I'm worried about in-state recruiting.

[hsrtxp 1,400]

I guess it's all speculation at this point. It's impossible to get in the mind of Wilkes or Scruggs.

I've said this before, but for whatever reason, the top in-state players all seem to feel no love with Indiana over the last decade. I went back to 2007, when IU landed Gordon, which really was kind of a weird win. But since then, Indiana has missed out a ton of top in-state players year after year. That's not to say guys like Hulls, Yogi, and Zeller weren't big wins, but when you look at the other guys going to Purdue, Michigan State, Xavier, etc from Indiana's own back yard, it's so frustrating. Names like Deshaun Thomas, Gary Harris, Glen Robinson, Zak Irvin, Trey Lyles, Blueitt, Swanigan, Hummel, Teague, etc. And 2016 is no different. IU settled for Grant Galeon, who might fill a need, but man I would have rather had Guy who does everything Galeon does, only much better. But instead he's taking his talents to Virginia???

I get that Crean likes these Boo Williams guys, and does a pretty good job of recruiting DMV, but you NEED to be all-in when you have a player like Guy or Langford in your own back yard. Crean needs someone who can recruit the mid-west and in particular, the state of Indiana, and do a much better job, IMO because it doesn't seem like he has a grip on it. 

I'm torn on this. I want the kids who want to be here and would gladly take an out of state kid who gets IU over an in-state kid who doesn't completely buy in.

That being said, I'd love to get back to the days when Indiana kids grew up with dreams of playing for IU.

Is that possible? Can IU attain that level again?




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[JSHoosier 20,212]

1 hour ago, KelleyHoosh said:

I think you're generally right, but the 2017 class so far, in my opinion, could be the one that sort of changes that momentum. 

Coming off a sweet 16, IUBB has a lot of momentum. Taking advantage of that by laying a foundation in Indiana would be huge win. 

Regardless, college basketball is cyclical and so I am less concerned with where the kids are coming from and more about the team composition. Without Yogi and Bryant now presumably being a (the?) focal point of the team, I'm interested to see how the style of play changes.

I get what you're saying, but that's been said before too.  We were even coming off 2 Sweet 16s in a row and couldn't capitalize on momentum.   I don't know why I'm supposed to believe it's going to be any different this time around.  To me it's just more of the same as we've seen until it's proven otherwise, and it's going to take more than one or even two seasons to do that.

[Baltimore Hoosier 986]

5 minutes ago, hsrtxp said:

I'm torn on this. I want the kids who want to be here and would gladly take an out of state kid who gets IU over an in-state kid who doesn't completely buy in.

That being said, I'd love to get back to the days when Indiana kids grew up with dreams of playing for IU.

Is that possible? Can IU attain that level again?




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That's what I'm getting at.. I'm not sure what it will take. I guess a lot of guys now want to try something different, get a fresh start and experience college life by being away from home. But if it's the best player in the state and they are down to IU and Purdue and the recruit picks Purdue, something is wrong with that. 

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,370]

Good post Baltimore Hoosier. I too, more the most, have so many recruiting frustrations and worries.

We need to achieve that destination status again for all of us to be happy. We do seem to be getting there and Crean seems to be adjusting his recruiting approach all the time. Some misses turn out not to be as big of misses, but most of those you named hurt.

We and many other schools were fooled by Kyle Guy. He had a breakout summer and for whatever reason we weren't fully invested or too late. The Gelon signing is still baffling to me but if he can shoot that great we will see. (Wish his performances better supported it)

2017 is another measuring stick. Waiting anxiously to see how we fair.


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[Brass Cannon 24,801]

2017 is still positioned to be good. So I am not getting too worried yet....

Waters or Scruggs

Wilkes

Tucker or Smith 

Gak or Huffman

 

Will make for a great class coming into a team that should return 2 senior guards and at least 2 bigs with experience. 

[IUsafety 2,775]

Missing Wilkes, Scruggs, Williams and Jackson would be a huge slap to the face of Hoosier Nation. Will we be alright? Sure we will. Personally, I hate it. I feel like I have more invested in a homegrown Hoosier. I love following and cheering for kids who come from the Hoosier state, unless they do the one unforgivable sin of picking pUKe. It's a lot more fun to cheer for them if they become an Indiana Hoosier though.


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[IU Hoosier41 14,465]

That being said, I'd love to get back to the days when Indiana kids grew up with dreams of playing for IU.

Is that possible?




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I honestly don't think that it is possible anymore. With the changes in television and exposure, recruits growing up in Indiana have maximum exposure to all sorts of schools.

I've always thought it was misleading that top INDIANA players always went to Indiana in the past because it's what they saw on tv every night. Now that isn't the case, so they aren't die hard hoosiers from the get go.

It's comparing apples and oranges in my opinion.


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[triple 412]

57 minutes ago, hsrtxp said:

 

44 minutes ago, Baltimore Hoosier said:

That's what I'm getting at.. I'm not sure what it will take. I guess a lot of guys now want to try something different, get a fresh start and experience college life by being away from home. But if it's the best player in the state and they are down to IU and Purdue and the recruit picks Purdue, something is wrong with that. 

I don't think this is an Indiana thing at all.  It's just a difference in the experiences across generations.  In the past talented kids were discovered/targeted much later and had fewer media outlets to watch games outside of their state or region.  Thus their "fan" experience was more focused.  Times have changed. Whereas I always had one team on my mind (go Hoosiers), my son has 3-4 favorite teams...some of which change from season to season. 

[hsrtxp 1,400]

I honestly don't think that it is possible anymore. With the changes in television and exposure, recruits growing up in Indiana have maximum exposure to all sorts of schools.

I've always thought it was misleading that top INDIANA players always went to Indiana in the past because it's what they saw on tv every night. Now that isn't the case, so they aren't die hard hoosiers from the get go.

It's comparing apples and oranges in my opinion.


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I think you are right on this, though if IU becomes a reasonably dominant force again, the tide will change. That influence will probably not be what it once was but IU can and should be a "destination school" as was stated above.

The kids being recruited now don't know how important IU basketball, or for that matter, how important high school basketball once was in this state.

And now back to Kris Wilkes....


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[Stuhoo 80,781]

The two straight Sweet 16s didn't translate to recruiting success?!?!?

We went to two straight Sweet 16s, and then "The Movement" came! Sure, it didn't work out, but Yogi, Hollowell, Patterson, Perea at LaLu were the highest ranked kids in the State that year, save for Gary Harris who waited until there were limited open spots. 

That momentum turned into in a recruiting upswing, at least if you believed the star ratings at the time. Of course, the star ratings for those very highly thought of in-state kids did not reflect quality of play or quality of character.

I get the feeling that CTC has learned that lesson; he now wants high character kids, athleticism, and shooters. If he can get that in-state, all the better. If he can't; he will gladly defer to the OGs, Juwans, and Al Durhams of the landscape.

[IU Hoosier41 14,465]

The two straight Sweet 16s didn't translate to recruiting success?!?!?

We went to two straight Sweet 16s, and then "The Movement" came! Sure, it didn't work out, but Yogi, Hollowell, Patterson, Perea at LaLu were the highest ranked kids in the State that year, save for Gary Harris who waited until there were limited open spots. 

That momentum turned into in a recruiting upswing, at least if you believed the star ratings at the time. Of course, the star ratings for those very highly thought of in-state kids did not reflect quality of play or quality of character.

I get the feeling that CTC has learned that lesson; he now wants high character kids, athleticism, and shooters. If he can get that in-state, all the better. If he can't; he gladly defer to the OGs, Juwans, and Al Durhams of the landscape.

Agree here wholeheartedly. Believe when Crean took over he felt the pressure to recruit the state HARD. now that he's shown his eye for talent it isn't as big of a focus anymore. I could care less where the kid comes from no a days as long as they represent the candystripes with the respect they deserve.


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[HoosierAloha 30,068]

Along those same lines, two of Crean's best recruiting classes (2010 and 2015) involved lower ranked recruits from outside of Indiana. The Movement nearly got Crean fired.

I don't think you can make a blanket statement for any state or region. I would prefer Crean stay instate if he can find the high quality kid on and off the court that fits his system.

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,370]

Naples, I think you are right on with that post.  I get the same impression somehow. 

 

I remember with Martin's introductory interview how he was talking about discussing with Crean what "types" of players to be recruiting and finding an identity for the players that Crean wants.  Rojo, OG, Juwan, McSwain, etc all pass the test (seemingly). 

[hoosierpap 14,300]

Bump...there was some interesting convo going on in the Wilkes thread so we split it out to a more appropriate thread so it didn't get buried/derail the Wilkes thread

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,370]

Wayne, I still feel we made a mistake with letting Emmit go.....I thought he was a good kid, totally loyal and took the hit for others.  It cost him.  He should be here.

 

Sorry I'll get back on track.  Lets do it Kris Wilkes.......You'll be a great Hoosier.

I seem to agree. That whole Devin Davis situation was such a black eye. Bad decisions were made. I don't know enough except the rumors to really judge. Holt did seem like a solid kid though and a promising player.


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[HoosierAloha 30,068]

I seem to agree. That whole Devin Davis situation was such a black eye. Bad decisions were made. I don't know enough except the rumors to really judge. Holt did seem like a solid kid though and a promising player.


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It's difficult to judge though. If Holt stays do we end up with Maximus last season? Does DD look elsewhere? He had a unique skill set that could have played well next to TB. It's all in the past though. Wish we could cherry pick the instate players we want and then get the out of state players to fill needs.

[8bucks 6,445]

Become more consistent, advance past sweet sixteen and then we have less of an issue recruiting anywhere.

[BGleas 7,903]

3 hours ago, Napleshoosier said:

I think Chuck is helping get more quality guys because lets face it, he's a quality dude himself.  Kenny was helping us with aaaaa.......lesser quality kids from the DMV.  He is in a good place with Pitino at UofL.

I hate seeing great athletes from Indiana go away though.  Oh, did I say i'm totally impressed with Chuck?

 

 

Agree, and I think with Martin we're seeing the difference between an AAU guy (Kenny Johnson), and an experienced coach that has been in big situations, has head coaching experience and has some NBA experience (Martin). 

[Baltimore Hoosier 986]

I like Chuck Martin, but he or someone on the staff NEEDS to figure out how to land the 2017/2018 Indiana HS recruits. 2017 has to be one of the better classes to come out of the state in a long time, at least on the top end, and it seems IU has already completely missed the boat on Bowen and Jackson. They simply cannot afford to let guys like Wilkes, Scruggs, and Langford, go somewhere else. To me, that would send a horrible message to the next few classes. 

[WayneFleekHoosier 48,370]

I like Chuck Martin, but he or someone on the staff NEEDS to figure out how to land the 2017/2018 Indiana HS recruits. 2017 has to be one of the better classes to come out of the state in a long time, at least on the top end, and it seems IU has already completely missed the boat on Bowen and Jackson. They simply cannot afford to let guys like Wilkes, Scruggs, and Langford, go somewhere else. To me, that would send a horrible message to the next few classes. 

It does give a bad look as if we need more coaches poaching our state and winning recruiting battles.

What I'm curious about is how many of those battles are us losing versus us not actually targeting or priortizing.

What hurts even more is a class of Scruggs, Wilkes, Bowen, Jackson would be 1-3 best class in the country.

The other thing is we aren't 1 n done U, so that is not our recruiting approach. Until we showcase several 1 n done players we will likely not get those types of players. I dont know if that is recruiting strategy or us just missing our targets and settling on who we can get. Chicken vs. egg.p>

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