Fans buying into recruiting debacle

For Hoosier fans, March Madness has taken on a different meaning.

It’s not about the NCAA tournament any more, and it probably won’t be for another couple of years. Instead, Hoosier Hysteria has been funneled into the recruiting scene, and one name in particular is quickly becoming the first of every IU fan’s lips.

Moses Abraham is a tall young man at 6 feet 9 inches, but this Nigeria native has become larger than life in the eyes of the Hoosier faithful. A four-star recruit on Rivals, Abraham has become the focal point of a lot of talk in the sports blogs, message boards and the backs of fans’ minds.

Abraham was supposed to make his decision on Selection Sunday at midnight, after meeting with his mentor from Nigeria. While waiting for that decision to come, I drank seven cups of coffee, had conversations with several other members of the media via Twitter, watched as the number of people on the Rivals message board climbed to over 1,500, watched as that number dwindled under 500 for the first time (around 2 a.m.) and then went to sleep at 3 a.m.

Obviously, no decision came that night.

Next came news that Abraham might be making his decision at 7 p.m. the next day. As I settled down with my computer and some delicious Mexican food from a restaurant back home, I thought about the implications of the night before.

Last year, IU coach Tom Crean brought in three four-star recruits (IU freshmen Maurice Creek, Christian Watford and Derek Elston) and three three-star recruits (Bobby Capobianco, Jordan Hulls and Bawa Muniru), giving him the No. 8 recruiting class in the nation.

This year, he has signed two players — Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey. Neither crack the top 125 players in the nation, while last year only one player (Capobianco) was unable to do so. There is no comparison to last year’s class — with or without Abraham.

Maybe that is one of the reasons IU fans are so excited about the possibility of Abraham’s commitment. While this recruiting class is by no means weak, it isn’t strong by the standards of past IU classes. After all, as Crean often says, “It’s Indiana.”

That’s what is making the choice so hard for Abraham. The fact that this is, in fact, Indiana — and that he could be one of the members of “The Next Generation” to help bring IU back to the forefront — is appealing to him.

Crean is also making a hard sell for the Hoosiers. Meetings with Abraham’s guardian Joe Boncore that Sunday night and with Abraham on Tuesday have caused him to delay his decision until he has visited Bloomington. That visit is slated for this Tuesday.

Something tells me that without Crean, Abraham would have committed to Georgetown, the other school high on his list, on that Sunday night. For IU to compete for the services of someone new to the country with the Hoyas, a team that made the NCAA tournament this year and began speaking to Abraham almost as soon as he reached the States, is in and of itself impressive.

Not that IU fans will care if they’re second to Georgetown when it comes time for Abraham to make a decision. If Crean fails to reel him in, this class will be the second-worst since Rivals started rating recruits online and the worst of Crean’s short tenure.

Still, this amount of pandemonium is unacceptable.

Simple rules for IU basketball fans:
1. Don’t rush the court. Period.
2. Never mention a man whose name rhymes with Melvin Hampson.
3. Don’t get this drawn into the hype surrounding a four-star recruit. IU is a five-star school. We can — and have — done better.

Regardless of whether or not IU lands Abraham, this team will be a contender in the coming years. The 2011-12 classes are bursting with talent interested in IU, top-tier players who haven’t even come close to reaching their ceiling.

Abraham is a good player. He rebounds well, can score and is an athletic defender and shot-blocker. But by no means is he the end-all-be-all of IU basketball, even in these desperate times.

Fans need to remember: “It’s Indiana.”

Now it’s time to act like it.