Etherington valued on, off court

For the better part of the offseason, IU men’s basketball coach Tom Crean has often brought up the program’s need to pick up its pace on the 2010 recruiting class. In modern times, one recruit committing can be one of the biggest factors in landing another.

On Aug. 3, the Hoosiers got that big, in-state pickup in Hamilton Heights High School junior-to-be Austin Etherington. The 6-foot-6 shooting guard had an impressive tournament last month in Las Vegas and has never looked back. His performance this summer landed him a scholarship offer from Crean in late June.

Consider the benefits of this early commit: AAU players constantly mingle these days due to the plethora of tournaments requiring teams to travel the country. Etherington still has another year of AAU ball, and his word of mouth is something that Crean and his staff can use to their advantage.

When Crean travels around the state next summer and hits the trail to sell IU to players calling the state of Indiana home, he has a name to throw out. Jeremiah Davis, rated as a four-star prospect by Rivals.com and currently sought after by IU, is a teammate of Etherington. Think there won’t be some sales time on Etherington’s part?

Despite the slow start on the class of 2010, Hoosier nation should feel good about its jump on 2011, especially if Crean does land blue-chip point guard Marquis Teague.
The talent pool a year from now could be enormous.

Even with the departure of Devan Dumes at season’s end, the roster will still be rather similar to the Hoosiers of both the past and this upcoming season. Spots will still be filled with promising, young talent ready to fill the void that March (or April) of 2011 will bring.

What Etherington brings to that talent pool is awareness. One knack, which probably made coaches turn their heads, was his ability to be the first person down the floor in transition. His deep range made it easy for taking advantage of an open 3-pointer, or hitting a trailer coming down the lane for a layup.

Etherington also moves without the ball as well as anyone I’ve seen lately. Couple this with his high basketball IQ, and someone of his size and range can be deadly. There are some quickness issues that Crean and strength and conditioning coach Jeff Watkinson will need to work on, but once that happens, look out.

Landing a guy like Kyrie Irving could make a combo for the ages. With two players of exceptional size for the respective positions up top, mismatches in the post could be created much easier.