IU’s coaching staff on the recruiting trail during first July evaluation period
The first July evaluation period began at 5 p.m. Wednesday. It’s the first of three four-day windows for college basketball coaches to recruit during the month.
IU Associate Head Coach Tim Buckley and Assistant Coach Chuck Martin began the period at the adidas Gauntlet Finals in Atlanta, while IU Coach Tom Crean and Director of Basketball Operations Rob Judson started at the Under Armour All-American Camp in Charlotte, per multiple media reports.
Crean and Martin then reportedly spent Thursday at the Peach Jam in North Augusta, South Carolina, and Crean later traveled to Atlanta to watch recruits at the adidas Gauntlet Thursday night.
Rawle Alkins, Bruce Brown, Tony Carr, Mohamed Bamba, De’Ron Davis, De’Riante Jenkins, Thon Maker, Matur Maker, Paul Scruggs, Kris Wilkes and Hamidou Diallo were among the IU targets at the three locations.
IU currently has one available scholarship and at least three more will open up after next season as Yogi Ferrell, Nick Zeisloft and Max Bielfeldt will use their final year of eligibility during the 2015-16 season. James Blackmon Jr., Troy Williams and Thomas Bryant could each potentially make the jump to the NBA next spring.
IU involved with seven of Scout’s updated 2017 top 25
Scout updated its top 25 rankings for the 2017 recruiting class Tuesday and Scout’s Evan Daniels links IU to seven of the class’ top prospects:
Michael Porter (No. 3 – has taken an unofficial visit, IU is on his list, has received an IU offer), Mohamed Bamba (No. 4 – has received an IU offer), Hamidou Diallo (No. 13 – has received an IU offer), Nick Richards (No. 15 – has received an IU offer), Jeremiah Tilmon (No. 16 – has received an IU offer), Kris Wilkes (No. 17 – has taken an unofficial visit, has received an IU offer) and Matt Coleman (No. 22 – IU has shown interest).
Former IU target decommits from Oklahoma
Payton Pritchard is back on the market after decomitting from Oklahoma, according to ESPN’s Jeff Borzello. Pritchard, a 6-foot-2 point guard from West Linn, Oregon committed to the Sooners last November. He received an offer from IU in May 2014 after an unofficial visit to Bloomington.
“He just wants to be 100 percent sure,” his father, Terry, told ESPN. “He’s a young kid, and we want him to (be) 100 percent comfortable.”
Pritchard, a four-star prospect in the 2016 recruiting class, averaged 22.4 points and 5.0 assists per game on the Adidas circuit this spring.
He initially chose Oklahoma over Arizona State, Gonzaga, IU, Oregon, Oregon State, Villanova, Washington and Wisconsin, among other schools.
McRoberts to enroll at IU, will not play basketball
Zach McRoberts, a rising sophomore and native of Carmel, Indiana, will not return to the University of Vermont, where he played basketball last season, and he will instead enroll at IU, according to the Burlington Free Press’ Alex Ambrami.
McRoberts, the younger brother of NBA player Josh McRoberts, will reportedly not play for the Hoosiers this season.
“I feel like that would be unfair to UVM and how I left it with them,” McRoberts told the Burlington Free Press. “I feel like they treated me as well as they could have and for me to step away like this was a decision to sort of step away from basketball.”
He appeared in 27 games last season, averaging 4.2 points per game.
McRoberts will likely spend the next three years in Bloomington, and he could be a player to keep an eye on as a possible walk-on or even a scholarship player if the Hoosiers are in need of his services and if he has a change of heart.
Former IU target commits to Northwestern
Barret Benson, a 6-foot-9, 240-pound center, committed to Northwestern on Monday evening. Benson, a rising senior at Hinsdale South (Illinois), received a scholarship offer from IU in April.
“I have decided to continue my education and basketball career at Northwestern University #B1GCats #PoundTheRock,” he tweeted.
He chose Northwestern over DePaul, Illinois, IU, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Loyola Chicago, Nebraska, Oregon State, Penn State, Purdue and Vanderbilt. ESPN and Rivals rank Benson as a four-star prospect.
