Here’s some selected, scattered highlights from the inagural All-American Championship featuring IU recruiting target Gary Harris (No. 40 in red) and the uncommitted D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera (No. 4 in red).
IU verbal commits Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell (No. 8 in red) and Hanner Perea (No. 12 in red) are also featured.
Enjoy:
A pair of Indiana commitments — Hanner Perea and Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell — as well as Hamilton Southeastern’s Gary Harris and North Central’s D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera participated in the inaugural All-American Championship on Sunday at the M.O. Campbell Center in Houston. (You can watch a replay of the game on ESPN3 at this link.)
All four were teammates on the North team that fell 93-91 in overtime to the South team. Final stats and some observations on each player’s performance below:
– Hanner Perea – 10 points (4-of-7 from the field, 2-of-2 free throws), nine rebounds (five offensive), one block, one assist, one steal and one turnover in 19 minutes: Perea is still a work in progress offensively, but there’s no question his physical prowess will eventually make him an impact player at the next level. He moves extremely well for his size and possesses the capability to play above the rim on every possession. ESPN analyst Dave Telep said it best: “With Hanner Perea, you just throw it up to the rim.” The Columbia native led the undersized North team in rebounding and his five offensive rebounds were tops in the game.
– Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell – Two points (1-of-2 from the field), three rebounds, five assists, one block, one steal in 15 minutes: Unselfish. That’s the best way to describe Yogi’s effort in this contest. Surrounded by high level talent, Ferrell embraced the role of playmaker. While teammates Tracy Abrams and Ryan Boatright coughed the ball up a combined total of eight times, Ferrell didn’t commit a turnover and made smart plays rather than attempting to be flashy. Miles Simon, who joined Telep on the call for ESPN, made several mentions of the importance of programs recruiting year-round winners. That’s exactly what Indiana is getting with Yogi Ferrell, who will take the reigns for Indiana Elite next week after leading Park Tudor to a 2A state championship.
Update: Smith-Rivera told Greg Rosenstein of The Indiana Daily Student that’s he’s considering the following schools: Florida, Miami, Kentucky, Louisville, Kansas and Ohio State.
When asked about IU, here’s what DSR told Rosenstein: “Maybe they’ll continue to recruit me, but who knows. I really like the atmosphere there and they’ve shown a lot of love.”
—
According to a report by Brian Snow of Scout.com, 2012 North Central guard D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera has decided to re-open his recruitment.
Smith-Rivera committed to Xavier back on October 24, which was not exactly surprising given the relationship he had built with both Chris Mack and assistant coach Travis Steele.
The 6-3, 210-pound guard spoke openly in the past about his desire to play with two of his AAU teammates, Hanner Perea and Peter Jurkin, but it’s unclear how the Hoosiers might fit into his recruiting picture this time around.
Smith-Rivera, rated the No. 25 prospect nationally by Rivals.com and No. 22 nationally by Scout.com, described himself as “wide-open” to Kyle Neddenriep of The Indianapolis Star.
Indiana currently has commitments from Perea, Jurkin, Yogi Ferrell and Ron Patterson for its 2012 class.
This is coming from our friend Kyle Neddenriep at the Star. I would link to his tweets on the subject, but I’m blogging from friend’s iPhone and don’t know how to link. I will say Neddenriep didn’t mention IU as one of the schools included in Smith-Rivera’s reckoning.
More tomorrow.
Sunday, 9:00 AM update by Alex Bozich: Here’s a link to Neddenriep’s story and here’s DSR on why he chose Xavier:
“They answered all the questions I had,” Smith-Rivera said. “I didn’t have any questions left.
“The way they run things and the system and style of play that have really appeals to me. They get up and down and play the way I like to play.”
This is not exactly a surprising development as Smith-Rivera had been high on Chris Mack’s program for quite some time. With Ron Patterson already committed and a huge focus on Yogi Ferrell and Gary Harris to round out the backcourt for 2012, it’s possible that Smith-Rivera was a little bit lower on the priority list than he was a few years ago when the Hoosiers initially began recruiting him.
(Photo Credit: Jack Arent/adidas)
+ Dustin Dopirak of The Herald-Times writes that Indiana is targeting 2011 California point guard Cezar Guerrero (pictured), a 6-foot point guard from Bellflower, California. The H-T also posted a mixtape of Guerrero. Korman is gone for a few weeks and now Dustin and Hugh Kellenberger are on a mixtape binge.
+ Jody Demling of The Louisville Courier-Journal noted that Tom Crean would be checking in with Hutchinson (KS) Community College forward Robert Goff this afternoon. Today was the first day of a four-week open contact period.
+ ESPN updated its rankings for 2012 and several players with IU interest are in the top 60. Gary Harris is No. 16, Yogi Ferrell is No. 21, D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera is No. 28, Hanner Perea is No. 42 and Jeremy Hollowell is No. 52. Commit Peter Jurkin is rated No. 53.
+ Hollowell will visit Indiana on September 18 according to Kyle Neddenriep of The Indianapolis Star. The Lawrence Central forward recently sprained his ankle and will be on crutches for two weeks.
+ Excellent piece by our friend Pat Forde of ESPN.com on the Plumlee and Zeller families.
+ Evan Daniels of Scout.com reported that Smith-Rivera is down to six schools: Georgetown, Indiana, Miami (FL), Ohio State, Wake Forest and Xavier. The Musketeers were the only school to check in with Smith-Rivera on the first day of the contact period.
Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew. So go ahead, get your read on, kids.
+ Led by Tom Crean, the IU players and staff put on a youth clinic on Tuesday at Municipal Gardens in Indianapolis. (IUHoosiers.com)
+ Dustin Dopirak of The Herald-Times has some notes from the clinic, including an injury update on Maurice Creek. (The Hoosier Scoop)
+ Kyle Neddenriep of The Indianapolis Star releases his 2012 in-state rankings and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera tops the list. As I tweeted earlier, I think that’s a bit high for DSR and I also believe DeJuan Marrero is a bit low at No. 7. (Indianapolis Star)
+ Neddenriep also has a video Q & A with Smith-Rivera. Could the red shirt be a sign he’s Bloomington bound? I kid, I kid. (Indianapolis Star)
+ ESPN released a top 60 for 2012 and several IU targets are on the list. (ESPN.com)
+ ESPN posted a video interview with 2011 forward Cody Zeller on its YouTube channel. (YouTube)
+ 2011 guard Jeremiah Davis says he’ll use the summer to find out which schools are really interested. (Louisville Courier-Journal)
+ Club Trillion founder and former Ohio State walk-on Mark Titus could live on as a member of the Harlem Globtrotters. (The Columbus Dispatch)
(Photo credit: IUHoosiers.com)
