Midwest Dominates Final 4 Players

[IU Hoosier41 14,465]

Here is a cool map put together by someone on Reddit showing all the final four players home towns.

[attachment=1912:ImageUploadedByBtownBanners1427841918.734013.jpg]

And a zoomed in one of the Midwest:
[attachment=1913:ImageUploadedByBtownBanners1427841942.338385.jpg]

Really shouldn't have to ever get on a plane to recruit at Indiana. Enough talent in the surrounding states to win title after title.

[SteelerHoosier 2,586]

Gotta recruit that east coast though lol

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,474]

Look at the Duke and UK spread. Hand picked nationwide. Jealous.

[protectthishouse 162]

Look at the Duke and UK spread. Hand picked nationwide. Jealous.

Eh, Duke is more of the coast plus chicago. You know coach K does well in Chicago. I like what I see from Wisci and MSU more. Why go far when the talent is in your back yard?

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,474]

Look at the map again. Duke is all over except west. NE, Florida, Texas, etc..

[protectthishouse 162]

Look at the map again. Duke is all over except west. NE, Florida, Texas, etc..

NE and Florida are on the coast

[BlueDevil 8,693]

Look at the map again. Duke is all over except west. NE, Florida, Texas, etc..

Throw in chase jeter from Nevada next year

[Class of '66 Old Fart 84,958]

But specifically to Wisconsin and MSU, they've proven you don't have to chase all over 50 states to fill your roster with quality players and still consistently have very successful programs like we once had in the last millennium..

[schoosier 3,496]

Shows exactly why Crean has failed. He has tried to recruit nationally like Duke and UK with mixed at best results, all the while forgetting about all the talent in the midwest. This example just makes the $ spent by Indiana basketball on recruiting that much more laughable. Flying all over the country doesn't get you great recruits or wins, but it can sure make you look bad. If we cut the recruiting budget 80% for the next staff, we could help pay the buyout and land midwestern players to boot. Great graphic!

[Old Friend 8,389]

Just another proof source that the best basketball is played in the Midwest.   You can cherry pick; but if you expand that map to the Elite 8, you'd get another 20 kids.    Excepting Gonzaga, every team had multiple kids from this part of the country. (You have to count Pittsburgh, because Arizona has 2 kids from there, but the point's the same).   I will never understand the need - at Indiana - to hire a coach because he has "strong east coast recruiting ties."   Juts because the Big Ten now includes Rutgers does not mean Indiana needs to recruit kids from that area in order to compete.    As far as I'm concerned, the lack of success recruiting around here is his biggest mis-step.  Kids who don't know why it's important to beat Purdue....kid who don't know (as Johnson and Hoetzel said they didn't when they got here) the traditions and legacy here.   When he took the job and said "because it's Indiana," you'd (or I'd) think he'd do a better job himself in understanding and selling those things.

[BlueDevil 8,693]

I've been extremely happy with the kids Duke have pulled from the Midwest in recent memory

John Scheyer,
Plumlee x3
Mcroberts
Okafor
Parker
Kennard next year
T jones if you count minnesota
Just to name a few... Midwest is an absolute goldmine.

[JSHoosier 20,310]

Being located in the heart of a recruiting hotbed like we are is a luxury very few programs have.  This graphic just emphasizes why I've said Indiana, and I'll include the midwest in general, should be the top priority in recruiting.

[protectthishouse 162]

I've been extremely happy with the kids Duke have pulled from the Midwest in recent memory

John Scheyer,
Plumlee x3
Mcroberts
Okafor
Parker
Kennard next year
T jones if you count minnesota
Just to name a few... Midwest is an absolute goldmine.

 

The Plumlee's were sent to Coach K's doorstep gift wrapped.

 

Edit: I wish we could have pulled of the Zeller trifecta to match Duke's