IUBB Thoughts

Saturday, Tom Crean, Tim Buckley, Steve McClain and Chuck Martin spent time all across the country checking out possible future Hoosiers. I spent Saturday checking out the Adidas Invitational. Here’s some thoughts as we head into the teeth of the 2015 recruiting class and beyond. Raymond Spalding. This kid is a flat out stud in the making. Sure he’s young and has to round into his body, but you can’t teach ability like his. He is a consensus top 100 recruit among all recruiting services. I see that ranking changing to a consensus top 50 once this summer season draws to a close. Spalding lists IU, Louisville, and Xavier as his top three. Spalding is a must get for Crean and the Hoosiers. He has a nice floor game, can step out and hit the three and a nice 15 footer. He is legitimately listed on the program at 6’9-6’10 and is someone I would love seeing in the Candy Stripes. Across the gym, The UA Indy Grind 2017 team is loaded. Paul Scruggs, Zach Gunn, Kris Wilkes, Justin Roberts and Gary Trent are all players IU would love to have. If I had to choose 2 at this point it would be Wilkes and Scruggs. These two have Crean’s attention and are high on IU’s radar. The other 3 are just as much, however I feel Scruggs and Wilkes fit the Crean system very well. Again, all 5 are super talented, just my personal opinion. Getting back to 2015, IU needs to be realistic in this class. If you can land a class of Spalding, Juwan Morgan, and Shake Milton, you take it and move on to 2016. We can sit here and wonder if Thon Maker is going to re-classify or if Caleb Swanigan is going to look at anyone other than Tom Izzo. Is Jalen Coleman really interested in IU or is he a Michigan lock? Having said that, give me those 3 I listed and I’m happy. Pair Morgan and Spalding inside with Yogi, JBJ, Stan, Troy and others, I like how we are shaping up. I see JBJ as at least a 2 year player, and Yogi, while talented, is a 4 year player (See Shabazz Napier). This should be a fun summer as IU heads to Montreal and Ottawa in August. Will IU add anyone else or just eat the extra scholarship for this year? If it’s me, I eat it and focus on 2015 and beyond. Seeing what lies ahead in the future is very bright. IU is in on major 2015, 2016 and 2017 players. Let’s not waste the scholarship on a JUCO project big man. Let’s let Hanner, Jeremiah, Devin and Tim take their lumps this year and learn. The future is bright in my eyes. ARCHIE