Bloomington South guard commits to Hoosiers with family appeal

Cindy Valentin, the top girls prep basketball player in Bloomington and a top recruit in the state of Indiana, has signed a letter of intent to play at IU.\nYesterday in the principal's office at Bloomington High School South, Valentin made good on her verbal commitment from the spring and signed with the Hoosiers. The signing capped off a remarkable two days for Valentin. Just the night before her No. 9 Panthers upset Terre Haute South, the top-ranked team in the state. Valentin's close family was on hand for the occasion.\n"I was surprised, I didn't think they were going to offer me (a scholarship) early. I'm just happy I get to stay close to my friends and family and have the opportunity to play in the Big Ten," Valentin said.\nThe 5'8 wing player said she wasn't considering IU until Kathi Bennett took the head coaching job and improved the team.\n"I never even thought about IU until last year, when coach Bennett came in," Valentin said. "She improved the program a lot. I started going to the games and I talked to the coaches and some of the players. I really like the way she coaches, she is such a motivator."\nValentin said she was happy to be able to stay in town, close to her tightly-knit family.\n"I think it's good that my parents can come to my games. We're really close," Valentin said.\nCindy's mom, Berky Alvarez-Valentin agreed it wasn't until a year ago her daughter considered the Hoosiers program, because of an infatuation for a certain east coast basketball powerhouse. After hearing Bennett speak and getting to meet the coach, the entire family was won over.\n"Cindy always dreamed of going to Duke. She'd say, 'I'm going to Duke.' Every year I heard, 'Duke, Duke, Duke,'" Berky said. "It wasn't until last year when she started to say IU. The first time we saw coach Bennett, we went to a luncheon and she was such a motivated speaker and (Cindy) was impressed by her."\nCindy's father, Juan Valentin, said IU also impressed the family by recruiting his daughter as an individual, unlike some other programs, where recruits are a faceless serial number.\n"We've been to some team gatherings and it's like a family. I don't believe (Cindy) is going to be a number, like at some of these other universities that we looked at," Juan said. "For instance, we went to Illinois, and we were just a number with a bunch of recruits. (Indiana was) more individualized."\nThird year Bloomington South coach Larry Winters believes IU is getting a special player. This season, Cindy is averaging an impressive 21.9 ppg.\n"She's made a tremendous impact (at BHSS) from the standpoint that not only is she a good player, but she's a great person and a great student," Winters said. "Not only do people from our school and our faculty like and respect her, but people from all over the state respect what she's done.\n"She's improved her game. Every year she's added something different to her basketball game."\nCindy's self-description reads like a prototype for a coach Bennett player.\n"I play with a lot of heart. I'm a hustler. I'll always work hard," a somewhat bashful Valentin said.\nWinters has seen Cindy put in the extra effort over the years to maker herself a Division I caliber player.\n"A lot of players in the state have potential. It takes a little bit of extra work for it to come out," Winters said. "She'd stay late, she'd come early. She'd put in extra work, not just on the court, but in the weight room. She's put in a lot of time to have the opportunity to play for a team like Indiana."\nThe strong academic reputation of the business school also played a role in Valentin's decision to come to IU. Her mom believes that IU's strong academics will help her daughter after her basketball career is finished.\n"I really feel privileged for her to go to a great academic school," Berky said. "She's going to be going to the business school. That was our main concern that she went to a school that if basketball for some reason ended for her, she'd be helped. Being close to home is a bonus"