Blackmon picks IU

Thursday night during halftime of the Louisiana-Monroe vs. Troy football game on ESPNU, 2014 shooting guard James Blackmon Jr. recommitted to the IU men’s basketball team.

Blackmon Jr., a senior at Marion High School in Marion, Ind., committed to IU first when he was 14 years old.

However, he reopened his commitment Aug. 8, putting Kentucky, Kansas, Michigan and Michigan State back in as possibilities to land the No. 19 recruit in the country, according to the ESPN 100.

The No. 4 shooting guard in the 2014 class visited IU again last weekend, but he left Bloomington without staying for IU’s exhibition game against Southern Indiana.

This left some to wonder if he was no longer interested in the Hoosiers.

With Blackmon Jr.’s commitment, the Hoosiers now have three recruits in their 2014 class, leaving the team over-signed by one roster spot after seniors Will Sheehey and Evan Gordon graduate in the spring.

— Nathan Brown