In an announcement at Pike High School in Indianapolis this afternoon, 2011 point guard Marquis Teague revealed that he will attend the University of Kentucky.
Teague, the No. 5 player in his class according to Scout.com, averaged 16.3 points and 4.3 assists a game and shot 43 percent for a 15-7 team at Pike.
He was also considering Louisville, Indiana, Purdue and Cincinnati.
Just a couple of rather noteworthy things to report regarding recent recruiting developments (brought to you in alliterative form).
First, a source familiar with the situation confirmed to Inside the Hall that IU coach Tom Crean was up north today visiting with 2011 guard Jeremiah Davis. The Indiana Elite player is one of a number of talented Indiana prospects in the ’11 class prominently registering on IU’s radar, but I didn’t really need to tell you that.
We’ll try and get ahold of Davis some time this weekend and chat about this and other pertinent issues regarding his present and future.
Second, Evan Daniels of Scout is reporting via Twitter — or at least, that’s where I first saw it — that Marquis Teague will announce his college decision next Thursday, April 22.
So some wheels might start turning here soon.
Marquis Teague, the point guard from Indianapolis Pike who is rated among the top players nationally in the 2011 class, will make a decision on where he’ll attend college shortly after his high school season concludes.
“He’s going to make a decision probably right at the conclusion of his high school season. Or somewhere in between there and June,” Shawn Teague, Marquis’ father, told Inside the Hall on Tuesday night. “I wanted him to take his time and he’s pretty much at that point where he’s confident in sitting down and really talking about making the decision.”
Teague, who is considering a list of schools that includes Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, Wake Forest, Cincinnati, Ohio State and Purdue, isn’t as concerned with the Hoosiers on the court results as he is with the direction of the program, according to his father.
“We can see the direction that they’re heading,” he said. “It’s a great situation from that standpoint. Wins and losses, at this stage of the game, that’s not a big concern for us. We know and feel pretty comfortable and confident in terms of the direction and what role that he should be able to play in that process. Indiana is Indiana. And the program speaks for itself.”
By now, you’ve likely read the New York Daily News report published this morning linking Louisville coach Rick Pitino to the New Jersey Nets coaching job. If you haven’t, here are the pertinent details:
Sources close to Pitino said that the Louisville coach has reached out to Nets brass in recent days, making himself a candidate for the job now held by GM and interim coach Kiki Vandeweghe, and due to open after their woeful season is completed in April.
According to sources, Pitino had intermediaries recently contact Nets president Rod Thorn on his behalf. Thorn himself is in the final year of a contract, and is looking to get a new deal from incoming owner Mikhail Prokhorov.
Pitino, unsurprisingly, has denied any interest in the job to ESPN.com’s Pat Forde:
“There’s not an ounce of truth to it. I have no interest, period. I’m done with coaching professional basketball. I’ve put the professional ranks behind me.”
So, why, you ask, is this pertinent information for this here blog? Two words: Marquis Teague.
Louisville has long been recognized as the leader to land Teague. This rumor, regardless of its validity, only aids Tom Crean and other schools in the pursuit of Teague, no? The wildcard in all of this is Kentucky, where Teague will visit Saturday for a game against Tennessee. Also still reportedly in the mix: Cincinnati, Purdue, Ohio State and Wake Forest.
There were scattered reports of a filthy Marquis Teague dunk from Pike’s 64-48 win over Muncie Central back on January 2 and well, here’s the video evidence:
Teague, for those of you wondering about the status of his recruitment, is still considering a list of seven schools: Indiana, Louisville, Kentucky, Ohio State, Purdue, Cincinnati and Wake Forest.
The 6-2 junior attended IU’s win over Michigan on December 31 and his father, Shawn, was spotted in the front row of the north bleachers at last Saturday’s loss to Illinois. Despite the long standing belief that he’s Louisville’s to lose and that a commitment could be imminent, the Indiana staff continues its pursuit of the top point guard in the 2011 class.
“Hall Notes” is a gathering of news clips mixed with opinion that, on their own, probably wouldn’t have made it on Inside the Hall. But throw them all together and well, here we go …
+ Kyrie Irving (pictured) hosted the Duke coaching staff on Wednesday night for the first of his in-home visits. On Thursday, both Devils Illustrated (Rivals) and The Devils Den (Scout) decided that squeezing every pro-Blue Devil comment out of Irving was the perfect way to cause an uproar on the IU message boards. It worked. Remember, it’s far from uncommon for a recruit to gush about a visit immediately after it happens. The Indiana coaching staff will make their way to Elizabeth (NJ) on Sunday to meet with Irving and barring any scheduling changes, he’ll visit Bloomington on the weekend of October 3.
+ Moses Morgan will visit Indiana this weekend and Dustin Dopirak of The Herald-Times caught up with the 6-5 wing before he boarded his flight to Indianapolis. If Morgan’s comments are any indication, the commitment of Victor Oladipo earlier this week will not factor into his decision. DePaul, Minnesota, Arizona State and Clemson are also in the running for Morgan.
+ Tom Crean announced the hiring of Drew Adams and Mason Revelette in a press release on Wednesday night. Adams, 24, will be the coordinator of basketball systems and Revelette, 22, will be a graduate assistant. Most of the chatter concerning the announcement has centered around Adams, who has strong ties to the Indiana Elite AAU program. Adams served as a student assistant the past two seasons at Tennessee and is a graduate of Bloomington South where he played for three seasons.
+ Kyle Neddenriep of The Indianapolis Star reported on Thursday that the IHSAA is close to ruling on the eligibility of Bloomington South guard and IU commitment Matt Carlino. According to Carlino’s father Mark, a decision is expected in the “next week or so.”
+ Mike Pegram of Inside Indiana/Peegs.com tweeted late on Wednesday that Marquis Teague could potentially visit Indiana on Saturday. At this point, it’s hard to view Teague as anything but a heavy lean to Louisville.
