Column; IU no longer needs to secure its basketball border

Whether you like it or not, change is an inevitable aspect of life that must be dealt with.The IU basketball program is no exception to that condition.

When former commit Ron Patterson — now enrolled at Syracuse — pledged to IU
three years ago, he deemed the 2012 recruiting class “The Movement.”

Not much thought was given to what exactly that movement entailed, other then returning the Hoosiers to their past glory. Awaking a slumbering giant was the task at hand for Patterson, Yogi Ferrell, Jeremy Hollowell, Hanner Mosquera-Perea and
Peter Jurkin, though that was simply just one aspect of the so-called movement.

Not only were those five key cogs in the process of revitalizing a program devastated
by former IU Coach Kelvin Sampson’s transgressions, but they were also a symbol that the Hoosiers had built an imaginary, yet secure, perimeter around the state of Indiana and its plethora of elite prep talent.

Patterson, Ferrell, Hollowell and Mosquera-Perea each spent their high school
playing days in the Hoosier state and were the first group of heralded in-state recruits
to continue their careers at IU since the Sampson era. Having joined five-star
center and Washington, Ind., native Cody Zeller, “The Movement” signaled that IU
was, once again, the premier destination for the state’s best high school players.

The effect of that philosophical change was far reaching, as two of the state’s top 2014 prospects — Trey Lyles and James Blackmon — committed to IU prior to having
played a single minute of high school basketball.

But as the wild world of college basketball recruiting goes, both have since decommitted to consider other options.

Neither Lyles nor Blackmon should be demonized for making their respective
decisions to cut ties, though. All prospects, regardless of ranking, should be encouraged to do what they feel is in their best interests. However, Lyles and Blackmon de-committing may, in fact, be a representation of the shifting college basketball recruiting landscape.

With high school prospects across the nation playing for AAU programs participating
in tournaments nation-wide, those same prospects have the distinct opportunity of forming friendships and relationships with individuals in the basketball community all over the country.

For reference, consider the schools in the running for Lyles’ services: UCLA, Florida,
Kentucky, Duke, Louisville and Butler.

With those elite programs joining virtually all others in flocking to the state of Indiana,
is it realistic for IU Coach Tom Crean to make a conscious eff ort to secure the border?

Not exactly, and that has become evident in the program’s recruiting tactics. Four members of the Hoosiers’ freshman class hail from Germantown, Wisc.; Henderson, Nev.; Haverhill, Mass., and Mouth of Wilson, Va.

It’s simply not realistic to have Indiana natives form a significant portion of each
recruiting class. But the good news for IU is that it has reestablished itself as a
topflight program, allowing it to pursue elite talent in all corners of the country.

Three of the Hoosiers’ top 2014 targets — Isaiah Whitehead, Robert Johnson and
Goodluck Okonoboh — hail from Brooklyn, N.Y. , Richmond, Va. , and Wilbraham,
Mass., respectively.

It’s a continuing trend of a national recruiting approach, rather than a narrow intrastate
approach. Will the Hoosier coaching staff cease recruiting the bestIndiana has to offer?

Of course not, but the reality fans have to live with is that not every class will have
the identity of the 2011 class. Rounding up a group of Indiana natives a la Patterson,
Ferrell, Hollowell and Perea is a rarity, but when victories begin to pile up from the labors of players from around the country, securing the border will be an afterthought.

— ckillore@indiana.edu
Follow columnist Connor Killoren on Twitter @IDS_CGKilloren.