This afternoon I was able to talk with Rolando Curington, father of 2013 guard R.J. Curington, about his son's recruitment.
R.J. is a 6'5" shooting guard who is currently in his second season at Oak Hill Academy in Mouth of Wilson, Virginia.
Earlier this month, R.J. visited IU and came away very impressed about the potential of becoming a Hoosier.
Rolando said the family's relationship with coach Tom Crean dates back a few years and he is more of a 'mentor' type coach.
"It's a rare breed to not only coach the players but also be a character builder for the guys," Rolando said. "He's just been a motivator and a very knowledgeable type of coach."
Despite not having an official offer from any school, Rolando said his son is receiving calls from schools all over the country and is beginning to set up some visits to take this fall.
Rolando said some other schools the family has interest in include: Harvard, North Carolina, Stanford and Wake Forest.
Academics is something the family holds in high regard when it comes to choosing a college as R.J. has been an honors student since eighth grade and is beginning to take some advanced classes at Oak Hill.
Perennially one of the top high school teams in the nation Oak Hill has had 22 players drafted in the NBA and the high level of competition is one of the main reasons R.J. transferred there.
"He attended a summer camp there at the end of his seventh grade summer and that is when the initial thought of going there came about," Rolando said. "He's in a competitive atmosphere that kind of hardens a player and maturity wise he is ready for that kind of lifestyle."
This past summer R.J. played for CIA Bounce, which is an AAU team based out of Canada. The Curington family grew up in Dyer, Indiana which is in the northwest section of the state and R.J. previously was apart of the Eric Gordon All Stars. Rolando said the family knows 2013 IU commits and current EG All Stars, Devin Davis and Colin Hartman very well.
With IU's 2012 class being ranked No. 1 in the country by some recruiting services, Rolando said the chance to play with the nation's elite is definitely something the family is looking for in a school.
"He is more of a stat stuffer type player and we certainly want to put him in an atmosphere where they surround talent around him," Rolando said.
My Thoughts: Rolando seemed very high on his son's interest in IU. Obviously, the Hoosiers haven't formally offered the 2013 guard yet, but I got the indication that an offer from Tom Crean would go a long way in the recruitment of R.J. With junior Maurice Creek out of eligibility in 2013, an offer to R.J. would seem to make sense with no shooting guard in the mold of Creek currently on the roster. Both Davis and Hartman seem to be in more of the small forward to power forward role. The 2012 class does have guard Ron Patterson committed and is still in the thick of the Gary Harris recruitment.
