The Hoosiers are expected to sign four players in the early signing period, which begins today and runs through Nov. 21, and we’ll also learn where Mt. Vernon (NY) forward Kevin Jones will continue his career.

The four-man class, highlighted by Devin Ebanks, is considered to be one of the top 20 in the nation. That ranking could get a sizable boost if Jones decides to don the candy striped pants. Joining Ebanks in the 2008 recruiting class are guards Matt Roth (pictured) and Terrell Holloway and forward Tom Pritchard.

I’ve fielded some e-mails and I’ve been asked in the comments where Mr. Jones is going and your guess is as good as mine. All of the buzz seems to be centered around Pittsburgh, West Virginia and Indiana. However, Kevin’s brother, Gerard, still mentioned Seton Hall, Rutgers, St. John’s and Massachusetts as possibilities as recently as last week.

The fact is the lid has been kept fairly tight on where Jones will end up. He’s expected to announce his decision at a 2:00 presser at Mt. Vernon.

While I’m very encouraged with a second straight top 20 recruiting haul for Coach Sampson and staff, I’m also left daydreaming on what could have been if Bud Mackey and Tyler Zeller were a part of this class. We’d probably be talking a top three class nationally, but so it goes in the world of recruiting. There’s always next year, right?

So what are your thoughts on this recruiting class? Thrilled? Disappointed? Indifferent? And where is Kevin Jones going to end up? Since I don’t know, can you fill me in?

Related:

• Matt Roth will be a Hoosier
• Ohio forward Tom Pritchard joins 2008 class
• Terrell Holloway picks the Hoosiers
• Scouting report: Devin Ebanks
• Tyler Zeller heading to Tobacco Road
• Bud Mackey arrested on drug charges

As expected, Washington (IN) big man Tyler Zeller announced his intentions to attend North Carolina in an afternoon press conference.

Zeller tried to downplay the role of the recent sanctions imposed on Coach Kelvin Sampson as a reason for spurning the Hoosiers, but one of his quotes following the press conference caught my attention. Zeller was asked how the sanctions affected his decision and here’s what he said:

“A little bit, but not really. You gotta look at the long run and the more I looked into it, the long run was kind of confusing. I wanted to get it over with and I couldn’t figure out what exactly was going to happen. So a little bit, but like I said, I just felt more comfortable with North Carolina,” Zeller said.

Zeller is the second five-star recruit in North Carolina’s 2008 class, joining forward Ed Davis from Mechanicsville, Virginia. The Tar Heels also have a commitment from four-star guard Larry Drew from Woodland Hills, CA.

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As a few commenters have pointed out and as Peegs.com is apparently reporting via their premium message board, Tyler Zeller looks to be headed to North Carolina. We all probably know by now that he’s set to make his official announcement at a Ponderosa in Washington, Ind., tomorrow afternoon, but it looks like Peegs got out ahead of this one.

Personally, I always thought the Tar Heels were the front runner here, so this isn’t much of a surprise. And UNC has scooped up a few stellar Indiana natives in the past, most notably Sean May and Eric Montross. It would have been nice to have the No. 22 ranked recruit in the class of 2008, but so it goes in recruiting. You can’t get all the big boys all the time.

So barring some unforeseen twist tomorrow afternoon, it looks like we won’t be seeing Zeller in cream and crimson. But hey, at least we have Jordan Crawford, right?

(Editor’s Note: Chris Korman of the Herald Times has confirmed that Zeller will announce for North Carolina.)

Various media outlets have confirmed that Washington High and five-star recruit Tyler Zeller will announce his college decision Monday, November 5 during a 3PM EST news conference at a local Ponderosa. That last detail is courtesy of our friends over at the Hoosier Scoop. Perhaps everyone will hit up the buffet afterwards.

The fact that Zeller will announce on Monday comes as a surprise as speculation over the past few days has run rampant that the decision could be delayed. Specifically I’m referring to an article on Wednesday by Evan Daniels of Scout.com that stated Zeller was considering taking more visits.

I’ve already given my view on each of the schools still in the running, so now we just sit back and wait for the announcement. If you haven’t had a chance yet to weigh in with your prediction, I’m interested in hearing your take.

Previously:

• Zeller talks IU visit, staying coy about recruitment
• Purdue student newspaper pleads to Zeller, I chuckle
• Confidence behind Zeller’s rise to five-star status
• Tyler Zeller visits Bloomington
• IU is a darkhorse for Tyler Zeller

(Also of note, the first AP poll was released today and IU checks in at No. 9. In fact, the top 10 in both polls are identical.)

First, an admission: I’ve always followed recruiting very closely. The main reason it piques my interest is the importance it plays on the overall health of the program. Because let’s face it, without good players, you’re not going to win. So I use it as a gauge of the direction the program is headed. So far, so good with Coach Sampson at the helm.

That said, I’ve never been one to sit and worry about a particular recruit coming to Indiana. I figure if the kid doesn’t want to come to IU, it’s his loss. There will always be someone else who will want to don the Cream and Crimson. That doesn’t seem to be the case with our friends in West Lafayette. Check out the following excerpts from their student newspaper, the Exponent:

Tyler Zeller, please come to Purdue. This is a cry that many people have shared over the recent months. I share that cry with them. There is a Facebook group pleading to help coach Matt Painter recruit Tyler Zeller. There’s a 25 percent chance he could come to Purdue as his top choices are Purdue, Indiana, North Carolina and Notre Dame.

Having Zeller would be beneficial for Purdue in more ways than one. First, dynasty. Zeller is the type of player you could build a program around. Purdue is already making a turn to become a threat in the conference and would only strengthen if Zeller came to West Lafayette.

Also, what could be better than making Kelvin Sampson and Indiana look like the losers when Zeller puts on the Old Gold and Black rather than the disgusting Crimson and Crap, err, Cream.

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With official visits to North Carolina, Indiana, Notre Dame and Purdue now in the rear view mirror, Tyler Zeller is faced with a decision that will shape the next four years of his life. Unlike most recruits, Zeller is playing his decision close to the vest and few clues have surfaced as to where he’ll end up.

What we do know, thanks to comments made by Zeller over the weekend in West Lafayette to the Journal and Courier, is that he’ll make his decision sometime between November 5th and November 14th.

Here’s a little bit of what Zeller had to say about the decision making process and how the recent sanctions announced at IU could effect him:

On where he stands in the decision making process:

“I really have no clue right now. All the players are factors. You have to look at who you come in to play with, where you fit in and how you fit in. Can you play with them? You have to look at everything.”

On the sanctions recently announced by Indiana:

“You have to look at the long run. You’ve got to look at what is going to happen down the road. We will just see what happens with all of that. It didn’t really bother me, because after I talked to (coach Sampson) and he explained everything, it didn’t sound as bad as I thought it was at first.”

I have a hard time buying into Zeller’s statement that he has no clue where he’ll be going. He’s been to all four schools and he’s been able to see how he fits in at each school. By this point, I hope he’s got some clue as to where he’ll end up.

I’ve always felt that Notre Dame was a distant fourth in the race and I still feel that way. North Carolina is the storied, national program that might be just as passionate as Indiana about basketball. Zeller seems to have a good relationship with Roy Williams and he wouldn’t be the first Indiana kid to head to Chapel Hill (Do the names Sean May, Eric Montross and Rick Fox ring a bell?). Purdue has things headed in the right direction with Matt Painter at the helm and is making a living plucking top talent from the state. And we all know the appeal of playing at IU.

The unfortunate thing about the sanctions for Kelvin Sampson is that if Zeller doesn’t choose Indiana, there will be immediate questions about the effect of the sanctions on recruiting. Ultimately, I believe they’ll have little to do with Zeller’s decision.

So, where do you think Tyler Zeller will end up and why? Will he join brother Luke in South Bend? Will he head to Tobacco Road? Will Purdue, his last stop for an official visit, get the nod? Or will he end up in the cream and crimson? I’m interested in hearing your thoughts.

If you’ve got any doubt about how big the recruitment of Tyler Zeller is getting, just take a look at the sports section on the Indianapolis Star’s website. Embedded on the right side of the page is a special section called “Chasing Tyler.”

Zeller visited IU this past weekend and by my count talked to three media outlets after the visit. And unlike most recruiting stories where a kid will give some clues to where he’s leaning, Zeller is giving no indication on which school is leading the race.

Take notice, courtesy of Jeff Rabjohns of the Indy Star:

“I’m definitely taking everything in,” Zeller said. “I haven’t written everything down, but I’m trying to figure out, this school has this, but this other school has that. This school is better than that one in this, but this other school is better in that. One day, you’re going to wake up and it’s going to be, ‘I’m going there.’ I’m just kind of waiting around for that to happen.”

In other words, he’s going to take all of his visits and he’s still wide open. I’ve seen a couple posts here on the Hall asking where Zeller is leaning and I’ve been asked a few times for my opinion on where he’ll end up. To be totally honest, I’ve got no idea where this is all heading. You can legitimately make a case for all four schools in the race. Until a decision comes, just sit back and enjoy the ride.