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Posts Tagged Cody Zeller

James Blackmon Jr. gives Indiana verbal commitment

by in Recruiting | September 3rd, 2010

UPDATE: 12:17 p.m. Friday

Just got off the phone with James Blackmon Sr. who said Tom Crean and Indiana’s coaching staff made his son feel “welcomed” throughout their recruitment, making last night’s decision easy.

“He made us feel welcomed, answered a lot of questions,” Blackmon Sr. said. “(Blackmon Jr.) had a lot of questions.”

Indiana’s recruitment of Blackmon Jr. really took shape over the summer, when his father said the Hoosiers got plenty of chances to see James play. The player also visited Indiana’s Elite Camp over the summer.

By the time he came down to visit last night, Blackmon Sr. said the last step in the process was easy to take.

“It just felt like this was a good opportunity,” he said. “I think Coach Crean is headed in the right direction.”

Blackmon Sr., who was a McDonald’s All-American at Marion High School and a standout guard at Kentucky, is his son’s coach at Bishop Luers in Fort Wayne. The elder Blackmon won state titles at the school in 2008 and 2009 with DeShaun Thomas, now a freshman at Ohio State. So his son’s pedigree is inherited from his father in more ways than one.

November 2013 is the earliest Blackmon Jr. can sign a letter of intent, but he’s already drawn rave reviews. ESPN has him ranked among the top 10 players in the ’14 class, and their top shooting guard. He is the only committed player in ESPN’s 2014 top 40, and it should also be noted he’s the only in-state player on that list.

Like many other recruits that have come through Bloomington since April, the Blackmons were particularly impressed by Cook Hall. More than that, Blackmon Sr. said, he was impressed by the convenience of having Cook Hall and Assembly Hall so close to the northwest dormitories.

“It was just so convenient,” Blackmon Sr. said. “It was exciting to be able to walk through (Cook Hall).”

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Cody Zeller sets dates for official visits

by in Recruiting | September 1st, 2010

Per this tweet from Kyle Neddenriep, Washington (IN) forward Cody Zeller has lined up dates for official visits to the three remaining schools on his list.

Butler, the defending national runner-up, will be the first school to host Zeller on October 9-11. North Carolina will receive their visit on the opening weekend of practice (October 15-17). And Indiana will get the opportunity for the last impression as the Hoosiers will host Zeller on October 29-31. Indiana football hosts Northwestern on October 30.

Since I’m often asked by readers for my opinion on the direction of Zeller’s recruitment, here are a couple of thoughts:

+ If you’re looking for clues on where Cody will end up based on comments from the family, you’re going to hit a dead end quickly. There are going to be rumors and “I heard this from so-and-so” in the comments and on the message boards up until the decision is made. And while it might be fun to read and discuss, I don’t buy any of it.

+ The visit to North Carolina on the opening weekend of practice makes sense if Cody’s parents, Lorri and Steve, will be making the trip to Chapel Hill to watch Tyler and the Tar Heels kick off their season.

+ I have an opinion, privately, about where I believe Zeller will end up. Some readers have asked me to comment via email or Twitter, but the upside to making a public prediction is zero. If I say I believe he’s going to IU, I’ll be called a homer and then an idiot (or worse) if he doesn’t end up picking the Hoosiers.

With that, I’ll leave you with a video compilation of Zeller and a Q &A from July at the adidas Invitational after the jump:

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Indy Hoops Blog previews the Indiana HS season

by in Recruiting | August 31st, 2010

Joe Eberhardt, founder of IndyHoopsBlog and also a contributor here at Inside the Hall, put together a nice compilation video featuring some of the state’s top talent.

Among the players featured: IU commits Austin Etherington and Ron Patterson as well as Cody Zeller, Devin Davis, Yogi Ferrell, Gary Harris, Zak Irvin, Jeremy Hollowell, Trey Lyles and Basil Smotherman.

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2011 Recruiting Board: Narrowing the focus

by in Recruiting | August 25th, 2010

(Photo Credit: Jack Arent/adidas)

For the first time since the conclusion of the July evaluation period, we’ve updated our 2011 Recruiting Board and as discussed frequently in the comments, the board is focused on Cody Zeller and B.J. Young. Both prospects are now rated in the top 20 of both Rivals and Scout.

We’ll be updating our 2012 Board in the coming weeks, but for now, check out the updated 2011 Board at the link below.

Continue to the 2011 Indiana Basketball Recruiting Board »

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Austin Etherington lands in updated Scout.com Top 100

by in Recruiting | August 24th, 2010

After falling from Scout’s post-spring Top 100, Hamilton Heights (IN) guard and IU commit Austin Etherington is once again ranked by the national recruiting service led by Dave Telep.

Etherington missed time early in the AAU season with a stress fracture, but put together a solid July. He’s now rated the No. 98 prospect nationally by Scout.

Etherington told Inside the Hall earlier this month that he let his play in Las Vegas speak for itself: ”I felt like I proved myself in Vegas and other times in July, so we’ll just see what happens (with the rankings),” he said.

Two other prospects with heavy IU interest – Washington (IN) forward Cody Zeller and Florissant (MO) guard B.J. Young – are in Scout’s Top 20. Zeller checks in at No. 16 and Young is No. 17.

Other prospects of note in the rankings: Branden Dawson (15), Chane Behanan (29), Marshall Plumlee (40), Michael Chandler (67), Aaron Thomas (72) and Naadir Tharpe (94).

You can view the complete Top 100 here.

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Interview: Cody Zeller, Yogi Ferrell at adidas Nations

by in Interviews | August 7th, 2010

Just walked back up to my place after brief chats with IU recruiting targets Cody Zeller (2011) and Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell (2012) at the Swissotel here in Chicago in conjunction with adidas Nations.

First up: Mr. Zeller.

Let’s get this out of the way first. You’re down to three schools now: Butler, IU and UNC. What are liking about each of them?

Butler: Butler is known as a mid-major, but I don’t think they get recognized for how good they are. This year, they obviously went to the National Championship which put their name out there a bit more. Coach [Brad] Stevens is one of the best young coaches in the country. I’ve known him since they were recruiting Luke [Cody's older brother]. It’s a great university.

IU: Coach [Tom] Crean is one of the best coaches. He seems to be turning around the program right now. They just built the new Cook Hall, which is a great practice facility. They got one of the best business schools in the country.

UNC: At Carolina, they have one of the best coaching staffs in the country with coach [Roy] Williams and his staff. The tradition down there is unreal.

What’s the experience like for you coming into a tournament like this where it’s not your AAU or school team and you’re not as familiar with your teammates?

The talent is unreal here. I just try and do whatever the team needs. You’re not going to score 20 points like [you would on] your AAU team. It’s a lot different role but it’s fun playing with such talented teammates.

Does the rest of your summer start winding down after this with school looming soon? Is this your last event?

This is the last one. School starts on the 16th. My brother [Luke] gets married next weekend, so that’s what I’m doing with [my time]. The summer’s gone by fast.

***

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