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(12/12/08 3:32am)
Actually, that may not be true. What is, however, is the fact that Crean has The Gambia's Tijan Jobe on this year's squad, and he is set to bring in Ghana-native Bawa Muniru next year. He apparently has his eyes on 2010 recruit from Sudan, according to a post from SportsNet New York (SNY) blogger and recruiting expert Adam Zagoria.
(12/10/08 2:53am)
Bobby Capobianco was cleared to play tonight for Loveland High School (Ohio), and did versus the top team in Ohio, the Princeton Vikings. The Tigers fell to Princeton, 90-50.
(12/09/08 2:37am)
UPDATE (12/9): Watford went for 34 points and 16 boards last night in an 80-72 Shades Valley win.
Karron Johnson, a four-star power forward who is headed for Oklahoma State next year, has been dismissed from the Mt. Zion Academy (N.C. team). Translation: more playing time for Bawa Muniru.
Rivals.com released its first ever 2010 team recruiting rankings, though certainly many things can change between now and 2010. For the time being, however, Ohio State (1), Illinois (3), Purdue (9) and Wisconsin (10) are set to bring in solid classes. Keep in mind, IU has a stellar class for next year that will have one year of experience on the 2010 recruits at the other schools.
At the DLTR National High School Hoops Festival in Maryland, 2009 IU signee Maurice Creek had an uncharacteristic 11 points in a 79-76 loss on Sunday. He and UMass-bound Freddie Riley shot a combined 4 of 29 from behind the arc, but Riley finished with 22 points. Tom Crean was in the house.
Derek Elston dropped 30 points (12-21 FG) and grabbed 14 rebounds in a 43 point 'W' against Delphi on Friday night. Elston also converted four of his seven three-point attempts, and now is just 18 points from the 1,000-point milestone.
Last Thursday, Shades Valley High School (Ala.) dropped its first game of the season, despite 19 points from Christian Watford. Watford scored 25 the following night, however, giving SVHS (not to be confused with the fictitious Sweet Valley High) its eighth win on the year.
Jordan Hulls, meanwhile, scored 12 points and had four assists and six steals in a BHS South win over the weekend.
(12/05/08 8:41pm)
DeMarcus Cousins, ranked the No. 2 recruit in the Class of 2009 by Rivals.com, never signed with UAB. The Mike Davis recruit verbally committed to the Blazers, but the fall signing period passed without the 6-foot-9 prospect signing on the dotted line.
(12/01/08 7:54pm)
Loveland High School (Ohio) star Bobby Capobianco had the cast removed from his foot last month, but he's still not ready to bump and grind on the court yet.
(11/30/08 2:28am)
Rivals.com reviewed the Big Ten's 2009 recruiting class, and not surprisingly Tom Crean's six-man class leads the conference. Illinois came in at No. 2 and five-star Royce White has Minnesota at No. 3, while Michigan and Purdue follow.
(11/26/08 6:54pm)
Thought I'd slip this in between coverage of yesterday's NCAA ruling (see below) and tonight's seventh place game in Maui:
Scout.com released an updated early team rankings for the class of 2009 recruiting. IU slipped to No. 10. Big Ten foes Minnesota (13) and Illinois (15) are also ranked.
Four-star recruit and Shades Valley High School (Ala.) star Christian Watford scored 26 points in a 13-point victory on Monday. Shades Valley is now 3-0 on the year.
Derek Elston will make his senior season debut tonight with Tipton (Ind.) at Tri-Central.
(11/20/08 12:57pm)
IU recruit Christian Watford sat out most of the second and third quarters of a game yesterday due to foul trouble, but still ended up with 16 points, four rebounds and two blocks. The Shades Valley (Ala.) star scored seven of his points in the fourth quarter. Shades Valley won by 12.
(11/20/08 3:29am)
With No. 6 and No. 7 rankings from Rivals.com and Scout.com, respectively, a No. 8 rating by ESPN.com certainly makes it safe to call Tom Crean's 2009 recruiting class a consensus top 10 class.
(11/19/08 6:50pm)
Bloomington High School South, led by Jordan Hulls among others, is ranked No. 19 in the first USA Today Super 25 boys basketball rankings. Mark your calendars for a Feb. 21 contest versus No. 9 Detroit Country Day, who is led by DaShonte Riley (Georgetown), Donnovan Kirk (Miami), Joe Dumars' son, Jordan (USF), and former BHS North standout Ray McCallum, Jr.
(11/17/08 8:40pm)
Kyrie Irving, the No. 27 high school junior in the nation, according to Rivals.com, visited IU this weekend. The four-star recruit from New Jersey is a stud and would be a major pickup for any school that could land him.
(11/14/08 6:00am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Sixteen is typically a sweet number in college basketball. But for IU coach Tom Crean, a lack of depth on his 16-player roster might leave him a bit sour at times this year, especially with a “razor-thin” frontcourt.But after receiving five signed national letters of intent Wednesday and a sixth Thursday, IU has two guards, three forwards and a center ready to help Crean rebuild the IU basketball program starting next fall.“I think it helps put us in a situation where we can eventually have that consistent depth that you have, and I think that’s so important,” he said at his Thursday press conference.Though Mt. Zion Academy (N.C.) center Bawa Muniru did not get his papers until late Thursday afternoon, Crean did speak about the 2009 recruiting class as a whole. He did not discuss Muniru specifically, per NCAA rules.“It’s a really exciting time for us to know that they stood with us,” Crean said. “They wanted to be a part of this program and we weathered the storm, they weathered the storms. When self doubt can creep in, when you wonder what’s going to happen to a program, everybody stayed strong. I’m really proud of them, and I’m proud of our coaches.”Crean said immediate playing time and style of play were factors for the recruits, but said he also felt the tradition of IU basketball was important.“I think they believed in what Indiana’s all about,” he said. “For some of the young men like Maurice (Creek) to commit when he did before he’d been on a visit, and for Derek (Elston) to stick with us before he’d ever seen us coach (and) for Christian (Watford) to turn down the schools that he turned down, it’s a big deal.”While consensus four-star recruits Creek and Watford might be seen as the faces of the recruiting class, Crean recognizes the significance of all six of the 2009 recruits. In fact, after watching Jordan Hulls play this summer “and seeing what he’s capable of,” Crean said he would have been “miserable,” if the Bloomington South point guard did not end up at IU.“I think he’s got the whole package,” Crean said. “He’s as much of a pure leader that we have recruited since we recruited (current Indiana Pacer) Travis Diener at Marquette. And I know they get a lot of comparisons and rightfully so, and Travis has earned his way into being an NBA player, but Jordan has got a lot of that same demeanor.”Crean said Bobby Capobianco and the aforementioned Elston, both 6-foot-8 forwards, can shoot the ball. But they will also be able to help fill the void down low, a serious problem for the Hoosiers this year.“I think when you look at our front line and you look at the lack of size that we have there, it’s not going to be hard to find a place for four guys 6-foot-8-and-a-half or better,” Crean said. “We need that.”Muniru, listed at 6-foot-11 and 240 lbs. by Scout.com, is also expected to help returning big men Tom Pritchard and Tijan Jobe.In a statement released early Thursday evening, Crean said he will be “someone that brings great size and presence to our front line right off the bat.”Though Crean anticipates having 13 scholarship players next year and also has several walk-ons with the potential to return, he isn’t concerned. “I’d much rather have it be that way than what we’re doing right now, which is searching all the time (to fill the roster),” he said.After all, he’ll have depth.
(11/13/08 11:51pm)
Bawa Muniru has signed, and that makes six for the highly-touted Class of 2009 IU recruiting class.
(11/13/08 4:16am)
____simple_html_dom__voku__html_wrapper____>Tipton (Ind.) High School star Derek Elston was sold on both coach Kelvin Sampson and IU men’s basketball. He verbally committed to the Hoosiers last September. But the 6-foot-8 forward officially placed his trust in a new IU coach, Tom Crean, and signed a national letter of intent Wednesday morning.“I just want to say to the people that I was here from the get-go. I wasn’t going to change my mind, I wasn’t going to go back on my word,” Elston said Wednesday night. Elston said he wanted to play for the Hoosiers when Sampson recruited him, and although he “kind of strayed away” from IU following the Sampson situation, he is eager to play for Crean and be a part of the IU basketball program.“I can’t wait to get down there and play,” Elston said.Wednesday was the first day of a week-long early signing period for high school seniors. Recruits have until Nov. 19 to sign their national letters of intent, but most IU recruits didn’t wait that long.Bobby Capobianco – also a 6-foot-8 forward – signed and faxed his paper work on Wednesday.In April, Capobianco became Crean’s first recruit to verbally commit to IU, including all current players. On Wednesday, he became the first Class of 2009 recruit to sign when he sent in his papers just after 7 a.m.“It feels good. I’m really excited,” he said. “I’m glad that everything’s kind of set in stone now. It’s certainly something I’ve been working toward for a really long time, and it kind of validates all those hours I’ve put in.“It certainly feels more like I’m a part of something I know, rather just kind of a speculative, ‘I’m going to IU.’”Jordan Hulls, Capobianco’s friend and AAU teammate, was next to send in his signed papers, though the Bloomington High School South point guard could have just as easily walked them to Assembly Hall. Highly touted wing Maurice Creek also joined in on the signing party “at about 11 (a.m.),” he said. The Hargrave Military Academy standout signed his letter of intent, along with five Hargrave teammates.“It feels good man,” Creek said. “I’m just ready to get there now. It feels good to sign a (national) letter of intent.”When Creek verbally committed May 4, the 6-foot-5 shooting guard had yet to even set foot on campus. A late-September visit to IU confirmed he wanted to take his game to Bloomington. “I’m really excited because now I see what my home is looking like, and I’m just ready to get in there and do the school work and play basketball there,” he said.With four letters of intent in, only four-star recruit Christian Watford and three-star center Bawa Muniru were still unsigned.Just after 7:30 p.m., Watford’s father, Ernest, said he had just sent his son’s signed papers to IU.“I did about 20 or 30 minutes ago ... 20 minutes ago,” Ernest Watford said. “That’s confirmed.”A press conference will be held Friday afternoon in Birmingham, Ala., where the younger Watford will officially celebrate his signing.By press time Wednesday, it was unclear whether Muniru had signed with the Hoosiers, though he is still expected to join IU. If Muniru signs, the center will finish off a consensus top 10 recruiting class that already boasts two guards and three forwards.“Our class coming next – we’ve got size (and) we’ve got a whole bunch of talent to add on to what Coach Crean has right now,” Elston said. “It shows me that something good’s going to come out of this.”Capobianco echoed that statement, saying, “I think we’re going to be able to do great things.”While Ernest Watford won’t be putting on an IU jersey, he is still optimistic about what his son and future teammates can achieve at IU.“We look forward to coming up there and winning some national championships,” he said.
(11/13/08 3:32am)
The Big Ten Network apparently reported Bawa Muniru's letter of intent was in, but in fact it was not.
(11/12/08 11:38pm)
I'm quickly trying to get an article in for tomorrow, but just minutes ago (7:33 p.m.) I spoke to Ernest Watford, Christian's father, who said the signed papers were sent in.
(11/12/08 1:57pm)
The early signing period for basketball, as well as several other sports, runs today through next Wednesday, Nov. 19.
(11/11/08 3:48pm)
With the early signing period beginning on Wednesday, there seemed to be no doubt IU would receive signed paper work from Bobby Capobianco, Maurice Creek, Derek Elston, Jordan Hulls and Christian Watford.
(11/08/08 3:54pm)
Bobby Capobianco, the first Class of 2009 recruit to commit to play for Tom Crean, had a cast removed from his left foot on Tuesday, according to Mike Dyer of the Cincinnati Enquirer. The healing process seems to be going well, but the Loveland High School (Ohio) big man may miss the first two games for the Tigers this year.
(11/07/08 3:17pm)
Can't say many of you really want to hear about former Sampson guys, but a team-high 16-point effort from Deandre Thomas's helped lead NAIA Robert Morris College (Ill.) over Northwestern in an exhibition game last night.