The list of suitors for 2010 Baltimore wing Will Barton is filled with some of the elite programs in college basketball.

The 6-6 Barton, a five-star recruit on both Rivals and Scout, averaged 18 points, 10 rebounds and four assists this past season at Lake Clifton en route to a 28-0 record and a state championship.

And the Indiana staff has taken notice.

“Indiana is doing a great job,” Barton told Inside the Hall. “They’re recruiting very hard, which is what I want.”

“What makes it very good for them is that I’m not just hearing from assistant coaches. I’m hearing from Tom Crean himself, the head coach. I love that. He’s a great guy, everybody knows he’s a great coach. He’s honest and up front with me. They check up on me when they can and they just want to let me know they are here for me.”

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The surprise commitment of David Williams has left many Indiana fans trying to figure out the recruiting plan for the 2010 class. A quick glance at our scholarship numbers page shows two available spots for the 2010 class. (Three if IU wishes to oversign by one.) There’s a camp that believes that IU could hold a couple of spots for the loaded 2011 class and there are those who believe the Hoosiers will fill the two remaining spots.

Here’s a look at the names IU is recruiting for 2010:

– Kyrie Irving – Irving tops the wishlist for Indiana and several other schools because he is a versatile point guard who has the ability to make others around him better. He prominently mentions IU when speaking about his recruitment and has developed a strong relationship with Tom Crean and Roshown McLeod. Scout.com recently moved him into the top 10 of the 2010 class. IU fans will likely have a chance to see Irving in a couple of weeks as his New Jersey Roadrunners team is expected at the Adidas May Classic. Consider him the top priority in Indiana’s recruiting efforts.

– Moses Morgan – Michigan was reportedly the school to beat for Morgan until IU made a recent push for the Las Vegas guard and now the Hoosiers could be in the driver’s seat. The son of Anderson-Madison Heights product and former IU player Winston Morgan is among the top 75 players in 2010 according to Rivals.com. Jerry Meyer recently called Morgan “a physical wing prospect with a game ready for the rigors of college basketball.” Morgan plans to visit Bloomington in June.

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If you’ve had a hard time keeping up with Tom Crean’s whereabouts the past couple of days, that’s because he’s been all over the country watching potential recruits workout.

Various reports have indicated that Crean has been to see Indianapolis Pike’s Marquis Teague, Lawrence North’s Dominique Ferguson, Muncie Central’s Jeremiah Davis, Will Barton (Baltimore) and Ge-Lawn Guyn (Scott County, KY). And that’s just a small sampling of the names that have surfaced to this point.

So you ask, what’s my point? Crean ‘gets it’. He realizes that the name Indiana by itself no longer sells recruits on the program. Sure, the prestige is still recognized around the country and can be leveraged in some situations. But Crean realizes that working hard around the clock is the way to bring the Indiana program back to national prominence. And he’s doing just that.

The spring contact period ends today.