4-star recruit commits to IU Tuesday night

High school senior Christian Watford, one of the best small forwards in the country, has committed to play for the IU men’s basketball team starting next season.

IU coach Tom Crean has long been after the four-star recruit – ranked No. 34 in the nation by Rivals.com and No. 72 by Scout.com – and one of the Hoosiers’ top priorities has finally made the call.

Watford’s commitment buoys IU’s 2009 recruiting class, ranked ninth in the nation by Rivals.com.

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Although he made it official Tuesday evening, Watford said he had known for a while he was planning on playing for Crean and the Hoosiers.

“I went up (to IU) for the Elite Camp on August 23; I liked it and thought about it,” he said by phone Tuesday night. “It just felt like the best fit for me, and that’s where I wanted to go.”

Crean, who had been trying to court the long and athletic 6-foot-7 inch forward since his days at Marquette, flew down to Alabama on Tuesday afternoon to watch Watford in an open gym at his high school in Birmingham.

Although the Shades Valley High School star said Crean’s plane came in late, the Hoosiers’ coach did get to watch him work out a bit. Not long after, he told Crean the big news.

“He was very rejoiceful,” the recruit said of his future coach’s reaction to the commitment.

It was first reported on Sunday that Watford had IU at the top of his list, then came the news that Crean would be making the home visit to see Watford on Tuesday. Watford himself then wrote on his Facebook page late Monday night, “WORLD...STAY TUNED 4 TOMORROW!!!!!!” 

The world, or at least the IU basketball world, did stay tuned, and Hoosier fans got the news they were hoping for. Watford said another factor in choosing IU was that through the entire recruiting process, Crean and the IU coaches “stayed by (his) side.”

Now, the recruit said he will focus on his high school season and “just go from there.” He is highly anticipating his future at IU, however, saying he is “definitely looking forward to” winning an NCAA title with the Hoosiers.

With the addition of Watford, Crean now has five high school seniors slated to attend IU next year. Crean had previously secured four commitments for next year: point guard Jordan Hulls, shooting guard Maurice Creek, small forward Derek Elston and power forward Bobby Capobianco.