Class of '66 Old Fart

Jake @jakeweingarten Add more interested schools to the list of programs intrigued by 2022’s Jai Smith. He tells me that Indiana and LSU become the latest programs to inquire in him. On Oct. 12, Weingarten mentioned Smith was also a possible reclass and reported this conversation he had with Smith. https://stockrisers.com/s/164/four-star-prospect-jai-smith-talks-recruitment-reclassification Smith is a 6'9" PF who will attend Bull City Prep in Durham, NC after having previously attended St. Thomas More in CT. No stats available on MaxPreps. 247 Rivals https://www.syracuse.com/sports/2020/08/former-bishop-ludden-basketball-prodigy-jai-smith-lands-scholarship-offers-transfers-to-bull-city-prep.html

Phinisee on his leadership role this season. https://www.si.com/college/indiana/basketball/rob-phinisee-embraces-leadership-as-team-captain-for-indiana-basketball

I'm certainly not holding my breath on this kid but at least we won't be in a "wondering if" mode much longer. Jake @jakeweingarten Top-40 senior Bryce Hopkins capped off all virtual meeting this past week and is set to make his decision. Hopkins told @Stockrisers that he will ‘likely’ make his college choice this upcoming week.

Alec Lasley on Armaan Franklin - https://indiana.rivals.com/news/2020-21-player-preview-armaan-franklin?fbclid=IwAR0Hh0tF024uCxaspuqRE2q3hzKGWyctfZjjxGyf51RfkFuoEWkjVgMu6HY

I think Jordan Geronimo's going to become a very exciting player for us. Coach Clif Marshall @ClifMarshall NBA scouts ask me about this measurement 1st. Not the vertical jump, not the bench press, but the wingspan. Specifically in relation to the players height. This player is 6’6 with a 7’1 wingspan.

Jeff Borzello @jeffborzello Kansas forward Silvio De Sousa announces he is opting out of the basketball season and leaving the Jayhawks.

James Blackmon Jr. has signed a contract to play in Turkey for Beşiktaş J.K. The 6'4" combo guard has had an impressive overseas career in just two years since leaving Indiana University. This past season, in 21 Lega Serie A games, he averaged 14.0 points per game and shot nearly 44% from three-point range. In three games so far this season, the team is 0-3 and will be counting on Blackmon Jr. (who flies to Istanbul on Sunday) to be their top scorer. "I've put in a lot of work this summer," Blackmon told me. “I'm excited for the next step in the journey." In high school, the sharpshooter was a McDonald's All-American, and in college, he averaged over 16 points on 41.5% shooting from three-point range in 73 games for the Hoosiers.

Focus on the freshmen. https://indiana.rivals.com/news/iu-freshman-class-bringing-full-package-to-bloomington?fbclid=IwAR3IXOf1BqSHAxvvtL0TaZFz_gNrJLhFf-XNlSJZeBo_Elz9V7hTSYP2DNg

UMass men’s basketball and women’s tennis handed two-year probation and fines, UMass to appeal The announcement of UMass getting handed a two-year probation and $5,000 fine came mid-day on Friday. Earlier in the morning there was a tweet regarding the potential of a decision being made on a UMass sport, but nothing specific was mentioned regarding what team. According to the report from the NCAA, Massachusetts gave out “more than $9,100 in excess of full cost of attendance on 13 occasions over a three-year period.” The report went on to state that Massachusetts did comply with 98% of its cases regarding financial aid, although failed to correct the overpayment of financial aid to student-athletes. UMass self-reported the incident, which in the NCAA’s report went on to mention that the overpayment of financial aid was unintentional. As a result of the investigation, the NCAA determined this incident to be Level II-mitigated and handed three punishments to UMass. They consisted of a two-year probation from Oct. 16 of this year to Oct. 15 of 2022, a $5,000 fine and a removal of records made when the student-athletes who were deemed ineligible through the investigation participated in. This means both teams would have to vacate their records, which consist of 46 wins over the last three seasons for the basketball team and the women’s tennis team would have to vacate their tennis victories along with its 2016-2017 Atlantic 10 Championship. UMass came out with a statement shortly after the news was made regarding the NCAA’s decision and said it would be appealing the punishments. Athletic Director Ryan Bamford said in a statement, “As an athletics department we accept that we made administrative mistakes in the distribution of athletic aid through our financial aid process. However, we do not believe that the penalties imposed by the NCAA are appropriate, nor proportional to the violations that occurred.” UMass said in the statement they had no intention of gaining a competitive advantage with this error.

I tend to agree with LIH and Doc that 4 captains seems a bit much but apparently it's not without precedent at IU so if we can replicate that squad I'm good with it. Mike Schumann @ The Daily Hoosier I believe the last time #iubb had four captains -- Cheaney, G. Graham, Nover, Reynolds -- 1993. Pretty good squad.

Bloomington native Leal ready to take next step in basketball journey with Hoosiers https://www.foxsports.com/indiana/story/bloomington-anthony-leal-next-step-indiana-hoosiers-basketball-101320?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

IU Athletics fund raising campaign to raise enough money to pay the nearly $20 million the athletic department must pay the university for scholarships. https://247sports.com/college/indiana/Article/Facing-major-financial-shortfalls-IU-athletics-reaches-out-with-enhanced-fundraising-campaign-COVID-19-152982217/?fbclid=IwAR2SYzmblXMYsXFS0OSK2pQnV0duJ8YBNa8ObPqiJrcD_ozEMofrWfQ5Anc

For those that are interested, Inside The Hall published a list of current and former players as well as current staff member Twitter accounts. https://www.insidethehall.com/2020/10/14/an-updated-iubb-twitter-guide-for-the-2020-21-season/?fbclid=IwAR1uCOLoEumZfzsO_6LAqs9npPtvTC7BfEL5OzRi7dn1G63lrwExf1RhbCU

I'm still very much a doubting Old Fart on this one. https://www.zagsblog.com/2020/10/13/bryce-hopkins-sets-announcement-date/

Due to contract tracing protocols from the CoVid-19 pandemic, the Purdue men’s basketball team will not begin practice on the first official day of allowed practice on Wednesday, Oct. 14 Purdue’s first official day of practice will now be Oct. 21. Let's hope this kind of crap doesn't happen to us, but I'm afraid it's going to be a pins and needles season.

https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/iu-basketball-archie-miller-talks-about-changes-he-wants-from-offense-and-defense-this-season/?fbclid=IwAR1wDxtGmSqOw9zS3SU5gTzUNX0gEemmI-jAquJVOavC5VjPwIdX1e1vx5U

From Alec Lasley - Jordan Hulls inks new contract in Germany for 2020-21 season Another former Indiana Hoosier has signed to play the 2020-21 season overseas. Announced on Monday, Jordan Hulls signed with MHP RIESEN Ludwigsburg for the upcoming season. Hulls, who played in Germany the last five seasons, will be in his first season for Ludwigsburg. Ludwigsburg is currently in the Basketball Bundesliga, the first tier league in Germany. The former Hoosier is coming off one of his best stints as a pro, averaging 14.8 points, 3.1 rebounds and 3.7 assists per game in the Europe Cup, leading s.Oliver Wurzburg to a runner-up finish. Hulls fell just short of the 50-40-90 club, finishing with percentages of 52.5 from the field, 49.0 from three, and 84.0 from the free-throw line. He also won MVP honors in the event for his performance. Ludwigsburg has finished in the top-3 of the Bundesliga on three different occasions, including a second place finish last season. They have also advanced to the Round of 16 in the German Cup each of the last two years. Hulls played in 135 games (121 starts) for Indiana from 2009-13 and averaged 9.8 points, 2.7 assists and shot 44.2 percent from three for his career. The 2009 Indiana Mr. Basketball winner has spent his entire professional career overseas playing for five teams and has won two championships in his time in Europe. He has a career average of 11.9 points on 47 percent shooting from three and 3.2 assists per game.

Out for the entire '20-'21 season. Lafayette Journal & Courier - Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn had a broken foot he hoped would heal in time for high school basketball season. That wasn't the case. The McCutcheon sophomore will miss the 2020-21 season after surgery. Gibbs-Lawhorn had surgery Sept. 29 and will miss four-to-six months, his father Ben Gibbs said. The 6-foot guard currently has offers from Purdue and Indiana. Gibbs-Lawhorn is a four-star recruit listed as the No. 9 player nationally by recruiting website 247 Sports. He was featured in a Gatorade commercial in March that was scheduled to run through the NCAA basketball tournaments. Gibbs-Lawhorn made an instant impact one year ago as a freshman, averaging 21 points, 3 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game while shooting 46.3 percent from 3 and 48.5 percent overall. He scored 30 or more points three times, including a high of 35 in a sectional loss to Marion.

Thornton seems to have taken a real shine to the Big 10. Both Indiana and Purdue are serious threats to land his commitment and should be considered among the frontrunners at this early juncture. https://basketballrecruiting.rivals.com/news/five-star-bruce-thornton-talks-uga-purdue-indiana

Alec Lasley @allasley #iubb target Avery Brown with 18 assists today. Very underrated PG in the 2022 class. “I think I have some of the best passing ability in my class.”

Received an IU offer yesterday. 6'10" with a 7'4" wingspan per the Indianahq article which also discusses Aminu Mohammed. 4-star rating and overall ranked 24th nationally and the #3 ranked center by 247. Plays AAU ball for the PSA Cardinals on the Nike circuit. From Westtown HS in Norristown, PA. 247 Rivals https://indianahq.com/iu-offers-aminu-mohammed-franck-kepnang/

Latest from The Daily Hoosier. https://www.thedailyhoosier.com/iu-basketball-recruiting-the-latest-with-5-star-aminu-mohammed-as-his-recruitment-winds-down/?fbclid=IwAR0lYwsSWs9_MoUJFaRbaFKDJ4Z9GFGOivJ8BJJZW4SFDu2ddDooB6hO1uQ

The penalty was because it was water and not Jack Daniels!

Several IU references with respect to Hopkins, Kaufman and Mohammed. https://247sports.com/college/indiana/Article/BryceHopkins-DaRonHolmes-Illinois-Arizona-Marquette-NorthCarolina-Indiana-Kansas-AminuMohammed-152647846/