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Expert Analysis: Telep talks IU’s 2012 recruiting class

by in Recruiting | November 7th, 2011

With signing day on the horizon, Inside the Hall caught up with one of the best in the business, Dave Telep, for some national perspective on Indiana’s 2012 recruiting class.

Telep is a senior basketball recruiting analyst for ESPN.com and the former national director of recruiting for Scout.com. He’s covered recruiting since 1997. A transcript of our chat with Telep follows:

Alex Bozich: This is obviously the best collection of talent that Tom Crean and his staff have put together since arriving in Bloomington. What are your thoughts overall on the class and the impact it can make on Indiana over the next couple of years?

Dave Telep: I think the best part about this class is that it’s dynamic. There’s five different position players. I also think there are three guys that are going to eventually be starters. At least three who will be starters for Indiana at some point in their career. That’s a heck of a thing to get out of a recruiting class. Jeremy Hollowell, Kevin Ferrell, Hanner Perea should go in with expectation that those guys are going to have 12-to-15 years of starting experience between them.

AB: As far as the other two members of the class — Ron Patterson and Peter Jurkin — they both committed early. They’ve kind of fallen down on some of the national ranking lists. What have you seen out of those two specifically? Peter hasn’t played, but where do they fit in?

DT: Well Peter unfortunately has been really injured. With his setbacks, it’s been a lot of physical stuff so he hasn’t been able to get on the floor. I think with Peter Jurkin defensively, you look at a guy like Baye Moussa Keita at Syracuse, who kind of carved out a role with his length and his ability to protect the rim. I think that’s what you want Peter Jurkin to do. He’s not a scoring threat unless he’s getting a rebound or a stick back or catching an alley-oop. But in terms of a rim protector, he can carve out a niche.

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Hoosiers offer 2010 wing Reggie Bullock

by in Recruiting | September 26th, 2007

Reggie BullockBoth Dave Telep and Bryan Hanks have confirmed that IU has offered a scholarship to 2010 guard/forward Reggie Bullock.

Bullock is out of Kinston high school in North Carolina where last season he helped lead the Kinston Vikings to an appearance in the Class 3-A state championship game.

Kinston fell short of a state championship as Bullock scored 10 points in 18 minutes in a reserve role. You can view the boxscore from that game by clicking here.

Kinston coach Wells Gulledge told Hanks that the Hoosiers followed Bullock closely over the summer and liked what they saw enough to extend an offer on Tuesday.

Bullock is a 6’5″, 175 pounder who is also being recruited by North Carolina, North Carolina State, Texas, Virginia and Wake Forest.

Confidence behind Zeller’s rise to five-star status

by in Recruiting | September 23rd, 2007

Tyler ZellerAs someone who follows recruiting very closely, the rise of Washington (IN) big man Tyler Zeller to a five-star prospect caught me a bit off guard.

Earlier this year, most recruiting services viewed Zeller as a three-star or a four-star prospect. Many would have argued for East Chicago Central’s Angel Garcia or Warren Central’s Walter Offutt as the top 2008 prospect from the state of Indiana.

However, after an off-season of improvement and strong AAU play in the spring, Zeller shot up the charts and became a high priority for several schools. Scout.com put him in their top 20 and Rivals.com put him in their top 25. His play has also made him a firm favorite for the title of Mr. Basketball.

So what was behind Zeller’s rise as a prospect? His confidence finally caught up to his potential.

“The biggest factor was, and Tyler and I’ve had conversations about this, he simply wasn’t ready,” Scout.com National Recruiting Director Dave Telep said. “When there’s a player like Tyler Zeller with a family history of size and being a high major player, you make sure you pay that guy a little extra attention. It wasn’t Tyler’s time until this year and once he seemed comfortable and confident, things just exploded for him.”

“It has happened like that for other guys in the past,” Telep added. “Andrew Bynum (now of the Los Angeles Lakers) was the same way. You always kind of knew that he was going to be a prospect. When his confidence level started equaling his potential, he really started getting good in a hurry. I think the same thing happened with Tyler.”

Dave Telep talks Ebanks, Mackey and Roth

by in Recruiting | September 19th, 2007

Bud MackeyAs you know, Inside the Hall recently caught up with Scout.com National Recruiting Director Dave Telep to talk IU recruiting. We asked Dave for the lowdown on the 2008 recruiting class and here’s what he had to say.

On Devin Ebanks:
“Ebanks is special. He’s 6’7″ or 6’8″, can handle the basketball, he plays on the perimeter and he’s just a really, really big wing player. He has a chance to be a special player that can make money at this game.”

On Bud Mackey:
“He’s really an intriguing prospect. He hasn’t defined himself as a point guard or a shooting guard just yet. He’s a talented kid. He’s got one of those live, wiry bodies. He’s got a big ceiling to get better and he’s pretty good. As good of a player as he is, he’s probably the same level prospect.

On Matt Roth:
“I’ve always thought that college basketball tries to imitate and copy each other when people have success. I think everybody looked at Lee Humphrey for Florida the last two years and if you were a good team who figured that you could make a run in the NCAA Tournament, at that point you looked at Lee Humphrey and said ‘we’ve got to get a guy like that’. Matt Roth was brought in to make three-point shots for the Indiana Hoosiers. Preferrably for them in the NCAA Tournament. I think that’s what his role will be.”

(Editor’s Note: Tom Pritchard is not included because we talked to Dave before he committed to IU.)

Kevin Jones a high priority for the Hoosiers

by in Recruiting | September 17th, 2007

Kevin JonesOne of the remaining names at the top of the priority list for the 2008 recruiting class is Mount Vernon (NY) forward Kevin Jones. Jones is a 6’8″, 215-pounder who can hit the outside shot and go inside as well.

The past two seasons, Jones has led his Mount Vernon high school team to back-to-back state titles. Oh and by the way, he’s in the National Honor Society.

Jones still has a fairly long list of schools to sift through, but IU seems to be right in the mix for his services. In fact, Adam Zagoria of the Herald News in New Jersey reported earlier today that IU coach Kelvin Sampson visited Jones on Sunday night:

Indiana head coach Kelvin Sampson was in on Sunday night, trying to sell Kevin on pairing up with Devin Ebanks in the Indiana frontcourt.

Since I haven’t seen Jones play, I asked Dave Telep of Scout.com for a scouting report on the Mount Vernon forward.

“I think Kevin Jones at the end of the day, is a workhorse type kid who has a desire to win and get better. He holds himself to very high standards. He’s one of those kids that you can toss aside where he’s rated or what different people think of him. I think he could play for anybody in the country because of his approach and his talent level. I think everybody’s looking for a Kevin Jones. There isn’t a style or a temperament, he just fits in. He’s a good basketball player.” Telep said.

Pretty high praise from the guy I consider to be the expert when it comes to basketball recruiting on the national level. Jones certainly has the blue collar work ethic that Kelvin Sampson values in his players. I’ll be keeping a close eye on his recruitment as we head towards November.

What are realistic expectations for Eric Gordon?

by in Commentary | September 12th, 2007

Eric GordonI caught a bit of flack for not including Eric Gordon on my preseason All-Big Ten team and quite frankly, I expected it. That’s what is so great about us, the IU fanbase: we’re passionate about our love for the program and the players.

I wasn’t saying that Gordon won’t make the All-Big Ten team because it’s certainly a possibility that he will. I just didn’t agree with handing out preseason accolades to a player that hasn’t played a single minute of college basketball.

So that got me thinking, what are realistic expectations for EJ?

I’ve talked to people who think he can come in and average 18-20 points per game right off the bat. I’ve talked to others who think he could struggle early on adjusting to tougher defenses.

The most optimistic of opinions I’ve heard on Gordon’s impact include comparisons to the impact Kevin Durant had at Texas last season.

I bounced this question off of Dave Telep of Scout.com the other night when we chatted and asked him if a Durant like impact was possible for the IU freshman.

“First of all, Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony are pretty much the two guys that had the biggest impact on their respective teams in the last ten years,” Telep said. “That’s asking a lot of a guy. I think Eric Gordon is a good enough and talented enough player that he’s going to find his way on to one of those All-Big Ten teams. If he can do that as a freshman, he had a major impact on the conference.”

My personal opinion is that Gordon is a special talent that doesn’t come along very often. He’s a unique blend of finesse and power. I’ve followed high school basketball in Indiana for quite some time and I don’t remember any player comparable to him. That said, it’d be unrealistic to expect no bumps in the road and a flawless freshman campaign for Gordon.

I’m interested in hearing what you are expecting out of Gordon and the impact you think he’ll have. Drop a comment and give me your take.

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