2016 July Evaluation Period

[hoosierpap 14,300]

July may be my favorite month for recruiting because the picture, typically, begins to become clearer and based on that some more educated guesses can be made as to what the class will look like. After July, I would expect many of IU's targets to begin scheduling officials. Obviously, those OV's can switch up any recruitment so any type of "leader" talk we have here can shift around between now and the early signing period in Nov, and certainly the late for those waiting until spring. I'm going to keep this to '17 recruits.

 

 

This could get a little lengthy so I think I'm going to just do it in sections. I'll do PG's (because it's the situation that is most interesting to me) before I go out and either tonight or tomorrow morning will do wings/bigs/guards.

 

Point Guards (1's)

IU is clearly looking for a PG in '17. Among those are Tremont Waters, Trevon Duval, Matt Coleman, Paul Scruggs and Isaiah Washington. David Beatty may be more of a combo but he recently came out and said he'd be visiting IU in August.Scruggs is another combo but claims to want to be a PG so i'm including him bc that's where IU is, at least telling him. 

This is the big "domino" position and IU has got themselves in a good spot with everyone above. I'm going to start with my favorite of them, Waters. Tremont Waters is from CT and UCONN had long been the rumored favorite (for literally years) but I think that has changed as his recruitment opened up with some big boys stepping in. This kid is good, and smart, and everything you want in a PG. He is short (5'9-5'10 ish) but UK and Duke have offered recently so that tells you about the skills he has on both ends despite his size. Waters certainly has interest in those schools but common narrative around Philly is Duke prefers Quade Green (from Neumann Goretti in Philly), UK prefers Trae Young (who is also seriously considering Oklahoma, Texas-where he recently visited and is currently being coached by Shaka on the USA team, fwiw), Kansas is going to press for Collin Sexton and Waters has cooled on UCONN. This puts IU near the drivers seat for Waters, if not in it. Another possibility is Young chooses Texas, UK goes all out for Waters, and Matt Coleman, whose perceived leader is Texas, is now the one left. I know this seems like IU is left with the scraps, but these are some really, really good scraps. Waters and Coleman are both really, really good PG's that I don't think a single coach would be upset with having on the roster.

Duval is really just getting started but there is some UCLA buzz. Schools have been waiting for him to figure out his academics a bit and I was surprised to hear him say IU was even still involved.

UCONN offered Scruggs today, but that isn't happening. A speculating mind would say they see Waters slipping away and that may be a "payback" type of offer. "You came to our backyard, we're coming to yours" type of deal. The recent buzz has been Scruggs to Xavier, but some still say it's 50/50. We saw Xavier really prioritize Scruggs but IU went out of their way on more than one occasion this July to see the Indiana boys, Scruggs included. Scruggs does see immediate playing time at PG at Xavier, and that may prevail. Not much IU can do about that. 

I just threw Washington in there because IU is recruiting him and Chuck has the ties. Honestly, mainly threw him in because someone on this board said he was close to an offer. I have not heard that but that certainly doesn't mean it isn't true. He did mention in an article on zagsblog today that Texas A&M, Minnesota, New Mexico, Seton Hall were the schools recruiting him hardest. 

 

I'll get around to the other targets shortly!

 

 

 

 

[Naturalhoosier 15,353]

My parents have a house in Hilton Head and I'm all about free lodging :)

Lol that's the only reason we are constantly at LBI.

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[hoosierpap 14,300]

Lol that's the only reason we are constantly at LBI.

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Don't get me wrong, I love Hilton Head haha but thats pretty much my go to for that reason

[WayneFleekHoosier 46,691]

I find the PG position interesting in this class b/c we will have Newkirk and Rojo back almost certainly.

All those guards we are recruiting seem solid but I'm not sure any of them start over our returnees save Trevon Duval. Then if we get a PG, who almost certainly stays more than a year, how does that impact 2018 PG class that seems more loaded. I guess we are willing to run 2 PGs at once so more PT will be available for 18 because Newkirk and RoJo will be done.

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[hoosierpap 14,300]

I find the PG position interesting in this class b/c we will have Newkirk and Rojo back almost certainly.

All those guards we are recruiting seem solid but I'm not sure any of them start over our returnees save Trevon Duval. Then if we get a PG, who almost certainly stays more than a year, how does that impact 2018 PG class that seems more loaded. I guess we are willing to run 2 PGs at once so more PT will be available for 18 because Newkirk and RoJo will be done.

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Wayne, I'm always thinking along those lines of how does it impact next year but whenever I ask that question I get the same response. You take the kid when you can get him. Too much unknown and fluidity to hold out for the chance that so and so may commit a year from now. Apparently, staffs don't really concern themselves with it. Bird in hand kinda stuff

And this one especially pains me because we're talking about Garland in '18.

[WayneFleekHoosier 46,691]

We seem to be recruiting the 2 spot too even with Durham. Wonder if that will be more of a "wing/guard" type player.

On PGs, is Weatherspoon still a valid option? I like him better than some of the others.

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[hoosierpap 14,300]

6 minutes ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

We seem to be recruiting the 2 spot too even with Durham. Wonder if that will be more of a "wing/guard" type player.

On PGs, is Weatherspoon still a valid option? I like him better than some of the others.

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Outside of size, it's hard to differentiate between 2's and 3's in Crean's offense, at least. 

 

I don't think Weatherspoon is an option. Good player though, wouldn't be the worst thing if I'm wrong about that but I'm not huge on him as a 1.

[WayneFleekHoosier 46,691]

New 247 '18.

4. King

5. Langford

8. Garland

Others in Top 10. Shaquille's son and Manute Bol's son.

And now I feel old.

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[hoosierpap 14,300]

1 minute ago, WayneFleekHoosier said:

New 247 '18.

4. King

5. Langford

8. Garland

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Up to about a day or two I could confidently say IU leads for 8 overall. Duke and UK just got involved so no direct info to say that has changed. Just worth noting.

[HoosierAloha 29,880]

A little off topic...

Where would you rank Garland among the 17 PGs? I really don't see any reason Garland or another stud PG wouldn't be interested in 2018.

Guards (2018-2019)

Juniors - CuJo, Green, Gelon

Sophomores - Durham, PG

Freshman - stud PG

They would be at worst first guard off the bench and could possibly start depending on what happens. I still see something happening at the guard position after this season.

[hoosierpap 14,300]

2 hours ago, HoosierAloha said:

A little off topic...

Where would you rank Garland among the 17 PGs? I really don't see any reason Garland or another stud PG wouldn't be interested in 2018.

Guards (2018-2019)

Juniors - CuJo, Green, Gelon

Sophomores - Durham, PG

Freshman - stud PG

They would be at worst first guard off the bench and could possibly start depending on what happens. I still see something happening at the guard position after this season.

Garland would be my number 2 PG in 17. I get the "if he is that good he isn't scared off" by a Waters or Coleman, but a Soph Waters/Coleman a year into the system vs frosh Garland...things get hazier. And other schools point these things out in their convos w the kid, parents, coaches etc.

[hoosierpap 14,300]

Verbal Commits ‏@VerbalCommits  17h17 hours ago

2018 Georgetown Prep (MD) F Chimezie Offurum has received an offer from Indiana. (HT @HoopsAllDay25) http://verbalcommits.com/players/chimezie-offurum …

[hoosierpap 14,300]

Continuing on yesterday...

 

 

Bigs (4/5)

Obviously, the big catch here is Mo Bamba, the freakish athlete and consensus top 5 player in the 2017 class. IU is doing work and didn't miss a PSA Cardinal game this April or July, by my account. Now IU is also recruiting Deng Gak from PSA and Brandon Randolph but the focus there is Bamba. Bamba can go anywhere with Duke and UK being the blind leaders, but that's just a lazy assumption, imo. If you dig deeper, you're looking into serious connections Chuck Martin has fostered with Munch Williams. Not to mention how impressed Munch and others are with Thomas Bryant's improvement. These NY guys stick together, it's hard to explain and I'm not really going to try but there is a certain attitude. Just don't close the book on IU. Spring decision, most likely so a long way to go but TB and IU's season could play a role here.

Next is Nick Richards, who is also would make an immediate impact player. At 6'11, the defense and rebounding is there and he seems to be ever improving on the offensive end. Richards, I believe, grew up in Queens or at least in the area so credit Chuck again here. NY is quite the hotbed and seems akin to KJ DMV presence but that's another topic for another day. UK offered and is apparently pursuing but IU didn't miss a game in July and I would expect them to get an official if he announced a list today. Not a ton of intel to support that, but I'm told IU is in it. This could be another domino situation, but a team can take more wings and bigs than the PG situation I described earlier where these elite guards are going to go different places. Keep an eye on that.

Luka Garza is stepping down to the next tier. I'm not a fan, and that description that I refuted in his thread, I still refute. His lack of athleticism hinders him on both ends. I saw a full game where the screen and role was used time and time again against him because if he gets switched it's over. Enough bashing the kid, he does provide a presence and can step out and shoot it some. I think he could evolve into a good player in the right system, but I don't necessarily see IU as that system. IU did make a point to watch him in July and I'd say they get an official if they push so possibly plan C? (I accidently deleted a portion of this and sorta forget what all I said so...sorry)

Deng Gak brings us back to the PSA Cardinals. I don't know a ton about his recruitment and was surprised to learn how long IU has been involved. I do think you see his recruitment continue to blossom as the more astute staffs have taken notice despite his limited role on his PSA AAU team. Duke and Oklahoma offered in the spring and IU has been there, as I mention before. He is thin and needs to put on some weight but definitely can impact the game on both sides. I'd expect IU to go full bore as I mentioned the connections with Munch Williams/TB/PSA/Chuck above.

 

 

Gotta run, I'll do wings later today!

 

[WayneFleekHoosier 46,691]

Plus that de commit from ASU. Daniel Mading. He seems to be a plan C/D deal. Not sure how involved we really are with him.

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[WayneFleekHoosier 46,691]

Third evaluation period, I wonder if we start getting more scouting time for back up plans? It seems Crean and staff were catching all kinds of games last eval where I didn't recognize team names. More names to emerge I suppose.

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[WayneFleekHoosier 46,691]

Just read the Trevon Duval interview with Rabjohns. Gut feeling. He won't be a Hoosier.

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[NoahW35 459]

Third evaluation period, I wonder if we start getting more scouting time for back up plans? It seems Crean and staff were catching all kinds of games last eval where I didn't recognize team names. More names to emerge I suppose.

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What teams are you speaking of?

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[hoosierpap 14,300]

Third evaluation period, I wonder if we start getting more scouting time for back up plans? It seems Crean and staff were catching all kinds of games last eval where I didn't recognize team names. More names to emerge I suppose.

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I do think some if not most of those teams were 18/19

[hoosierpap 14,300]

Plus that de commit from ASU. Daniel Mading. He seems to be a plan C/D deal. Not sure how involved we really are with him.

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Forgot to mention him. No clue on him either

[hoosierpap 14,300]

Oops forgot Jaren Jackson as well. I'll get on it in a bit