The second of three July evaluation periods took place last week, and IU Coach Tom Crean traveled around the country to attend several events.
Crean and IU director of basketball operations Rob Judson were at Chicago’s Whitney Young High School for the Nike Global Challenge July 15, according to multiple media reports. IU targets Miles Bridges, Markus Howard, Nick Richards, Schnider Herard and Matt Coleman played in the event.
Crean watched Paul Scruggs, Kris Wilkes, Hamidou Diallo, Trevon Duval, Eric Hester, Dewan Huell, Sedee Keita and Quade Green July 16 at the Under Armour Association finals in Atlanta, per 247Sports’ Jerry Meyer.
Crean and IU assistant coach Chuck Martin were in attendance at Rucker Park that night for the adidas Uprising Showcase, according to the Compton Magic’s Twitter account. IU targets Rawle Alkins, De’Ron Davis and Eron Gordon were on Team Black, along with former IU target Payton Pritchard, who recently decommitted from Oklahoma. IU target De’Riante Jenkins was on Team Grey.
Crean watched Ibi Watson and Trey Landers July 17 at the NY2LA Summer Jam in Wisconsin, per Corey Evans.
Then he watched Crown Point’s Grant Gelon playing for Indiana Elite, according to Indiana Elite’s Twitter account. Next, Crean was at Dematha High School to see Lamar Stevens at the Victor Oladipo/Ty Lawson camp, per Scout’s Justin Albers.
Crean watched Jontay Porter, a 2018 prospect and the younger brother of Michael Porter Jr., at the Great American Shootout Saturday in Texas, according to Scout’s Evan Daniels. He also watched 2016 five-star big man Jarrett Allenon, per Eric Bossi.
Lastly, Evans reported that Crean watched Jordan Poole and Ibi Watson in Milwaukee on Sunday.
ESPN: IU appears to be the frontrunner for Bruce Brown
Boston Area Basketball Club guard Bruce Brown has received more than 40 scholarship offers, according to ESPN’s Joel Francisco, but only three frequently have coaches attend his games: Boston College, IU and Massachusetts.
In an ESPN Insider article published Tuesday, Francisco wrote IU appeared to be the frontrunner for Brown.
The 6-foot-4 Brown is a four-star, top-60 prospect from Vermont Academy.
IU target Stevens includes Hoosiers in final five schools
Lamar Stevens, a top 100 recruit in the class of 2016, trimmed his list of schools to IU, Marquette, Pittsburgh, Temple and Villanova, per Scout’s Justin Albers. He is reportedly working on setting up an official visit to Bloomington.
Stevens, a 6-foot-6 small forward from Pennsylvania, and teammate Tony Carr, a former IU target, have publicly discussed attending the same college. Carr is considering five schools, but the Hoosiers didn’t make the cut.
IU contacts, shows interest in 2017 forward
IU watched class of 2017 forward Jaylen Butz of Fort Wayne North Side last weekend, according to the IndyStar’s Kyle Neddenriep. Butz, a 6-foot-9 prospect who plays for the Spiece Indy Heat on the AAU circuit, competed in the Best of the Midwest tournament at Best Choice Fieldhouse.
“I talked to Indiana (assistant coach Tim Buckley) before the tournament, and he said they planned to watch me,” Butz told the IndyStar. “I talk to Buckley most of the time. They offered my friend, (Fort Wayne Snider’s) Malik Williams, so they are talking to both of us.”
Butz has offers from Ball State and Kent State. Butler, IPFW, Michigan, Michigan State and Purdue have also shown interest in the rising junior.
Hoosiers inquire about 2017 guard Christian David
Boston College, IU, Miami and Virginia inquired about class of 2017 guard Christian David, according to Elias Sbiet. David is transferring to Vermont Academy, where IU forward Emmitt Holt was headed before committing to the Hoosiers.
He is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard with offers from Baylor, Illinois and Oregon, according to 247Sports.
IU among Midwest schools showing early interest in 2018 guard Boucher
Austin Boucher, a rising sophomore guard for Fore Wayne South Side, is planning an August visit to IU, which has shown early interest in the class of 2018 prospect, according to the IndyStar’s Kyle Neddenriep. Butler, Illinois, Michigan, Notre Dame and Purdue have also reportedly shown interest in Boucher.
IU no longer in the running for point guard Carr
Former IU target Tony Carr, a 6-foot-3 point guard for Roman Catholic (Pennsylvania), trimmed his list to five schools and IU didn’t make the cut, according to City of Basketball Love’s Josh Verlin. Carr, a class of 2016 prospect and consensus top-65 recruit, is moving forward with Maryland, Penn State, Providence, SMU and Temple.
IU was previously among Carr’s final 11 schools.
“It was just kind of getting stressful, coaches calling me and me already having a feel for what schools I wanted to seriously look into,” Carr told Verlin. “I just thought that I would get serious with it and start cutting my list down.”
IU target Kameron McGusty commits to Oklahoma
Kameron McGusty, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Katy, Texas, verbally committed to Oklahoma Monday afternoon. McGusty, a class of 2016 prospect, was an IU target.
“Truly blessed to say I have committed to the University of Oklahoma,” he tweeted. “Feels good to be a Sooner.”
Blackwell no longer considering IU
Class of 2016 small forward Braxton Blackwell cut his list to six schools Tuesday and he’s no longer considering IU, according to a tweet sent by Drew Maddox of CPA Basketball and Elite Hoops.
Blackwell, a four-star prospect, is down to Alabama, Kansas, Tennessee, Texas, Vanderbilt and Virginia, in no particular order.
