Tom Crean:

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Matt Painter:

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For those who do not know, I also moonlight as a freelance sports writer for the Times of Northwest Indiana (whuddup region readers) covering Notre Dame sports and local schools when they make the trip east. As such, I got out to South Bend Washington High School for a game against No. 1 Bowman Academy, and when I went to sign in, whose name should I see above mine but Mr. Matthew Painter.

The Eagles sport a deep and athletic roster that’s gotten them a 14-0 record and the top spot in 1-A boys basketball. They’ve also got DeJuan Marrero, whom I presume Painter was present to watch.

Some vitals: Marrero is a sophomore, listed at 6-foot-5, which seems about right. Rivals and Bowman both have him as a forward, and he’s thus far received offers from Indiana, Illinois, Purdue and Ohio State, and interest from Michigan, Kentucky and Wake Forest. So dude’s a recruiting magnet with more than two years left to polish his game.

Painter might have had cause to leave South Bend a little bit disappointed, as Marrero spent most of the game on the bench with foul trouble. But Marrero got onto the floor for good in the fourth quarter, and his coach even left him out there when he pulled the rest of Bowman’s starters, presumably to make sure that the kid got good exposure in front of a Big Ten coach.

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Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew. Send us your links to tips@insidehthehall.com.

+ Chris Korman writes that signing day went off without much excitement in Bloomington. (The Hoosier Scoop)

+ Tom Izzo is excited about his four man class — Adrien Payne, Keith Appling, Russell Byrd and Alex Gauna — in East Lansing (Detroit Free Press)

+ Michigan signee Evan Smotrycz penned the first entry in his diary at our favorite Michigan hoops site. (UM Hoops)

+ Matt Painter calls his recruiting class “great for our needs.” (Purdue Official Site)

+ Bruce Weber received Letters of Intent from three top 100 recruits in Champaign. (Chicago Tribune)

+ Ohio State’s class is being touted as No. 1 nationally and it’s headlined by Jared Sullinger and Deshaun Thomas. (Ohio State Official Site)

+ Adam Hoge writes that as the Big Ten gets stronger, Bo Ryan’s recruiting is putting Wisconsin in a hole. (Bucky’s 5th Quarter)

+ Jody Demling wrapped up the first day of the early signing period with a live blog. (Louisville Courier-Journal)

+ Dave Telep breaks down signing day from a national perspective. (Scout.com)

The All-Big Ten preview is ITH’s look at our picks for the top players in the Big Ten this season. Today: Robbie Hummel of Purdue.

In one year under Matt Painter at Purdue, Robbie Hummel has done everything one could have expected, and more: He’s made First Team All-Big Ten as a freshman; he made the list of finalists for both the John Wooden and Oscar Roberston national awards; he started 31 times and averaged 11 points, six rebounds, and two assists a game. For all intents and purposes, Robbie Hummel was The Man last year.

As impressive as Hummel’s accomplishments were how quietly he went about them. I’ll be honest: Purdue is in the same state as our Hoosiers, and not only was I only vaguely aware of Hummel, I was often viscerally bored by him. I say that less to insult him and more to criticize my own basketball intelligence, but it’s true: Watching Robbie Hummel is never interesting the way, say, watching Eric Gordon, or even a roughshod banger like Tyler Hansbrough, is. But if Hummel can expand on his success — he was named Big Ten preseason player of the year this year — I doubt he, or Painter, or Purdue fans will much care.

Indiana coach Kelvin Sampson addressed the media this morning on the weekly Big Ten coaches’ teleconference. Here is the audio, courtesy of the Big Ten:

You can listen to the rest of the teleconferences over at the Big Ten Network.

The Hoosiers are finishing up their cupcakes and the New Year is nearly upon us, which can mean only one thing: It’s Big Ten Preview Time! Here’s a look at the teams that will challenge the Hoosiers for the conference crown … or fall under the weighty boot of crimson dominance. Probably the latter. Today: Purdue.

There a couple of things you need to know about the 2007-2008 version of the Purdue Boilermakers. First, they’ve got an outstanding crop of home grown freshmen. Second, they’ve shown the capability of knocking off a respectable team. They beat Louisville on a neutral court and lost a close game at Clemson. Third, they’ve done what young teams do in college hoops: lose games they should have won. For example, they lost at home to Wofford and to Iowa State on a neutral court. And one final thing, Matt Painter has the best hair of any coach in the league.

So what should we expect out of our friends in West Lafayette? A young, inconsistent team that will improve throughout the season.

Purdue’s top six players are freshmen (Scott Martin, Robbie Hummel, E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson) or sophomores (Keaton Grant and Chris Kramer). Out of that group, the most impressive contributor at this early juncture of the season has been Martin, a Valpo product. He’s a crafty lefty who looks to create his own shot. He’s still learning to adjust to the physical play at the collegiate level, but when it’s all said and done, he’ll be an All-Big Ten performer.

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D.J. Byrd, a 6′4″ wing from the class of 2009, has given a verbal pledge to play for Matt Painter and the Purdue Boilermakers. Byrd, who will be a junior at North Montgomery in Crawfordsville, chose Purdue over Indiana, Notre Dame, Xavier and Butler.

Crawfordsville is located approximately 30 miles south of West Lafayette and its no secret that Byrd grew up rooting for Purdue. Therefore, this news comes as no surprise to many.

There’s no question that Painter and staff are stockpiling talent from inside the state. His 2007 class featured four Indiana All-Stars in E’Twaun Moore, Scott Martin, Robbie Hummel and Jajuan Johnson.

And now with Byrd in the fold, Painter’s attention will turn to Lawrence North’s Stephan Van Treese (an AAU teammate of Byrd’s) and Tipton’s Derek Elston who are also primary IU targets for the 2009 class. These recruiting battles between Painter and Coach Sampson will only add more fuel to the revived rivalry between IU and Purdue.

There were three impressive talents from the state of Indiana all in the same building Monday evening at the 2007 Kentucky Hoopfest. Members of the 2009 class, Stephan Van Treese and Derek Elston, and 2010’s Ray McCallum Jr. were on display and there were plenty of college coaches watching the action.

Front and center for Elston’s performance for SYF were Purdue head coach Matt Painter and Indiana assistant Rob Senderoff. Elston showed off nice footwork, a knack for loose balls and above average quickness for a big man. Unofficially, the Tipton native scored 10 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the contest I saw.

Stephan Van Treese (pictured), also drew a nice crowd of coaches for his appearance with his Indiana Elite One team. Along with Senderoff and Painter, representatives from Marquette, Kentucky, Iowa and Butler took in the action. Van Treese did nothing but reinforce the fact that he’s probably the top big man out of the Hoosier state in the 2009 class. Van Treese showed explosive moves towards the basket as well as solid hands for a big man, despite recently coming back from an injury.

The third and perhaps the most intriguing prospect at the event was Ray McCallum Jr., son of IU assistant coach Ray McCallum. Ray Jr., who will be a sophomore at Bloomington North, looks like a can’t miss point-guard prospect. He has an above average handle, exceptional court vision and was by far the quickest player on the court.

McCallum Jr. looked to set up his Indiana Elite One teammates first, which is what I liked about him the most. When he did look for his offense, he was blowing past defenders for easy layups. The only thing I didn’t get to see was a jump shot, but he did show a nice stroke from the free throw line.

So there you have it, my first experience on the recruiting trail. Hope you enjoyed.