The 2009 recruiting class Tom Crean and staff have assembled in his short time in Bloomington is impressive. And with the hiring of Roshown McLeod, it could be getting a five-star boost in the form of St. Anthony’s (NJ) guard Dominic Cheek.

In an interview published Thursday morning by Adam Zagoria of Zagsblog.net, Cheek talked about his interest in Indiana and his relationship with Crean and McLeod:

“I’m definitely going to visit Indiana. I’m definitely going to try to really look into that school and see how everything is. Coach Crean, he was recruiting me when he was at Marquette and now he’s still recruiting me at Indiana. Roshown McLeod is like a brother figure to me. I knew him ever since I was little and me and his brother are like best friends, so that’s definitely going to play a big part. I know if I do decide to go out there, I’ll know that I’ll have a person to look out for me.”

Remember that three-year rebuilding plan that most of the fanbase was resigned to? Adding Cheek to the already stellar 2009 class could put the Hoosiers back on the map as early as 2009-2010. There’s still a ways to go before Cheek makes a decision, but the fact that he’s planning an official visit to Bloomington coupled with his relationship with McLeod is encouraging indeed.

(Photo credit: Rivals.com)

Here is the official release from Indiana media relations:

August 14, 2008

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University men’s basketball coach Tom Crean has announced that former NBA player Roshown McLeod, who also played collegiately at Duke and St. John’s, has been named as an assistant coach for the Hoosier program. In addition to his regular duties as an assistant coach, he will work specifically with IU’s inside players.

“Not only was Roshown an outstanding player but he is a very good coach who has been a student of the game for a long time,” said Crean. “His ability to teach the game, adjust quickly on his feet to different circumstances, and to make players better were very apparent in the process of getting to know him. He will be a tremendous mentor to our team, but especially to our inside players.”

McLeod has been coaching on the collegiate, high school, and AAU level since an injury ended his NBA career in 2002. He was an assistant coach at Fairfield University in 2002-03 and currently was the director of all basketball operations and head varsity coach at Woodward Academy in Atlanta, a private K-12 school in Atlanta. He also served as the head coach at Therrell High School and started the Next Level Players Development program where he became involved as a coach on the AAU level for the Atlanta Celtics and Georgia Stars.

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As we expected, Indiana waited until after the summer recruiting period to name its final assistant coach and former Duke and NBA standout Roshown McLeod is the choice, according to the Hoosier Scoop.

“The thing I really like about him is that if he were healthy, he’d still be a professional basketball player,” Indiana coach Tom Crean said. “But he’s done a lot of things to put himself in a position to be a coach since his career ended, and as the interview process went on he really showed how knowledgeable he is.”

Crean is expecting McLeod to become a star on the recruiting scene and of immediate interest to Indiana fans is his rumored connection with Derrick Favors and Dominic Cheek, both five-star recruits in the 2009 class. McLeod has worked with Favors on his game in the past and Cheek is from St. Anthony’s in New Jersey, where McLeod attended high school. With McLeod on board alongside Tim Buckley and Bennie Seltzer, Crean has assembled a coaching staff that should be able to consistently bring top talent to Bloomington.

McLeod was the director of basketball operations at Woodward Academy in Atlanta and was an assistant coach for one season at Fairfield during the 2002-2003 season. Indiana is expected to make the hiring official later today.