Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew.

+ Indianapolis Star columnist Bob Kravitz talks to Dick Vitale, a long-time advocate of a Bob Knight return to IU, about whether he thinks the former coach will show up in Bloomington. Former H-T sports editor Bob Hammel also gives his take. {Indianapolis Star}

+ Duke has extended an offer to Marshall Plumlee and the 6-11 junior also holds offers from IU, Florida, Purdue, LSU, Minnesota, N.C. State, Notre Dame and Virginia. {Asheville Citizen-Times}

+ Stacey Poole Sr. says that his son, Stacey Jr., now has Kentucky as the No. 1 school on his list. {Louisville Courier-Journal}

+ 2010 forward Brandon Mobley, an AAU teammate of 2010 commitment David Williams, will visit Bloomington in November and has the Hoosiers in his final three schools. {Indiana Daily Student}

+ The incoming freshmen will wear the following uniform numbers: Jordan Hulls (1), Christian Watford (2), Maurice Creek (3), Bawa Muniru (15), Bobby Capobianco (23), Derek Elston (32). {IU Hoosiers}

+ 2009-2010 preseason prospectus is available in PDF format. {IU Hoosiers}

+ Courier-Journal recruiting writer Jody Demling held a live chat yesterday and a replay is available. {Louisville Courier-Journal}

+ Florida International threatens to withdraw from the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament if the Panthers have to open the event against North Carolina rather than Ohio State. Either way, they’re still losing by 20+. {ESPN.com}

After watching his two older brothers, Miles and Mason, go through the recruiting process, Marshall Plumlee has a pretty good idea of what to expect.

The youngest Plumlee, a 2011 center who attends the Arden Christ School in North Carolina, has impressed coaches this spring and summer with high intensity play. Scout.com recently ranked him the No. 35 prospect nationally in his class.

His Indiana Elite One Orange team attracted 19 coaches this morning at the Kentucky Hoopfest, including Indiana assistant Tim Buckley.

“It’s exciting, but we have a saying, ‘we just try and put the horse blinders on and go to work.’ It’s hard to ignore it completely, but we’re just here to win, get better and have fun,” Plumlee said.

Seven schools — Notre Dame, Indiana, NC State, Minnesota, Virginia, LSU and Florida — have offered the 6-11 junior-to-be. With a size 18 shoe, Plumlee thinks his feet are done growing but he’s still hoping to reach the seven-foot mark.

(more…)

A who’s-who of college coaches arrived in Cincinnati Monday for the opening of the July evaluation period at the adidas It Takes 5ive Classic.

Among the coaches spotted: Tom Crean and assistants Tim Buckley and Bennie Seltzer; Louisville’s Rick Pitino, Walter McCarty and Steve Masiello; UCLA’s Ben Howland; Kentucky’s John Calipari; North Carolina’s Roy Williams; Ohio State’s Thad Matta; Minnesota’s Tubby Smith; Michigan’s John Beilein; Arizona’s Sean Miller; Memphis’s Josh Pastner; Notre Dame’s Mike Brey; Michigan State’s Tom Izzo; Maryland’s Gary Williams; West Virginia’s Bob Huggins and Georgetown’s John Thompson III.

Inside the Hall spent the day bouncing back and forth between the Fifth Third Center and the Campus Recreation Center and here are our observations:

+ The jury is still out on David Williams: The 6-7 lefty (pictured), IU’s lone commitment from the 2010 class, started the day slow as he failed to score in the Atlanta Celtics opening contest. Williams told us he wasn’t happy with his play in that game and looked much better in the afternoon in a 10-point effort. Offensively, Williams has a long way to go to become a scorer at the Big Ten level. He often looked out of rhythm offensively and needs to become more assertive. In July, the best players tend to stand out and make a name for themselves. Today, we simply didn’t see that from Williams.

+ Strong performances from Indiana Elite’s Matt Carlino, Cody Zeller and Marshall Plumlee: Carlino looked much more comfortable than he was in May and looked like a player that can make an impact at the next level. His court vision and ball handling were both excellent.

(more…)

The July evaluation period kicks off Monday for college coaches and their assistants. And with coaches being unable to attend AAU tournaments in the month of April, July’s evaluation period has even more importance in 2009.

In no particular order, here are the storylines we’ll be tracking this month:

+ Is David Williams a high major talent? Before he committed to Indiana in late April, Williams was relatively unknown nationally. He is not among the top 100 prospects in the 2010 class on either Scout.com or Rivals.com and many wonder if offering a scholarship to Williams was a stretch for the IU staff. Playing on a stacked roster for the Atlanta “J-Smoove” Celtics that includes N.C. State commit Ryan Harrow, Tennessee commit Jordan McRae and former Ohio State commit Trae Golden, Williams is often overshadowed and perhaps under appreciated by scouts. We’ll get our first look at the Jacksonville native on Monday.

+ Can Indiana secure an official visit from Kyrie Irving? The Hoosiers appear to be in a favorable position for their top 2010 target after he said Indiana was at the top of his list in early June. However, Irving has established himself as one of the top players nationally in his class and Duke, Virginia, Kentucky and Notre Dame are all believed to be making a strong push. He will participate in the LeBron James Skills Academy this week and IU coaches will be able to watch him on Wednesday and Thursday.

+ Will Matt Carlino return to form after a tough April and May? After being slowed by injuries this spring, Carlino hopes to get his shooting stroke back and display the talents that led to an IU offer last summer. With his recent move to Bloomington, he should be more familiar with his Indiana Elite teammates. Look for IU’s lone 2011 commitment to have an impressive summer while playing both guard spots.

+ Is Indiana a major factor for Marquis Teague? Publicly, the stance from the Indianapolis Pike point guard is that he loves Indiana and Tom Crean. At the same time, Louisville has been recognized as the team to beat since last winter. There’s no doubt IU has been able to make up considerable ground in his recruitment. But can Crean sell Teague that he’ll be able to compete for a national title his freshman season?

+ Who is the best player from Indiana in the 2012 class? The 2012 class is loaded with talent and IU is actively recruiting four of the top players: Bowman Academy’s Dejuan Marrero, Broad Ripple’s Ron Patterson, Lawrence Central’s Jeremy Hollowell and North Central’s D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera. To this point, Smith-Rivera has garnered the most national publicity, but Hollowell’s length, Patterson’s versatility and Marrero’s athleticism are all things to keep an eye on.

On Monday, July 6 we’ll be at the adidas It Takes Five Classic in Cincinnati and on July 10, 11 and 12 we’ll be at the Kentucky Hoopfest in Louisville. Follow us on Twitter to receive updates throughout the day from both events.

With the summer evaluation period set to begin next week, Scout.com expanded their rankings for the 2011 class to include 75 prospects.

And several players being pursued by Indiana made the list.

Matt Carlino, the only player committed to Indiana in the 2011 class, is No. 72. Carlino recently transferred from Highland (AZ) to Bloomington South and is playing this spring with Indiana Elite.

Among the notables (High school and AAU team in parentheses):

+ Marquis Teague (Indianapolis Pike; Spiece): No. 6

+ Branden Dawson (Gary Lew Wallace, SYF Players): No. 26

+ Marshall Plumlee (Arden Christ School, NC; Indiana Elite): No. 35

+ Chasson Randle (Rock Island, IL; Illinois Wolves): No. 49

+ Austin Etherington (Hamilton Heights; Indiana Elite): No. 57

+ Cody Zeller (Washington HS; Indiana Elite): No. 59

Rivals.com also released an updated version of their 2011 rankings.

With roughly two and a half years to recruit before the early signing period in November of 2010, the fruits from the Indiana staff’s recruiting efforts for the 2011 class could be plentiful. The only catch? The uncertainty of the scholarship situation. A quick look at the scholarship numbers page shows the Hoosiers have two available scholarships for 2011 (three if they oversign by one.) But if the Hoosiers add to the 2010 class, the number of available scholarships will decrease accordingly.

That said, let’s take a look at the names being frequently mentioned in Indiana’s 2011 recruiting efforts:

– Marquis Teague – Depending on who you talk to, Indiana’s chances to land Teague range from coming on strong to a longshot. Where the Hoosiers actually stand is anybody’s guess. Teague’s talent is undeniable. He is an excellent ball handler and can both score and distribute from the point guard position. And he’s already ready physically for the rigors of the Big Ten. His only knocks? An attitude that sometimes doesn’t endear him to officials and a jumpshot that is still improving. In the end, Teague possesses the talent to be special.

– Cody Zeller – I’ve watched Zeller twice this spring and came away impressed after watching him in the adidas May Classic. He’s a legitimate 6-9 and still growing. And as is usually the case with big men, he’s tweaking his game to adjust to his changing physique. Zeller is a heady player who can be a little too unselfish at times, but his skills in the post are very good. If he can improve his strength over the next two years, he’ll be a difference maker.

(more…)