Christian Watford and other basketball discussion.

While football season is just recently underway, IU is in its bye week, and for that reason I'll be writing about basketball a bit this week. In the breaking news category, however, IU added the fifth prospect to its 2009 recruiting class today with a verbal commitment from 6-7 small forward Christian Watford of Birmingham, Alabama (per Peegs and other sources). Watford is ranked #34 in the Rivals rankings and joins #59 Maurice Creek, #98 Derek Elston, #106 Jordan Hulls, and unranked Bobby Capobianco. Despite the threat of NCAA sanctions, Tom Crean has assembled a strong first recruiting class that should improve IU's team immediately.

Also, IU released the basketball schedule last week. Among the highlights:

• As noted earlier, IU opens the Maui classic with its first game since 2004 against traditional rival Notre Dame.
• IU plays at Wake Forest in the ACC-Big Ten Challenge.
• IU plays Gonzaga at Lucas Oil Stadium on December 6 as part of a doubleheader that also features Ohio State and Notre Dame.
• For the third consecutive year, the IU-Kentucky game is at a campus venue, this time at Rupp.
• This is the second year of a Big Ten scheduling cycle and the second year of the return to an 18 game conference schedule. IU plays Michigan only at home and Purdue only on the road. While it may be to IU's benefit this year, let me again note the absurdity of the Big Ten's stubborn refusal to protect basketball rivalries.

Again, I hope to add some more basketball discussion as the week progresses.

Crean's contract and other basketball notes.

I'll get back to football as soon as possible, but there has been some basketball news recently. First, Tom Crean now has signed his 10-year contract. Here's the .pdf from the Indianapolis Star. It might be fun to do a line-by-line comparison with Sampson's contract, but here are a few highlights:

• Lots of NCAA compliance language throughout.
• The language on page 4, in paragraph 2.02, is interesting. It allows discipline, up to and including termination, if Crean is involved in any act or omission that "may give rise" to a finding that he or his staff violated any NCAA rules. Nice hindsight language that would have saved IU some money had it been in Sampson's contract.
• IU agreed to pay up to $650,000 of his liquidated damages (i.e. buyout) owed to Marquette. Maybe this had been reported previously, but I don't remember it.
• Crean's base salary is $600,000 for the entire term of the contract, and his guaranteed compensation ranges from $1.4 million in year 1 to $2.1 million in year 10.
• The employment termination provisions begin on page 11. Obviously, I hope that these never see the light of day again, but considering what we have gone through recently, I can't help but compare this contract to Sampson's contract. In the case of Crean's resignation, he would owe $3 million in years 1-3, $2 million in years 4-5, and $1 million in years 6-10. In the "for cause" section, the "may give rise" language mentioned above appears again. I always thought IU was in a better position with Sampson than Ohio State was with O'Brien, but this language is much better: it leaves little doubt that IU could fire Crean based on a mere notice of violation by the NCAA.
• The procedures for termination for cause, which begin on page 14, include provisions for suspension with or without pay. The cliche about fighting the last war comes to mind. Now that we have a coach with a reputation for integrity, we have the sort of contractual provisions that would have been helpful in dealing with the Sampson situation.
• If Michael McRobbie resigns or is terminated as IU's president, Crean has the right to renegotiate the appeal process of the "termination for just cause" provisions. Interesting.
• If IU wants to fire Crean without cause (i.e., if he does a bad job), IU will owe the lesser of $3 million or the base salary for the years remaining. That amounts to $3 million if he's fired in the first five years, $2.4 million if fired after year 6, and so on.

Lots of interesting stuff, but again, I hope I never have to look at this contract again.

In other news, this is way late, but IU hired Roshown McLeod to fill its last assistant coaching position. McLeod graduated from Duke, but played his first two years of college basketball at St. John's. Perhaps most significantly, McLeod is a product of Bob Hurley's Jersey City St. Anthony's program. This suggests that recruiting metro New York will be a high priority for Crean.

Other people's work.

Not much time for original content today, but:

• Mike at Black Shoe Diaries (Penn State) has posted a less-than-optimistic preview of the 2008 Hoosiers. He is predicting 4-0 in the non-con, 0-8 in the Big Ten. I'll certainly be disappointed if the season turns out that way, but as always, Mike is very thorough. In IU circles, optimism is high, considering IU's 2007 record and Bill Lynch's recent recruiting success, so it's worthwhile to consider how an outsider views the state of the program. As Mike notes, last year he predicted that IU would finish 3-9, so the prediction game is tough even for the most thoughtful and detail-oriented bloggers. Let's hope he's wrong in 2008.
• Louisville is host to some big recruiting shindig. It's not my cup of tea, but be sure to check out Inside the Hall and Hoosier Scoop for ongoing reports.

Malik Story.

The Indianapolis Star and other sources report that IU recently received a commitment from Malik Story, a 6-5 guard from Los Angeles. Story, like four other of Tom Crean's recruits, will join Matt Roth and Tom Pritchard as scholarship newcomers who are eligible to play immediately. Counting former walk-on Kyle Taber, IU now has eight scholarship players for 2008-09. Story, as the article notes, originally committed to USC as a sophomore and changed his mind a few weeks ago. This LA Times blog describes Story as:

one of the most sought-after prospects in the nation back when he was a junior at Artesia.

Story transferred briefly to Oak Hill Academy in Virginia before returning to California. This article suggests that Story was asked to leave Oak Hill for some sort of incident that was "not of a criminal nature." In any event, the Star article certainly indicates a strong family background, so we shall see. The big mystery to me is why he didn't sign with USC in November.

So, here's where that leaves us:

Returning scholarship players: former invited walk-on Kyle Taber (Sr.).

Incoming scholarship players who will be eligible in 2008-09: Tom Pritchard (F/C from Ohio, freshman); Matt Roth (G from Illinois, freshman); Devan Dumes (guard from Decatur Central/Eastern Michigan/Vincennes, junior); Nick Williams (guard from Alabama, former Marquette recruit); Verdell Jones (guard from Illinois); Tijan Jobe (center from Olney Central JC, junior).; Malik Story (guard from California).

Incoming scholarship players who will be eligible in 2009-10: Jeremiah Rivers (guard from Georgetown, two years of eligibility)

Returning walk-ons: Brett Finkelmeier (sophomore guard).

Incoming walk-ons: Daniel Moore (guard from Carmel); Kory Barnett (guard from Rochester); Broderick Lewis (guard from Lafayette Jefferson)

Incoming freshmen, 2009-10: Derek Elston (forward, Tipton); Bobby Capobianco (forward, Ohio); Maurice Creek (guard, Connecticut); Jordan Hulls (guard, Bloomington South).

More basketball recruiting news.

I am neglecting the football team and have a post somewhat planned, but every time I get a spare moment I read about another basketball recruiting development. Where to begin:

2008 recruiting

Given the decimated roster, Tom Crean continues to build the coming season's Hoosiers:

• Yesterday, IU signed Tijan Jobe, a 7-footer from Olney Central Junior College. Per the Hoosier Scoop and other sources, Jobe is a project. He has been in the United States for only four years (it's unclear to me from the brief reports whether he played basketball before coming to the US) and averaged only 3 points and 3 rebounds per game. As a 7-footer in junior college.
• Also per Chris Korman of Hoosier Scoop, 6-10 Maurice Sutton, perhaps the best 2008 player still on the board, is expected to announce today whether he will attend IU, Villanova, or Seton Hall.
• Emmanuel Negedu, a 6-6 power forward who played AAU ball for Bloomington-based Indiana Elite, has been released by Arizona. Lute Olson expects Negedu to land at either IU or Memphis (the latter being the current home of the assistant who recruited Negedu to Arizona).
• Via Inside the Hall, Broderick Lewis of Lafayette Jeff will join the Hoosiers as a preferred walk-on. He averaged about nine points a game for an excellent team as a senior. Lewis apparently was considering Division II and junior college offers.

It's still not likely that the 2008-09 Hoosiers will be any good, but Crean has done a nice job rebuilding without making any obvious sacrifices in quality (I'm giving Jobe the benefit of the doubt--he's a raw 7 footer, which is almost always worth the risk given IU's situation). Assuming no further attrition, IU will have nine scholarship players, including six newcomers, four of whom were recruited by Crean. IU could add Sutton, Negedu, or both.

2009 recruiting

• Jordan Hulls of Bloomington South, a point guard who apparently has enhanced his reputation during the AAU season, committed to IU yesterday (once again courtesy the Hoosier Scoop). Hulls had been offered by Purdue and apparently was hoping to be offered by Duke and/or Stanford, but decided to make the move now.

So, the future IU roster is ever-changing. Here's the update, which, again could change in the near future:

Returning scholarship players: Jordan Crawford (Soph.), Brandon McGee (Soph.), and former invited walkon Kyle Taber (Sr.).

Incoming scholarship players who will be eligible in 2008-09: Tom Pritchard (F/C from Ohio, freshman); Matt Roth (G from Illinois, freshman); Devan Dumes (guard from Decatur Central/Eastern Michigan/Vincennes, junior); Nick Williams (guard from Alabama, former Marquette recruit); Verdell Jones (Illinois); Tijan Jobe (center from Olney Central JC, junior).

Returning walk-ons: Brett Finkelmeier (sophomore guard).

Incoming walk-ons: Daniel Moore (guard from Carmel); Kory Barnett (guard from Rochester); Broderick Lewis (guard from Lafayette Jefferson)

Incoming freshmen, 2009-10: Derek Elston (forward, Tipton); Bobby Capobianco (forward, Ohio); Maurice Creek (guard, Connecticut); Jordan Hulls (guard, Bloomington South).

Keeping up.

Things have been busy around here, bit Tom Crean has continued his efforts to rebuild the basketball team's decimated roster. The latest news, from this morning's Washington Times and elsewhere, is that Jeremiah Rivers, son of Celtics coach Doc Rivers, will transfer to IU. Rivers announced a couple of days ago that he would leave Georgetown, where he apparently was considered a defensive stopper but not much of an offensive threat. [UPDATE: Per the Hoosier Scoop, Rivers has not committed. That's what I get for trusting a paper owned by Reverend Moon]. There has been a flurry of news since my last post a week ago:

• It's not accurate to say that Crean didn't pull any punches, because he didn't provide much detail, but Crean left no doubt that he believes something untoward led to Eli Holman's transfer from IU to Detroit, where he will play for former IU assistant Ray McCallum. The Sampson era is a gift that keeps on giving. Based on what I and others of you have heard behind the scenes, we may not have heard the last of this situation.
• Champaign guard Verdell Jones seemed certain to enroll at Minnesota, but he surprised everyone by announcing that he would attend Indiana. Jones is a senior, so he will be on the roster in 2008-09.
• Per Inside the Hall and others, Maurice Creek, a 6-4 guard from Connecticut, has verbally committed to IU. Creek is a junior, so he joins Derek Elston of Tipton and Bobby Capobianco of Ohio in the 2009-10 freshman class.

In summary, here's what we have now:

Returning scholarship players: Jordan Crawford (Soph.), Brandon McGee (Soph.), and former invited walkon Kyle Taber (Sr.).

Incoming scholarship players who will be eligible in 2008-09: Tom Pritchard (F/C from Ohio, freshman); Matt Roth (G from Illinois, freshman); Devan Dumes (guard from Decatur Central/Eastern Michigan/Vincennes, junior); Nick Williams (guard from Alabama, former Marquette recruit); Verdell Jones (Illinois).

Returning walk-ons: Brett Finkelmeier (sophomore guard).

Incoming walk-ons: Daniel Moore (guard from Carmel); Kory Barnett (guard from Rochester).

Incoming scholarship players who will be eligible in 2009-10: Jeremiah Rivers (two years of eligibility).

Incoming freshmen, 2009-10: Derek Elston (Tipton); Bobby Capobianco (Ohio); Maurice Creek (Connecticut).

Am I missing anyone? Crean has been on the job since April 2, and has added six five scholarship players already, including three who are eligible to play next season. Not bad.

Crean grabs a couple of recruits.

I'm a few days late on the first one, but the second story broke late last night. First, Crean added to the class of current high school juniors, the group that will enroll in fall 2009, with a verbal commitment from Bobby Capobianco of Loveland, Ohio. Inside the Hall has a nice Q and A with Capobianco.

Late last night, the coach at Vincennes University told the Herald Times that guard Devon Dumes has committed to IU. As a juco trtansfer, Dumes, who has two yearts of eligibility remaining, will be eligible to play in 2008-09. Dumes is a graduate of Decatur Central in Indianapolis and played his freshman year at Eastern Michigan. It's not clear why he left EMU, but here's his game log. He received a decent amount of playing time that year, 18.8 minutes per game, and scored 8.1 points per game. On the downside, he shot 33.8 from the field and from three point range. His shooting percentages improved across the board at VU.

To his credit, Crean has hit the ground running. IU now has filled one of the two spots abandoned by Devin Ebanks and Terrell Holloway, although the uncertain status of Jamarcus Ellis and Armon Bassett makes IU's scholarship status unclear.

Still around, lots of little news.

I'm not on any sort of formal or extended hiatus, but between vacation, catching up after vacation, and the end of the basketball season, I've been taking a bit of a break after eight or nine months of steady posting.

• Spring practice. It continues. I hate spring practice. The Cream and Crimson Scrimmage is Saturday, and the weather looks to be decent, so check it out if you are so inclined.
• James Bailey. Bailey, who caught 27 passes for 335 yards as a junior, is transferring. The receiving corps was a strength of last year's team, but if Andrew Means decides to stick to baseball, that will leave Ray Fisher as the only returning receiver who has played significantly. It also highlights how important Kellen Lewis is to this team. If IU is going to have to break in Ben Chappell, who lacks Lewis's running ability, a thin receiving corps will not help.
• Spring recruiting. I don't really follow recruiting much, but since we don't have all that many basketball players on the roster, I suppose I will this year. Nick Williams, a 6-4 guard in the 140 range (see Inside the Hall for more). Williams signed with Marquette when Tom Crean was the coach, but he had a pre-existing agreement with Marquette that he would be released from his LOI if Crean left. I'm sure this runs afoul of some unwritten rule with no basis in any moral or ethical principle, or so it will be claimed if this kid signs with IU.
• Terry Hutchens has some new friends. Over at Boiled Sports, they hate them some Terry Hutchens. I can sympathize. If this blog had existed in 2004-2006, back when Hutch was acting as Mike Davis's Baghdad Bob, Hutch probably would have a restraining order against me. Back in that period, someone jokingly (I think) suggested to me that I find out whether http://www.fireterryhutchens.com/ was available. My gripe with Hutch is that he's a company man: he will support the IU establishment no matter what. The current coach is always beyond reproach, until he's gone, and which point the new current coach clearly is better than the last guy. I had to laugh at this: "Also, if you’re an IU fan, supporter or schill(sic) yourself, please save the vitriol. " Yeah, okay, just this once I'll hold my fire. The most impressive thing, and this is worth the click (well, as is the usual Boiler-noia), is the sheer length of the post. Somewhere in a federal prison, Ted Kaczynski is hunched over a computer saying, "DAMN, that's a long post." Yes, Hutch is a company man and his blog entries are painful to read (based on his unvarnished blog posts, I'm guessing that whoever edits Terry's copy for the paper is the hardest-working person at the Indianapolis Star.) He's probably not worth the figurative ink, but I enjoyed both the content and the fact that his breezy incompetence so agitates Purdue fans.
• Big Ten/ACC Challenge. Also per ITH and various other outlets, the Big Ten-ACC matchups have been released. IU, despite an uncertain future, was handed a tough road game at Wake Forest. I'll save my rant for the basketball season. Other interesting matchups are MSU-UNC at Ford Field in Detroit and Duke-Purdue at Mackey.

Zeller to North Carolina.

If you read this blog for breaking recruiting news, you might re-evaluate, but it's worth noting that Tyler Zeller of Washington, Indiana committed to North Carolina today. IU made quite a bit of progress with Zeller in recent months, and it's unclear if discomfort with IU's NCAA entanglements were decisive.

Bud Mackey.

Jesus Christ. I should have stayed offline. I'm not going to prejudge the situation, but unless evidence emerges that the drugs were planted on him, obviously Mackey can never play for IU. Coach Sampson, IU fans have given you a second chance despite your NCAA issues at OU, and that's fine with me. But this is a test.

Derek Elston: first 2009 commit.

Sampson & Co. have not yet finalized the recruiting class that will enroll in 2008, but IU did manage to secure its first commitment of the class of 2009: Derek Elston of Tipton, per Mike Pegram of Peegs.com. Elston currently is ranked #97 in his class by Rivals. According to the outstanding Jody Demling of the Louisville C-J, Van Coleman ranks Elston #76. Some have expressed concern that Purdue's Matt Painter is building a wall around Indiana, and certainly, Painter has recruited Indiana successfully, with this year's all-Indiana freshman class and the recent commitment of Crawfordsville's DJ Byrd. Nevertheless, IU landed, belatedly, Indiana's top high school player of the current freshman class. IU and Purdue both are in the running for Indiana's current top players of 2008 (Tyler Zeller) and 2009 (Stephan Van Treese). Still, Sampson will keep the natives happy by continuing to sign Indiana kids, and certainly has a reasonable possibility of landing the top in-state kid in each of his first three seasons.

Hoosier basketball team breaks even?

Just a week short of football season, basketball dominated the news today in Hoosierland. First, the good news: Matt Roth, a shooting guard from Metamora, Illinois, committed to the Hoosiers today. Here's a link to the Rivals top 150 for the class of 2008. You won't find Roth's name on it, so he is by far the least decorated what is now a three-man recruiting class (including #13 Devin Ebanks and #35 Bud Mackey). Still, he seems to have held his own on the prestigious Indiana Elite AAU team. Doug Wilson of the Hoosier Scoop has a Q&A with Roth's AAU coach, Mark Adams, who describes Roth as the "best shooter in the class of ‘08." Also:

“A lot of people say he’s a role player,” Adams said. “I don’t think you can call him a role player because he led us in scoring a lot of the time.”Adams dismisses critics who say Roth lacks athleticism.“We played everybody in the country and against the best players in the country,” Adams said. “Matt always kept his man between him and the basket. It’s not like he was being left behind.”“He can jump up and dunk the ball behind his head. I hate to make comparisons, but you didn’t see Steve Alford doing that.”

It's his AAU coach, so that all comes with a grain of salt, but still, it's Indiana Elite, so it's not as if the coach needs Roth to cement his or his program's reputation. It sounds as if the worst case scenario is that we landed a serious student who can shoot, and may have ended up with a steal. Roth decided among IU, Bradley, and St. Louis, but his AAU coach reports late offers from Illinois and Notre Dame.

More on Roth: here's an article from two years ago, before his sophomore year of high school, describing Roth as having "NBA range" and comparing him to former Notre Dame three point specialist Colin Falls. Also, there has been speculation that Roth and IU target Tyler Zeller became good friends while playing for Indiana Elite. Zeller is #22 on the Rivals top 150 and seems to be IU's top recruiting priority at the moment.

The bad: it appears that Aussie big man Ben Allen will not return to IU. While Mike Pegram reports that the decision may not be final, Pete DiPrimio of the Fort Wayne New Sentinel, a pretty reliable guy on IU issues who used to be with Inside Indiana, reports that Allen will transfer to St, Mary's in California. Pete, again, has covered IU from a long time, but I'm not entirely comfortable with his report. He says: "All signs point that Allen, a native of Australia, will not return and join the Hoosiers." Says who? A source close to Allen? A source close to IU? A close source to St. Mary's? Allen's girlfriend? It's an odd construction, and so I suppose we ought to hold off on any post-mortem of Allen's IU career.

2007-08 basketball schedule: idiocy in evidence.

IU announced the 2007-08 basketball schedule. Unfortunately, it isn't yet available in list form, but here is the article. On the positive side, season ticketholders can look forward to quite a home schedule. Thanks to the 18 game home schedule, IU plays every Big Ten team at home except Michigan. Home games against Connecticut, Kentucky, and Georgia Tech (Big Ten/ACC) highlight the nonconference schedule.

On the downside, despite the expanded conference schedule, IU and Purdue play only once in conference play for the next two years. This year's game is in Bloomington and next year's will be at Mackey. I'm not sure how to explain the Big Ten's idiocy on this issue. Why aren't there protected rivalries in basketball as there are in football? Indiana-Purdue is one of the most intense rivalries in college basketball, and while both programs declined for much of the last decade, in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s it was a nationally prominent rivalry. From 1972 (Knight's first year) to 2000 (Knight's last year and the end of Keady's best years) IU and Purdue combined for 18 Big Ten titles (8 outright and 3 shared for IU; 4 outright and 3 shared for Purdue). From 1972-1996, no more than two seasons ever passed without one of the schools winning a share of the title, and that only happened twice (77-78; 85-86).

As I said, this rivalry has declined in recent years, in part because of the departure of two larger-than-life coaches but mostly because of the quality of play. Since Purdue's "three-Pete" (gag) from 1994-1996, IU's 1/5th share of the Big Ten title in 2002 is the only conference title won by either school. The era of decline seems to be coming to an end. Kelvin Sampson has re-energized the IU program, enrolled a top 10 recruiting class, and IU seems to be a consensus top 10 pick for the upcoming season. Matt Painter has recruited very well (four top 100 kids, all from Indiana, enrolling in a couple of weeks) and made the NCAA in only his second year leading what had been a terrible program for most of the decade. Also, these coaches don't like each other. Painter is a protege of Keady protege Bruce Weber, and other than Weber himself, no coach has been more publicly critical of Sampson for recruiting Eric Gordon than has Painter. Painter worked himself into a self-righteous fury over some trash-talk by former Hoosier Earl Calloway during last year's game.

If the Big Ten office understands anything, it's TV revenue. IU-Purdue could re-emerge as one of the nation's top rivalries. Yet, they have done nothing to protect this rivalry. Can you imagine the ACC acting this way?

Noblesville recruit game; Football day 3

I thought about making the trek to Noblesville for the closest recruit game to Indianapolis, but ultimately the game was a bit of a letdown for those in attendance: for academic reasons (edit: just to avoid any mass hysteria, the "academic reasons" were summer class obligations, not any sort of eligibility issue), the two biggest stars of the incoming class, Eric Gordon and Jamarcus Ellis, did not play. That's a valid reason, of course, but I would have been a bit disappointed if I made the trip.

As for the football Hoosiers, Doug Wilson was there, as usual. Doug reports that Kellen Lewis, James Bailey, and Brandon Walker-Roby all looked impressive on the offensive end. I recall hearing specualtion that Walker-Roby was not going to be back this year for whatever reason, but obviously he is, and hopefully he can follow in his brother's footsteps.

Tyler Zeller narrows his list, but you probably knew that.

This is old news for anyone who follows recruiting religiously, and even old news for me, but highly coveted big man Tyler Zeller of Washington, Indiana (brother of Notre Dame's Luke Zeller) has decided that he will choose his college from a final four of Indiana, North Carolina, Notre Dame, and Purdue. As I have said, ultimately I root for whoever ends up on the team and don't have the patience or interest to follow the fortunes of 50 different kids as they narrow their lists, but certain high profile recruits draw my attention. Landing Zeller would serve a variety of purposes. Foremost, he's a skilled big man. Second, according to conventional wisdom, IU has come from way, way behind in this race. My impression from those more in the know than I is that a month ago, it seemed impossible that IU would make Zeller's list of finalists. Gaining a commitment from Zeller would be a victory over one of the country's best recruiters and most prominent programs (UNC), and a victory over Purdue, of course, where Matt Painter landed four top 100 Indiana kids last year.

IU should go wherever necessary to get top shelf talent. I would rather win the NCAA tournament with 12 kids from other states than finish second with 12 kids from Indiana. Nevertheless, when Indiana produces top-tier talent IU should make it a priority. Sampson's ability to make up ground in the Zeller recruitment is yet another reason for optimism.

Happy thoughts.

The Lexington Herald-Leader talks about the "basketball triangle," noting that from 1976 through 1987, Indiana, Kentucky, and Louisville won six of twelve NCAA titles. I don't really care if UK and UL are any good, but I sure liked this line:

"Gillispie and Sampson definitely have their programs at the forefront of basketball fans' minds," says [Rivals recruiting guru Jerry] Meyer. "I actually think that Indiana and Kentucky are at a point where a lot of prospects want to go there, and the biggest challenge is taking commitments from the right players."

Has that ever been the case for IU? Maybe during the first half of the Knight era.

On the road again, and basketball and recruiting(!) miscellany.

This isn't exactly breaking news, but it's worth noting that for the first time during his tenure at IU, Kelvin Sampson is on the road during the summer recruiting season. Keep in mind that Oklahoma's self-imposed sanctions kept Sampson at home before his last season there, so he hasn't been to the summer camps since 2004. He took some well-deserved jabs from Rick Barnes and Tubby Smith:

"Where have you been?” joked Barnes. "Call me sometime.” "Still got the ankle bracelet?” added Smith.

Despite recruiting with one hand tied behind his back, Sampson certainly hasn't been hurting for recruits. He landed what Rivals ranks as the #9 recruiting class without leaving campus. Still, both for IU's recruiting advantage and for moving beyond the taint of NCAA-sanctioned misconduct, this is good news.

Other items:

• Again, I'm not one for following whether we are on a prospect's top 5 list or his lukewarm eight. My interest in recruiting is sporadic. One thing I would like, however, is for IU to someday land a blue-chipper from Lawrence North (no offense, Todd Leary). Hopefully, Stephan Van Treese will be the one. Here's a nice Cincinnati Enquirer article about him.
• The Bloomington Herald Times does a great job covering IU athletics, and I have previously noted my admiration for the Hoosier Scoop blog written by Doug Wilson, Chris Korman, and occasional others. Unfortunately, the H-T's excellent coverage is behind a subscription wall, but occasionally Doug and Chris let us take a look at what they are writing. Here's a well-done article about DJ White. This non-White-related item from the story was worth a chuckle:

  One of the new post players, DeAndre Thomas, has been working the hardest in the gym this summer, according to White. Thomas, who arrived from Chipola junior college weighing more than 350 pounds, is trying to shed at least 50 pounds. He and Sampson can often be seen walking from Assembly Hall to Sampson’s house and back. That’s an eight-mile trip.

• The White article also mentions something I don't know that I have mentioned before, which is that NCAA rules allow IU ten full-fledged practices before the team heads to the Bahamas for a Labor Day weekend tournament. This is a perfect move for this team. Certainly, we have some fine experience players returning, but several newcomers (Eric Gordon, Jamarcus Ellis, possibly Eli Holman and/or Deandre Thomas) will have to play well if IU is to end its season in San Antonio. While the Final Four is not an unrealistic goal given the talent and experience (either at IU or at junior colleges) on this team, these guys have never really played together. The Bahamas trip should provide a great opportunity for these guys to begin to learn playing together, and it also gives the coaching staff a chance to put things in place for the season fairly early.

There you go again.

I just had to go and pay Terry Hutchens a compliment. Serves me right. Hutch, best known for sticking his thumb in IU fans' eyes in his former role as Mike Davis's "Baghdad Bob," Terry used the Fourth of July holiday to advocate for adding names to the IU basketball jerseys. Hutchens, believe it or not, is an IU graduate. I was stunned when I learned that late in the Davis era. Hutch often makes mention of his California upbringing, but rarely mentions that he graduated from IU. To make matters worse, Hutch graduated from IU in 1989. Not only did he witness the program win big (the 1987 championship), he was at IU for Knight's greatest coaching accomplishments. The 1987 team is the only NCAA champ since the advent of the NBA to win the NCAA title without a future NBA first round draft pick. Also, IU won the 1989 Big Ten title outright (over the Flyin' Illini and eventual NCAA champ Michigan) with Jay Edwards and a bunch of role players. During the Davis era, Hutch never seemed to understand the fans' expectation that IU be among the handful of elite programs or the value that a coach can add to a program. When I learned that Hutch had graduated from IU and when, it became even more incomprehensible.

Accordingly, it should come as no surprise that Hutchens decided to play the contrarian here. A few highlights:

You've got to keep the candy-striped warmups, you've got to play almost exclusively man-to-man defense, and you have to take a long look at those five national championship banners everytime you step in the friendly confines of Assembly Hall.

Good start. God forbid that IU fans show reverence for the program's history and brag that we have more titles than every school except UCLA and Kentucky.

I just think in the 21st Century kids today are different than they were when all of these traditions were established. And while I think it's still a prestige thing to wear the IU uniform (especially for the in-state kids) I just think having the names on the jersey would take that to another level. And I think if you asked most players, that is something they'd like to see at Indiana. Look around the Big Ten, and you see it at a lot of different programs. Look around the country and it's the same thing. I just don't see the harm in bucking tradition and giving IU basketball a different look.

Yes, lots of schools have names on their jerseys. Practically all of them, including Northwestern and Penn State. One of the reasons IU fans treasure the tradition is because hardly any other school omits the names. IU fans like the unchanging simplicity of the uniforms and like the sentiment of playing for the "name on the front of the jersey." That's the "harm." Really, that's what a tradition is: doing something that no one else does or that no one else does anymore.

The best part of this passage:

I think if you asked most players, that is something they'd like to see at Indiana.

How would Terry Hutchens ever find the answer to this question? If only Terry knew someone, such as a professional, full-time journalist, who had access to this information or the ability to ask players such questions. Oh well. I suppose the answers are lost to history.

Terry then lists the marketing benefits of selling jerseys with the players' names, until a reader pointed out that such sales are impermissible under NCAA rules. And again, the IU beat writer for the state's largest paper says:

And while you might think that something as small has putting names on jerseys wouldn't have anything to do with success in recruiting, you might be mistaken. I have two teenage boys and I know the things that are important to them. They like glitz.

That's between you and your kids, Terry. In the last two recruiting classes, IU has landed highly regarded players from New York, the Bay Area, and many points in between. Again, you're the professional, Hutch. You tell us if it has any impact on recruiting. The task won't require deciphering ancient texts written in dead languages. It should be as simple as asking around.

One other thing it might allow IU to be able to do is somehow recognize the great players who have played for the Hoosiers over the years. IU has never retired basketball uniforms, but maybe if you could put a name on the back of a certain jersey and hang it in the rafters as a means of honoring IU players of the past you could do that without actually retiring the jersey. I'm not sure this is something you would need to do along with putting names on the back of uniforms or not, but again it just seems like something that should be done. You go to other gyms of storied programs and you see it, but there's nothing like that at IU.

IU does plenty to recognize former players. IU has a Hall of Fame. There was an all-century team a couple of years ago. Many greats come back to the Hall regularly. There are all sorts of photos and such around Assembly Hall. Again, however, and this is something Hutch admits he doesn't get: most IU fans think the best way to honor great players is to honor the accomplishments of their teams.

IU has many great traditions, yet Hutch elects to complain about the traditions we have and pine for the traditions we don't have. It's pretty pathetic but sadly typical of the lead IU writer for the state's largest paper.

Eshaunte Jones reopens recruiting.

Eschaunte Jones, a recent high school graduate who is prep school-bound, remains interested in IU but is reopening his recruitment. Jones is a low end of the top 100 type, so it's not a minor issue, but certainly isn't along the lines of losing Ebanks or Gordon. One does have to wonder if the Ebanks commitment has Jones feeling as if he has been recruited over, but that is pure speculation. For the long view, I highly recommend Mike Pegram's scholarship numbers page, which makes it a little easier to look a few years out.

New Big Ten recruiting rule?

Yesterday, my father-in-law told me that while reading an article in a hard copy of the Sporting News (he was at a doctor's office or something, so doesn't have a copy of the mag), he stumbled across a passage stating that the Big Ten had implemented what can fairly be called a "Sampson rule": my father-in-law reported that the rule forbids Big Ten schools from recruiting a kid who has committed to another Big Ten school and requires a coach who receives contact from a kid who had committed to another Big Ten school to call the coach who procured the commitment. I was shocked that I hadn't heard anything about it, and despite asking around on message boards I haven't found the TSN article in question, but this article by Tom Oates in the Wisconsin State Journal show that such a story did appear in TSN:

News: The Sporting News reported the Big Ten has a new rule prohibiting conference members from recruiting players who are publicly committed to another conference school.
Views: This is fallout from Eric Gordon reneging on his commitment to Illinois and signing with Indiana after the Hoosiers hired coach Kelvin Sampson. More important, it is an enforcement nightmare. After all, how does one define "publicly committed?" When it is confirmed by the kid? By his parents? His prep coach? His AAU coach? When it is in the newspaper? And what if the player truly initiates the contact?

Because I haven't found the article itself (by the way, if anyone has an electronic or even hard copy of the TSN article, please e-mail me at the address in the upper right hand corner), I won't comment on the second part of what I was told, the phone call issue. Nevertheless, as the State Journal reporter notes, this is an enforcement nightmare. Take the case of DeShaun Thomas. Thomas, a Fort Wayne resident who just finished his freshman year of high school, verbally committed to Ohio State back in early June. A few days later, his high school coach indicated that Thomas's parents want him to take more visits before making a final decision. I'm not sure if Thomas himself has offered any further public comment. So, under this rule, is DeShaun Thomas committed to Ohio State? Can this fifteen year-old's parents decide whether he is committed? Can they speak for him?

Again, I haven't seen the rule. But would it apply to basketball only, or to all sports? One of the issues that really exercised IU fans during the coverage of Eric Gordon's change of heart was the portrayal of recruiting a committed player as a deep moral wrong, while in reality such tactics are pretty well-accepted in the world of college football recruiting. Certainly, basketball recruiting classes are smaller, so the loss of even one player can cause quite a bit of damage, as Gordon's de-commit certainly did to the Illinois program. Still, the loss of a specialized player such as a quarterback, or any other player who fits a particularly glaring need, or the loss of a handful of top commitments can just as surely cripple a football recruiting class.

Another problem with this rule is that it will work to the disadvantage of the Big Ten. Suppose a high school junior-to-be wishes to make an early commitment. His finalists are Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State, and North Carolina. When a kid commits, of course, he probably doesn't contemplate changing his mind. Nevertheless, a commitment to a Big Ten school would have a high cost than a commitment to North Carolina because it would limit his future options should the circumstances change at one or more of the schools.

It would be unfortunate if Bruce Weber's sniveling resulted in a rule that works to the detriment of all Big Ten schools, including Illinois. Most kids don't chose a college until they are seniors in high school. Hell, some don't even start the decisionmaking process until then. I had known for years to which schools I was going to apply, but didn't make a final decision until April of my senior year. Unquestionably, it is in the interest of prospective student-athletes to be allowed to keep their options open. Should the Big Ten really be working to ensure that verbal commitments made by 15 year-olds in response to pitches from polished salesmen should be as binding as possible? My main problem with the criticism of Sampson last year was that if one took Bruce Weber's side, then Kelvin Sampson, who makes a seven-figure income for his job as the head coach at Indiana University, was supposed to subordinate his duty to his employer (not to mention the wishes of Gordon himself!) to his duty to be loyal to "the coaching fraternity" (gag). One would hope that the Big Ten, this coalition of fine universities, would care more about the autonomy of student-athletes rather than keeping peace between rival coaches and ensuring the enforceability of promises by young teenagers (who can't even enter legally binding contracts in most circumstances). But so it goes.

If there is an overwhelming need for recruiting reform, it seems to me that it should be national and should have some objective component so that coaches and players know where they stand. The NCAA could develop a nationwide, Internet-based "do not call" list. Every player who wished to be considered for a scholarship at an NCAA institution would be assigned an ID number and password. If a kid decided it was time to commit, then the school could confirm the scholarship offer, and the kid could confirm his tentative commitment. While the database reflects the kid as off-limits, no other school could contact him. This commitment would, however, be instantly and unilaterally revocable. I'm not sure if what I propose is necessary, but it would have the advantage of being uniform and objective. The Big Ten rule, at least as I now understand it, would work to the disadvantage of conference schools and is rife with potential for misunderstandings and general confusion.