massachusetts before his sophomore year, but re-opened his recruitment after Ford bolted for Stillwater. He currently doesn’t figure into Rivals.com’s rankings for 2010, but I would expect him to end up as a four-star player in that class. Here’s a list of schools involved with Cosby: Minnesota, Miami (OH), Purdue, Dayton, Ohio, Western Kentucky, Vanderbilt, Louisville, Auburn, Virginia and Oklahoma State.