Crean headed to Alabama to pursue 4-star recruit

High school juniors and class of 2010 basketball recruits Lavonte Dority, Lenzelle Smith, Jr. and Alex Gauna were among a handful of recruits on campus Saturday for unofficial visits with the IU men’s basketball team.

The recruits met with the coaches and even watched Saturday night’s IU football game from 50-yard-line seats alongside IU players Jeremiah Rivers and Devan Dumes.

While IU coach Tom Crean was the one playing host to the recruits this past weekend, today he is headed down to Birmingham, Ala., according to media reports, where he will be a guest at Shades Valley Technical Academy and likely the home of Class of 2009 recruit Christian Watford who is the No. 34 ranked recruit on Rivals.com and No. 72 Scout.com.

For several weeks, Watford has been known publicly as one of Crean’s top recruiting priority, and with Crean headed to Shades Valley to watch the 6-foot-8 forward work out, rumors are rampant about a verbal commitment.

Crean has already put together a four-man recruiting class for next season that experts might call very good, but Crean is looking to make it great. And adding Watford may just do that.

A commitment from Watford would mean the Hoosiers would be bringing in four four-star recruits — at least according to Scout.com — and thus four of Scout’s current Top 90 prospects for next year.

Just more than two weeks ago, Watford and his entire family made the trip up to IU to attend the Elite Camp. There, Watford and his family mingled with the likes of Isiah Thomas, while the four-star recruit also met with coaches and scrimmaged with other recruits.

While initial reports were indeed favorable for IU and it seemed that Watford still had intended to visit four of his other top schools: Alabama, Kentucky, Louisville and another possible leader, along with IU and Memphis.

John Decker of HoosierNation.com reported Monday that Watford’s father, Ernest, said that IU has made the “push to the top” of his son’s list.

Bobby Capobianco and Jordan Hulls, high school seniors who have committed to IU and also attended the Elite Camp, spoke with the Indiana Daily Student briefly two weeks ago about Watford.

At the camp, Capobianco joked with Watford about how he “looks good” in IU colors, while he told the IDS he was “banking” on either Watford or Roger Franklin committing to play for IU.

However, Franklin is no longer considering the Hoosiers.

Hulls, meanwhile, also had some contact with Watford at the Elite Camp, and he had nothing but positives to say about the IU recruit.

“We played on the same team at the Elite Camp, and we didn’t lose,” Hulls said. “He’s fun to play with because he’s so good, and he’s a mismatch for everybody. He made it easy for me as point guard.”