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I caught up with the four Class of 2009 guys on Monday, and we ran a story this morning. Here's some more from the guys, especially Bobby Capobianco, who is always easy to talk to and always so enthusiastic about playing for IU.
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>New IU men’s basketball coach Tom Crean had an interesting first couple months on the job, to say the least. Aside from trying to field a competitive team for the 2008-09 season, Crean also had to work on assembling his coaching staff and trying to convince high school underclassmen like commit Derek Elston to honor his commitment to IU.Elston, sidelined all summer because of knee surgery, is often forgotten because he committed to play for Kelvin Sampson. After getting to know Crean more, however, he still has faith in the program and is still looking forward to being a part of it.“Now that things have progressed and I’ve gotten to see (Crean) more and more, it’s becoming that real good relationship that I had with Coach Sampson,” Elston said. “He’s saying the same stuff: He’s always going to be there for me, and he’s going to try to make me the best player I can be. I’m real happy that I’m going to be coached by him now.”Elston said he has three weeks of surgery rehab left, and although he hasn’t been able to play, he did make it to the Indiana Elite Camp this past weekend and met IU commit Bobby Capobianco for the first time and “hung out” with IU commit and Bloomington South guard Jordan Hulls.“Seeing them and hearing what Coach had to say about me and all the guys put together, it was really fun,” Elston said. “It was real nice to be there with everybody there.”Lucky for Crean, he didn’t have to do a whole lot of convincing of former Marquette target Capobianco, as he landed the big man in just more than two weeks since taking over the basketball program. Crean then picked up verbal commitments from four-star recruit Maurice Creek in early May and Hulls just a couple weeks later. This summer, Hulls – the No. 106 overall recruit in his class, according to Rivals.com and No. 80, according to Scout.com – found time between AAU events to attend some open gyms and met and played with most of the guys on this year’s IU squad.“It was good getting to run up and down with them and getting used to playing with them for when I get there next year,” he said. “Our chemistry will be good and Coach Crean will have us doing what we need to do. I think we’ll be really good in the next couple years.”The current four-man class may be asked to carry much of the load in 2009-10, but Creek, ranked No. 59 by Rivals.com and No. 45 by Scout.com, is well aware of that.“We have one goal,” he said, alluding to winning a national championship. “Just because we’re a freshman group don’t mean freshman groups can’t pull things out. ... We’ve got a good, talented group in that class.”But Crean is not finished building the 2009 recruiting class. He has one scholarship available and has long been after Alabama’s Christian Watford (No. 34 on Rivals.com and No.72 on Scout.com) and Texas native Roger Franklin (No. 90 on Rivals.com and No. 43 on Scout.com), both of whom have IU among their top five schools. “I’m still banking that either Roger or Christian will commit, and that would be good,” Capobianco said. Watford made a return visit to IU with his entire family this past weekend, although he is not expected to make a decision until the fall. He’s also planning visits to Alabama, Kentucky, Memphis and Louisville. Capobianco has known Watford for about a year and joked with him about how good he looks in IU colors, while Hulls also had a little contact with the Shades Valley High School star.“He’s fun to play with because he’s so good and he’s a mismatch for everybody,” Hulls said. “He made it easy for me as a point guard. ... I put my two cents in and told him what a great opportunity IU is for him.”While Watford and Franklin have been on IU’s radar all summer, an even bigger name is planning a visit to IU. Dominic Cheek, the No. 16 recruit in the class of 2009 according to Rivals.com and No. 15 according to Scout.com, told multiple sources that he will visit IU. The New Jersey prep star was first targeted by Crean at Marquette, and has a good relationship with new IU assistant coach Roshown McLeod.
We ran a story today on IU's latest commit, sophomore Matt Carlino from Phoenix. Here's a bit more from Carlino, as well as a lot more from his father/high school coach, Mark:
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Highland High School (Ariz.) sophomore Matt Carlino verbally committed to play for IU on Saturday, ending both his recruitment and the accompanying stresses of being highly touted without a college destination. “(IU coach Tom Crean) told me that when I get there that I’ll be an impact player at Indiana,” Carlino said. “He told me he wants to get me to the next level, and he thinks he can do that for me. I know he can. I just have a lot of faith in Coach Crean – in the way he can develop me as a player.”Carlino’s father and high school coach, Mark, is well aware of the benefit of his 16-year-old son ending his recruitment early and says they can now use the next few years to make sure he improves his basketball game.“When you’re in the process, when you’re being hunted by all these coaches, you tend to play for them, and you don’t play for yourself or your team,” Mark Carlino said on Monday. “Now he can just really get down and dirty and try to develop his game, play for himself and the teammates he’s playing with and just get himself as ready as possible – as ready as he can be for Indiana when he gets there.”The younger Carlino measured in at 6-foot-2 and one-half inches and 170 pounds this past weekend, and although he’s listed as a combo guard, the sophomore from Phoenix considers himself “more of a point guard.” Recruiting service Scout.com already lists Carlino as a 4-star recruit, while the Hoop Scoop recently tabbed him as the No. 16 prospect in the class of 2011.Carlino received a scholarship offer from Crean in June when he was in town for a team camp. This past weekend the entire Carlino family made it back to Bloomington for the second Elite Camp, and it was only a matter of time between interacting with the coaches and seeing some of the famous IU alumni that Carlino knew where he wanted to play.“He was always very high on Indiana ever since we were there for the team camp, and I think just having been there again and really kind of confirming in his own mind from which he liked it, I think he decided,” his father said. Carlino calls the IU basketball tradition “unbelievable” and said it’s “hard not to love” Bloomington. It’s Crean and the rest of the coaching staff, though, that really sold him on coming to IU.Although Carlino averaged more than 16 points per game as a freshman, the sophomore said he needs to improve his consistency, instead of just the occasional spectacular play. Carlino’s father said he needs to get stronger and shoot more consistently, but both he and the IU coaches would also like to see him become a leader on the court.“More than anything, I think, and this is also Coach Crean who has talked to him about this, he needs to really become one of those leaders who brings the best out of his teammates and make them better,” Mark Carlino said.While Carlino shied away from listing his strengths, knowing he “can improve on everything,” future IU teammates Jordan Hulls and Bobby Capobianco – both commits for 2009 – were sold on the sophomore at this weekend’s Elite Camp.Hulls said Carlino is a “real strong, tough player” who can play both ends of the floor well, and he’s “glad that he’s going to come to IU.” Capobianco said they scrimmaged on the same team this weekend and was impressed with his game, his basketball IQ and his athleticism. “In layup lines he was throwing down windmill dunks, and any kid that can do that of any height is super athletic,” Capobianco said. “I’m really excited.”
Matt Carlino, a 6-foot-2 sophomore combo guard from Arizona, has verbally committed to play at IU. Carlino, already a four-star recruit according to Scout.com, also has made the ESPN 100 Watch List for 2011. Carlino has been in Bloomington this weekend attending IU's Elite Camp.
1. Derrick Favors, C - IU not in his recently named top ten schools, but Hoosiers could get a look from the Atlanta Celtics (AAU) star as a result of the hiring of former Celtics' coach Roshown McLeod.
As expected, IU recruit Maurice Creek has jumped up in Rivals.com's lastest class of 2009 rankings...a lot. Creek moved down from 138 to 144 in the July 1 edition of the rankings, but he now stands at 59 in his class, 16th among shooting guards. Here's a list of IU recruits, both commits and major targets.
Scout.com has released a list of the ten biggest names in the class of 2011. Austin Rivers, ranked No. 4 and brother of current IU guard Jeremiah Rivers, is the only recruit of the ten verbally committed to a school (Florida). Most notable on the list is Indianapolis Pike High School point guard Marques Teague, ranked No. 5.
Bob McClellan and Andrew Skwara from Rivals.com pose an interesting question in this week's Monday Tip: will IU finish last in the Big Ten? McClellan says yes, Skwara says no. Where do you think IU will finish?
As if Austin Starr's game-winning field goal or even Kelvin Sampson's last game as IU head coach didn't call enough attention to the IU-Purdue rivalry, the Cream and Crimson and Black and Gold have gained more national recognition by way of Newsweek magazine. Newsweek has featured 12 of the top college rivalries in its lasted issue, and right there on pages five and six of the online edition is Indiana and Purdue (and quotes from IDS sports editor Ben Homrig). Michelle Keesling, a recent Purdue graduate, is quoted as saying: "We didn't create that rivalry, but we sure as hell won't let it die."
IU has been listed as one of the schools of interest for California native Tyler Lamb ever since Rivals.com released its Top 100 list for the class of 2010 back in late June. Lamb's interest in the Hoosiers seems to have grown in the last several weeks though, saying that IU is "one of the top schools right now." The Colony High School and Pump-N-Run Elite star is a four-star recruit rated No. 46 and No. 96 by Scout.com and Rivals.com, respectively, and Scout once called Lamb "one of the more talented talented freshmen in the west"
Class of 2009 recruit and IU commit Maurice Creek had an impressive showing late last month at the Reebok Championships in Las Vegas. His stock slipped a bit when he was focusing on his school work and didn't make it out to the early summer AAU tournaments, but he didn't disappoint in the Sin City. Here's a bit more on the future Hoosier from the Louisville Courier-Journal's Jody Demling.
Gary Parrish of CBSSports.com has done an interesting piece on the somewhat controversial Elite Camps. There seems to be a lot of mention about recruits attending Elite Camps, but how many of us really know what they are about? Read the article and let us know if you think they are fair and should be allowed by the NCAA?
Jody Demling caught up with Derek Elston and spoke with the Tipton High forward about his recovery from knee surgery and his excitement about becoming a Hoosier.
Meyers Leonard, a 6-foot-10 center from Robinson, Ill. and an IU target, has chosen to play basketball at the University of Illinois. Leonard, ranked No. 43 in the class of 2010 according to Scout.com, will join Jerome Richardson (No. 11) and Crandall Head (No. 12), who have also verbally comitted to play for Bruce Weber in 2010. With Illinois' loaded class and Ohio State already having two top ten commits (Jared Sullinger and DeShaun Thomas), it will be interesting to see what Tom Crean can accomplish on the recruiting trail these next few years.
Travis Steele, a former video coordinator and assistant coach for IU the past two years, has been hired as Director of Basketball Operations at Xavier. Steele was promoted to the assistant coach position in February, the same month the Sampson saga took a turn for the worst. Here's an interesting tidbit from his profile on the Musketeers' Web site: "He was also responsible for tracking the academic progress of the student-athletes"
Class of 2009 recruit Maurice Creek put on quite a show at the Reebok Summer Classic in Las Vegas on Tuesday. Creek scored 29 points in DC Triple Threats's win against Belmont Shore, with the 6-foot-5 guard showing off the shooting skills we have all heard about. Creek, who most recently played his high school ball at Connecticut's South Kent Prep, will be playing next year at the well-known Hargrave Military Academy. One of his teammates at Hargrave will be current Triple Threat teammate Chris Braswell, who had 11 points in Tuesday's win and told the Louisville Courier-Journal's Jody Demling the Hoosiers have offered him a scholarship (see above link).
With one scholarship remaining, Tom Crean continues his search for the final piece of the 2009 recruiting class. Two of the biggest names Crean is after are Christian Watford (No. 40 Rivals.com, No. 47 Scout.com) and Roger Franklin (76/49). While Crean has a limited number of days he can go on the road to recruit, Mike Pegram from Peegs.com is reporting that Watford is planning on returning to Bloomington for an other unofficial visit late this summer (he was in town for the adidas May Classic this spring).
Start making those flash cards because the Cream and Crimson finally have numbers, according to the roster on IUHoosiers.com. With 11 new faces on the team, you might as well start learning the numbers now, and it is never to early to place an order for a No. 40 jersey (Tijan Jobe) at the Varsity Shop. Malik Story is the only incoming player who hasn't been assigned a number, but he told me in June that he has worn "34" since the sixth grade and also likes "22," both of which are available.
In what may be the final installment of "Where is that former Hoosier playing?" (although the rumors of Jamarcus Ellis transferring to Northern Kentucky University have not been confirmed), Rivals.com is reporting that former IU wing Brandon McGee is transferring to Auburn.
