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Wednesday, April 24
The Indiana Daily Student

sports men's basketball

Weekly basketball recruiting update

Head coach Tom Crean calls out a play to his players during IU's game against Ohio State on Sunday at Value City Arena at the Jerome Schottenstein Center.

IU’s newcomers arrive on campus

IU freshmen Thomas Bryant and Juwan Morgan arrived in Bloomington on Saturday, followed by fellow freshmen OG Anunoby and Harrison Niego, a walk-on, on Tuesday, according to their Twitter accounts.

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IU wastes no time in contacting class of 2017 guard Diallo

Hamidou Diallo — SG — 2017

Queens, N.Y. — Woodstock (Conn.) Academy/NY Jayhawks

247Sports Composite: 4-star, No. 79

ESPN: 5-star, No. 30

Rivals: 4-star, No. 38

Scout: 3-star

Offers: Connecticut, CSU Bakersfield, Duquesne, Fairfield, Iona, Iowa State, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Providence, St. Bonaventure, St. Peter’s, Temple, USC, Wake Forest

Beginning at midnight on Monday, June 15, college basketball coaches can directly call and text class of 2017 recruits.

Within the first hour of being allowed to contact 2017 recruits, IU reached out to 6-foot-4 shooting guard Hamidou Diallo and offered him a scholarship, according to multiple media reports.

Louisville, LSU, Maryland, Miami, Minnesota, North Carolina State, Providence, Seton Hall, UConn and Virginia also contacted Diallo on Monday, according to Woodstock Academy’s Twitter account.

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IU among 17 finalists for one of class of 2017’s top prospects

Michael Porter Jr. — SF — 2017

Columbia, Mo. — Father Tolton Catholic High School/MoKan Elite

247Sports: 5-star, No. 2

ESPN: 5-star, No. 2

Rivals: 5-star, No. 2

Scout: 5-star, No. 3

Michael Porter Jr., a 6-foot-9, 190-pound small forward from Missouri, narrowed his list of schools to 17 on Sunday night, and IU made the cut.

“I want to thank the schools who’ve been involved in my recruitment, these are the 17 I’m going to move forward with!” he tweeted.

Alphabetically, Porter Jr. is considering Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Iowa, IU, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Texas, Texas A&M, Texas Tech, UCLA, Virginia and Washington.

He plays for the same AAU program, MoKan Elite, that IU freshman Juwan Morgan played for in high school.

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IU offers 2017 5-star forward from Michigan

Brian Bowen – SF – 2017

Saginaw, Mich. – Arthur Hill High School/Michigan Mustangs

247Sports Composite: 5-star, No. 12

ESPN: 5-star, No. 16

Rivals: 5-star, No. 7

Scout: 5-star, No. 12

Offers: Boston College, Iowa, Iowa State, IU, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State, Missouri, North Carolina State, St. John’s, Texas Tech, UNLV, USC

IU offered consensus 6-foot-6, 180-pound, five-star small forward Brian Bowen on Monday – the first day in which coaches could directly call and text class of 2017 recruits – according to his Twitter account.

“Blessed to have received another offer from Indiana University,” he tweeted.

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IU offers 2017 teammate of class of 2016 guard Rawle Alkins

Jose Alvarado – PG – 2017

Queens, N.Y. – Christ The King High School/NY Rens

Verbal Commits: 2-star

Offers: Fordham, Iona, IU, Miami, Seton Hall, VCU

Christ The King (N.Y.) guard Rawle Alkins is one of IU’s top targets for its 2016 recruiting class, and the Hoosiers recently offered Alkins’ high school teammate Jose Alvarado, according to GiveNGoBasketball’s Pat Lawless.

Alvarado is a 6-foot point guard in the 2017 recruiting class who also has offers from Fordham, Iona, Miami, Seton Hall and VCU.

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In-state 2016 center commits to Butler

Joey Brunk, a 6-foot-10 rising senior at Indianapolis’ Southport High School, committed to Butler on Sunday, choosing the Bulldogs over IU, Michigan State, Oklahoma, Purdue and Xavier, among other schools.

He announced his commitment on Twitter: “After much consideration, I’m grateful to say I’ve committed to Butler University. Overjoyed to be a part of the bulldog family. #GoDawgs”

Brunk recently took an official visit to Butler in early June, and it was enough to win him over.

When asked on June 10 what he was looking for in a school, the center said, “I want to find a place where I fit in with the coaching staff, the players, I like the school, somewhere where I can get an education and fit in the scheme. It’s got to be a big overall fit.”

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IU remains ‘in contact’ with Canadian guard Murray

Jamal Murray — G — 2016 (could reclassify to 2015)

Kitchener, Ontario — Orangeville Prep/CIA Bounce

247Sports: 5-star, No. 10

ESPN: 5-star

Rivals: 5-star, No. 15

Scout: 5-star, No. 12

Offers: Florida State, Illinois, IU, Kentucky, Maryland, Michigan State, Missouri, North Carolina State, Ohio State, Oregon, Virginia, Wake Forest

IU has one scholarship available for next season, and the Hoosiers are “in contact” with Canadian guard Jamal Murray, a 6-foot-4, class of 2016 recruit who might reclassify to 2015 and play college basketball next season, according to ESPN’s Jeff Goodman and Jeff Borzello. Murray plays for Canada’s Orangeville Prep, where he’s teammates with 7-footer Thon Maker, another IU target.

In a story published Wednesday, Goodman and Borzello wrote that Kentucky and Oregon are considered the teams to beat in Murray’s recruitment, with Michigan and Michigan State as possible secondary options for the guard. IU is one of three schools - along with Baylor and Missouri - that’s in contact with Murray, according to ESPN.

IU has a talented, yet relatively thin backcourt with only four guards on the roster for next season, especially if the Hoosiers continue to play three-guard lineups. Plus, guards Yogi Ferrell and Nick Zeisloft are heading into their final season of eligibility in 2015-16, and if James Blackmon Jr.‘s NBA stock rises enough, IU could potentially be left with only one returning guard, Robert Johnson, for the 2016-17 season.

Long story short, there are teams in better position than IU in Murray’s recruitment, per ESPN, but there’s one scholarship left for a player to join the offensive-minded Hoosiers, and there could be minutes available in the team’s backcourt.

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IU one of two schools recruiting 2017 PG the hardest

Newark, N.J. (Newark (N.J.) St. Benedict’s Prep/Playaz Basketball Club)

247Sports Composite: 5-star, No. 13

ESPN: 5-star, No. 13

Rivals: 5-star, No. 10

Scout: 5-star, No. 18

Offers: California, Cincinnati, UConn, Louisville, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina State, UNLV, Oregon, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Rutgers, Seton Hall, SMU, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Villanova, Virginia Tech

IU and Oregon are the two schools recruiting class of 2017 point guard Trevon Duval the hardest, according to SNY.tv’s Matt Whitfield.

“I like to get up and down and play with a lot of good guards and also coaches that are comfortable with their guards playing their game,” Duval told SNY.tv about his style of play and what he’s looking for in a college program.

The 6-foot-3 point guard is a consensus top 20 recruit in the class of 2017, and he has nearly 20 offers from schools across the country, but IU has reportedly not offered him a scholarship.

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