UPDATE, 8:05 p.m. – Hold the phone on Marquis Teague’s June commitment. I just visited with Shawn Teague, his father, after tonight’s game at Assembly Hall and Mr. Teague said it won’t be until “after July” that the Pike standout will select a school.
The reason for the delay is that Teague is playing for the U-17 USA National team and will be in either Colorado or Argentina most of the month. There’s a short window when he’ll be back in late June, but the travel ball season picks up again in July and he’ll be gone much of that month, too.
Shawn Teague said he would like for Marquis to have made a choice before the beginning of his junior year.
“We haven’t had time to really sit down and evaluate everything and with the schedule so crazy for June and July, we probably won’t be able to until after that,” he said.
Earlier today, Marquis Teague said his still considering the same six schools (Cincinnati, Indiana, Louisville, Ohio State, Purdue and Wake Forest) and is also talking with Kentucky, although he’s yet to receive an offer.
UPDATE: 6:45 p.m. – One of the more intriguing prospects for the 2011 class is Austin Etherington of Hamilton Heights. At 6-6, Etherington’s ability to handle the ball and shoot it is an intriguing combination. He has an offer from Xavier and has made unofficial visits to Butler and Indiana. He also plans to visit Ohio State and Purdue.
Etherington was a bit under the radar due to microfracture surgery that cost him nearly a year of basketball. He returned in January and averaged 15.7 points and 6.7 rebounds in 15 games for Hamilton Heights. Here’s a bit of our conversation:
How was the visit to IU?
“It was good. I watched video with Coach (Tom) Crean and went around campus. I spent most of the day here. It was a good experience.”
What kind of things are you working on now to improve?
“I’m trying to work on getting to the basket better and my ball-handling. Pretty much my whole game. I need to work on getting to the basket and getting lower when I drive.”
How’s the recruiting process going and are you close to narrowing anything down yet?
“I’m going to wait. I have some schools in mind that I like the most, but I’m not really saying much about that yet. I’m kind of keeping it quiet.”
What are you looking for in a program?
“I’m looking for somewhere I can play early and that plays my style. All the schools I’m looking at fit my style, including IU. I really like IU. I like to get up and down.”
Do you feel like people are starting to find out about you now?
“Yeah. I didn’t play much last year because of surgery so I don’t think many people knew about me. This is a big summer for me. I’m pretty much over (the injury) now and can go all out.”
How is the injury?
“I’m 100 percent now. It took 12 months, it was about a year recovery. I have no problems now. I’m pretty much over it. At first I was a little scared because I just had surgery, but I feel fine now.”
UPDATE: 6:15 p.m. – I try not to make it a habit of drawing conclusions over a summer tournament game, but having seen Terone Johnson several times I think he might even be capable of raising his game another level as a senior.
Though his Eric Gordon All-Stars team lost to SYF, the 6-2 North Central guard was as aggressive as ever. He also looks to be a bit leaner and stronger than at the end of the high school season. He plays with a hard edge to him even in tournament games like this, which is refreshing to see. Purdue is getting a good one there.
I’ll have more in a bit.
UPDATE: 2:50 p.m. – I headed over to Bloomington South to watch the 15-and-under Indiana Elite Team Indiana destroy the JSA Express 58-24. IE Team Indiana is led by North Central sophomore-to-be D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera, another one of the targets for both Indiana and Purdue in the 2012 class. The powerful 6-3 guard also has offers from Tennessee and Ohio State.
Here’s a bit from our conversation:
How’s your recruiting situation?
“It’s going to pretty good right now. I’m talking to my parents every day about it and pretty soon I’ll be narrowing it down and we’ll go from there.”
What do you talk about with your parents?
“We go over what schools we are looking at and try to communicate as much as we can. We try not to worry about it too much right now, but we’re looking into it.”
Are you still at the point where you are gathering information?
“Pretty much. Most of the time I just want to leave it up to my parents because I get a little tired of it so I put it in their hands for the most part.”
What schools are recruiting you?
“I’ve received offers from IU, Purdue, Tennessee and Ohio State and I’ve received interest from Wake Forest, UCLA and Michigan State.”
Does location matter?
“I’d have to get out and really see the schools to know. IU of course is close and I know about their program.”
Have you gotten to know Tom Crean at all?
“He’s a really nice person, even outside of basketball. I really have a lot of respect for him.”
How about Matt Painter at Purdue?
“I’ve been there a few times to talk to him. Just like coach Crean, he’s easy to get along with and communicate with.”
Do those guys talk to you about what they’d like to see from you?
“They pretty much leave that up to (North Central coach Doug Mitchell). But they know my strengths and what I need to work on.”
Do you keep up with guys like Marquis Teague and his recruiting?
“We’ve been friends since we were younger kids. I wouldn’t make a decision on where I’d go based on what he does, but it could have a little impact. It all depends.”
What’s Marquis say about his recruiting?
“He said he’s ready to get it over with. He’s trying to be patient with it right now, but there’s a lot going on.”
What’s a timeline for you?
“By this time next year I think my parents and I will be ready to decide. I talked to my mom about it last night. I think I’ll be ready.”
UPDATE: 12:20 p.m. – Deshaun Thomas confirmed his commitment to Ohio State after his team’s morning game at Assembly Hall. There had been rumors that the 6-7 Thomas had opened up his recruiting again and was considering Indiana. The Fort Wayne Luers senior-to-be said he had been taking calls from other coaches, but has recently been telling them his pledge to Ohio State is solid.
Not that it keeps the other coaches from contacting him.
“I was kind of thinking (I might open it up), but (Ohio State coach) Thad Matta built a team around me and that’s what I want,” said Thomas, who has 2,254 career points and could break Damon Bailey’s state scoring record next year. “I’ll go there with Jared Sullinger and we’ll win a national championship our freshman year.
“I tell other coaches I’m sticking with Ohio State. That’s where I’m going.”
Thomas said he’s looking to improve his ball-handling and shot off the dribble this summer.
Thomas’ teammate on the 17-and-under Spiece Indy Heat, Pike junior-to-be Marquis Teague, said he’s sticking with his timeline of June to make a decision and confirmed Kentucky has joined the list of potential suitors. That list also includes Cincinnati, Indiana, Louisville, Ohio State, Purdue and Wake Forest.
Teague was wearing an IU sweatshirt before Saturday morning’s game, but don’t read too much into that. He said his dad’s friend bought it for him.
“I’m going to make my decision next month,” said Teague, considered a top-10 player nationally in the 2011 class. “I’m still talking it over with my family and trying to see. I’m definitely making it next month.”
Teague said he will make an unofficial visit to Kentucky and will also make another visit to Louisville. He said he has a strong relationship with Indiana coach Tom Crean.
“I like all the schools that have offered me so I’m going to take a strong look at all of them,” he said. “The coaches told me to make a decision when I’m comfortable.”
I’ll add more in a bit.
11:05 a.m. – After a few hours of sleep, we’re back in Bloomington today for the second day of the adidas May Classic. I was able to catch the end of the 8 a.m. game at Assembly Hall, won by the 15-and-under Spiece Indy Stars (Ron Patterson, Austin Burgett and Kellon Thomas among others) over the Southwest Illinois Jets. I also saw most of the second game, a win for the 16-and-under Indiana Elite Team Indiana (Dee Davis and Austin Etherington among others) over the Bay Area Hoosiers.
I caught up with several guys to gauge how their travel seasons are going and where they are with recruiting.
* We’ll start with Patterson, a 6-3 sophomore-to-be from Broad Ripple. Patterson said he is considering Indiana, Ohio State and Purdue at this point, but isn’t narrowing anything down yet. His ballhandling appears to have improved since the school ball season and he still shows a knack for taking the ball strong to the basket.
Are you looking to limit your recruiting to those three schools?
“I’ll still open it up to more schools. Those are just the three I’m looking at now.”
What are you working on this spring with your game?
“Shooting, ballhandling and rebounding. We’re doing pretty good; won a couple of championships so far.”
Anybody else recruiting you that hasn’t offered?
“Illinois, Wake Forest and Xavier. It’s still early so I’m not close to a decision yet.”
We wrote about Burgett, a 6-8 Avon sophomore-to-be, in Friday’s paper so there’s not much new there. He took an unofficial visit to Purdue on Thursday, though he doesn’t have any offers yet. Burgett was aggressive taking the ball to the basket on Saturday, dunking a couple times. Coach Chris Hawkins said Burgett has been playing more aggressively on the offensive end.
How did the Purdue visit go?
“It went pretty good. I like the campus. They showed academics and the dorms and we were able to look at the new facility and season video and things.”
Anybody else you’ve talked to lately?
“Yeah. I talked to Iowa recently. Also, Louisville, Ohio State, Xavier and Illinois.”
Looks like you’re not just playing the post this spring?
“Not really. We don’t really have a big man so I have to in school ball. I get to work on some things from the outside here.”
What position to project at in college?
“Wherever the coaches put me. If they have bigger people than me, I think I could play the ‘3.’ But I can go down low because I’m use to that, too. I think I’ve got an inch or two left to grow. But I don’t want to be 6-11 or 7-foot and all clumsy.”
I’ll have more in a bit. Terry Hutchens also has a running blog going on his IU site so check there for other updates.
Hoosier Scout 