As many of you know by now, 2011 recruit Cody Zeller (Washington, Ind.) will be making his official visit to IU this weekend.
Zeller, a five-star power forward ranked as the No. 20 overall player in the class by Rivals.com, has narrowed his final list to IU, North Carolina and Butler. He has already made his official visits to both Indianapolis and Chapel Hill, so this will be the final part of his recruiting process.
On Friday Zeller will be at the "Night of the Living Red" at Assembly Hall, in which a scrimmage with the Hoosiers' players will take place.
The implications this weekend has on the future of IU basketball are enormous. IU coach Tom Crean has been after Zeller since he was came to Bloomington and its no secret that he's the most coveted target at this point for the Hoosiers.
On top of his overall skill-set, adding Zeller could provide a domino effect for many other recruits. His name alone in the state - both of his older brothers, Luke and Tyler, won Indiana Mr. Basketball - has a big effect on other players.
He also has good relationships with many of the recruits IU is targeting.
The biggest is 2012 guard Kevin 'Yogi' Ferrell (Indianapolis), who is the No. 2 point guard and No. 17 overall player in the class of 2012. Ferrell plays on the same AAU team, Indiana Elite, as Zeller and Etherington and has been on campus multiple times in the last month for unofficial visits.
Ferrell is expected to be in Bloomington for "Night of the Living Red" with Zeller and 2012 target Hanner Perea (LaPorte, Ind.). Perea, a 6-foot-10 power forward from La Lumiere School, is the No. 10 overall player in the class.
Considering where the Hoosiers are as a program and what they have gone through recently, I have only one question: Is this the most important weekend for IU recruiting in the last decade?
