Former IU guard Armon Bassett is headed to UAB , where he will play under the coach who recruited him to IU, Mike Davis. Bassett will be eligilble to play in 2009-10, the same year when the Blazers will likely add prized recruit DeMarcus Cousins (No. 6 class of 2009 recruit according to Rivals and Scout.com), an Alabama native and high school teammate of IU’s Nick Williams, who verbally committed to play for Davis back in February.

Still no final word on Jordan Crawford’s destination after his mother told the Lexington, Ky. paper there would be an annoucement this past weekend. Sources have pointed to Xavier, although when former IU commit Terrell Holloway signed with the Musketeers back in the spring, he snatched up the final scholarship that became available when a Xavier player transferred out. Adrion Graves, once thought to be another Musketeer on his way out of the Xavier program, is still with the team and playing in Cincinnati’s Deveroes Summer League.

Scout.com released an updated class of 2009 rankings list and three of the four IU commits are on it: Derek Elston (81), Jordan Hulls (92) and Maurice Creek (97). Each of those are four-star recruits, while Bobby Capobianco is a three-star recruit and rated the No. 45 best power foward in the class.

Minnesota-bound Royce White is ranked No. 32 in the class, Illinois has three commits between No. 46 and 80, Michigan State has the No. 7 (53 overall) and No. 12 (86) -ranked centers and Lawrence North’s Jeff Robinson (Purdue) is at No. 87.

Only two of the top 11 propsects have committed, while 16 of the 25 five-stars have yet to choose their college destinations. Elston and Hulls and the Purdue-bound Robinson are the only Hoosier State recruits on the list.

Dick Vitale, hate him or love him, wrote a nice little column about IU on his webpage. He says give Tom Crean three years and the Hoosiers will be competing for Big Ten Honors.

From the moment Jeremiah Rivers announced his intentions to transfer to IU from Georgetown, Hoosier fans quickly latched on to the possibility of Doc Rivers’ other son, Austin, heading to IU in three years. FoxSports.com’s Jeff Goodman says, “the consensus is that Austin is clearly more talented than his older bro.”

Unfortunately for IU fans (and many other major programs), that came from Goodman in an article reporting that Austin has verbally committed to play for Billy Donovan at Florida. Of course a lot can change in the next three years, but for now Jeremiah’s talented “bro” is off the market.

Sylvia Crawford, mother of former IU guard Jordan Crawford, has told the Lexington Herald-Leader that there isn’t a chance Jordan will transfer to Kentucky. She did say, however, that an announcement will be made this week, as the Detroit native will choose between Xavier, Cincinnati, Texas, Oklahoma and Central Michigan.

The Indy Star is reporting that the IU basketball team is dropping two additional scholarships in anticipation of penalties for the Academic Progress Rate. The mass exodus of players this season will undoubtedly hurt the APR, which is a measure of academic achievement and graduation.

This leaves IU with 10 scholarships instead of the usual 13. One scholarship was taken away during the self-imposed penalties stemming from actions by former coach Kelvin Sampson and his staff.

We are trying to contact IU officials and will keep you updated.

From the IU Athletic Department

Bloomington, Ind. - For the seventh consecutive year, the Indiana University
Varsity Club has seen an increase in annual donations, IU Director of
Athletics Rick Greenspan announced today. With nearly $7.7 million in
donations in 2007-08, this is the fourth year in a row that annual giving
has set a new record for IU Athletics.

The Varsity Club, which has nearly 7,000 members, has seen annual giving
nearly double over the last six years, and the department of athletics is
incredibly appreciative of their generosity.

“On behalf of the IU Varsity Club National Board of Directors, I would like
to personally thank the thousands of IU fans and alumni who continue to
support our wonderful and talented student-athletes and the traditions of IU
Athletics,” Varsity Club National Board of Directors President Jennifer
Sinclair said. “This record-breaking achievement in annual giving is a
testament to the love and loyalty that IU fans have for our University and
for our athletics programs.”

Read the rest of this entry »

Another former Hoosier is getting in on a little NBA summer league action.

Not to one up my boy Engel, but the Miami Heat announced their summer league roster today. The team includes: Michael Beasley, Mario Chalmers, Daequan Cook and everyone’s favorite one-and-done Hoosier (not EJ), Marco Killingsworth.

Killingsworth is listed at 6-foot-7 and a generous 235 pounds. In Marco’s defense, John Daly is listed at 220 pounds on the PGA Tour’s Web site.

I know IU basketball is in a state of mourning right now, but here is a YouTube clip from happier days (also coincidentally known as the Mike Davis Era). If you pause the clip at 11-second mark you can actually see Marco Killingsworth’s career peaking!

Four-star class of 2009 recruit Mike Moser has committed to Arizona according to both Rivals.com and Scout.com. Moser recently told a Washington Huskies writer that UW, Arizona and IU were his top three schools.

This may be good news for Hoosier fans set on bringing in Chistian Watford or Roger Franklin with IU’s last scholarship, although there is a possibility that the NCAA could take away a 2009 scholarship.

Rivals.com released a “tweaked” version of their class of 2009 recruiting rankings. Derek Elston remains at No. 96, while Maurice Creek has dropped eight spots to No. 144. IU targets Christian Watford and Roger Franklin have both jumped in the latest rankings: Watford up from No. 47 to  40, and Franklin up from No. 90 to 76.

Demetrius Walker, who early this summer was rumored to be IU’s next commit, has dropped four positions to No. 90. Lawrence North big man Stephen Van Treese, meanwhile, has continued his plunge down the rankings, dropping from No. 121 to 133.

For a look at notable class of 2010 prospects who are considering IU or have verbally committed to other Big Ten schools (there are many), check the post that snuck in prior to the “Greenspan gone” and “IU failed to monitor” posts under “Previous Entries.”