Anderson University 9th grade final four is today...If Saturday's qualifying round was any indication of the caliber of the class of 2003---then it may be the strongest group in years...6-1 Brandon Evans/Lawrence North has mega athletic skills packed in his lanky wiry frame...He did some things on the court that former Hoosier Greg Graham could not at the same age....6-4 Kristoff Kendrick/Lafayette Catholic is better every time we see him and bigger...A smooth shooting,long 3 man now--he will leave high school a 6-6 shooting guard...Possessing the non- teachable intangibles of court vision and anticipation--Sky's the limit for his development....6-4 Parnell Smith/Pike seems destined to be a post-so a few more inches would help--but he is wide body long armed paint prescence now with great moves and a big bounce off the drop step....6-7 Mike Maccellari/South Bend Clay has an explosive big banging body and reportedly a 1200 SAT as an 8th grader....Offensively he is raw like most frosh but potential is huge and who could bet against the son of a surgeon to achieve his potential ?? 6-0 Ryan Bradley/Northwood has a slick playmaking point guard game and a deep shooting treyball....Brother of 1999 Northwood grad Nic, Ryan tells IBN that Nic plans to leave Purdue and resume his playing career at Bethel for National Champion Mike Lightfoot.....6-0 Jawaan Turner/Hammond must become more of a playmaker for college prospects but as a prep he led the Wildcats in scoring and is capable of doing so off penetration or from deep...A huge prep talent- we expect Turner to continually elevate his game to match his very mature physical stature....Time Will Tell..

Manchester and Anderson are currently in a recruiting battle for 1998 North Central grad Montay Crowder...The 6-4 210 lb. mid major D1 specimen graduated from Western Wyoming this spring but played in aconference with little exposure....Crowder will lock you up the length of the court on defense and his offense is on the rise...A huge prospect Crowder is for the NAIA and NCAA D3 CONFERENCES...Crowder decision soon...

IBN will present The 2000 player of the year award to Zach Randolph today at The Nike Derby Classic in The Louisville Freedom Hall...Game Time is 1:00 P.M.

Saturday-April 29 ,2000

Jamaal Meeks will recruit for Thad Matta at Butler University....The former Indiana Hoosier fireplug will now be in charge of recruiting for the Bulldogs....Meeks most currently had been recruiting for Dan Dakich at Bowling Green State and he also had recruited assissted at Northwestern for Ricky Birdsong....Certainly for Meeks to make a lateral career move from BGSU to Butler--is very interesting to say the least....Leaving good friend and "fellow Hoosier Dan Dakich" for a similar position outside of " the IU Army" ? We won't travel that direction just yet---but whatever the case may be--Butler University now will have a top notch recruiter... Jamaal Meeks in Indianapolis is a National message that the athletic calber of recruits will increase Big Time on The Northside Indianapolis private school campus....

Eric Durrett signs with Danville Area Community College!! The Indianapolis Star News City Player of the year has signed a NJCAA letter of intent with Head Coach John Spezia's program...The 6-2 combo guard has developed into an outstanding college prospect that should be re-recruited mid-major in two years...Now maybe the Shot Dr. will have time to meet with 6-7 Sinisa Komatina of Park Tudor....

6-3 Jeremy Smith /Ft.Wayne North has chosen Indiana Institute of Technology....Rehabilitating his senior season from ACL surgery ,Smith never regained his Junior year form where he scored at 20 ppg. Apparently--Indiana Tech believes Jeremy will recover fully and score prolificly for their seldom mentioned small school program....

Anderson University and Athletic Director Barrett Bates are hosts this weekend to their annual 9th grade statewide boys basketball tournament....32 teams of the state's top freshmen began game play Friday evening....The Final Four begins Sunday at 10:00 A.M.Top frosh participants include 5-10 Jawaan Turner /Hammond High ,6-2 Dante Edwards /East Chicago ,6-4 Evan Long /Lakeland, 6-4 Andrew Hershberger /Goshen ,6-3 Parnell Smith /Pike , 5-10 Jared Yoder /Westview and teammate 5-9 Ryan Yoder....Many more outstanding freshmen will be participating and Anderson is a " Must See " for all those that purport they have an accurate read on Indiana Grade Level College Prospects....See you at Anderson !!

Saturday and Sunday INDIANA prep fans/scouts and "junkies" can view top Juniors in action at Ohio State University in Columbus,Ohio....Dennis Coutee/Jeffersonville ,Chris Thomas /Pike ,Sean Kline /Huntington North will be playing for the Bloomington Red Nike team and Babo SergeChristian /Arlington will play for the Spiece Northwest entry...Other teams are from Pittsburgh ,Cincinnatti ,Cleveland and Columbus Ohio....Nike Super 8 is the round robin official name and All Ohio Red Director Jerry Watson is the "organizer".

Friday-April 28, 2000

6-7 Scott Fisher /Bloomington South has chosen The University of Chicago!!! The academically brilliant (1400 SAT)Fisher chose Chi-Town for their world renowned Economics Masters program and because Scott feels they will have the talent to win a National NCAA D3 Championship....We do not know about their championship chances but we predict Scott Fisher to become the "Donald Trump" of the millineum...

6-3 Antwan Cassell /Elkhart Central has chosen Glen Oaks JC....The gifted aggressive mini Rodman DNP last season but " laced them up " this year at 18 ppg. and 12 rpg.The sky is his limit once he develops a perimeter game in JUCO....

6-4 David Keister /Churubusco has chosen Bethel College....Anyone who has ever seen this long armed,broad shouldered,raw boned 215 lb. power forward play will leave the gym talking about how hard Big Dave plays....Known to compete ferociously, Bethel College acquired a " warrior " in David Keister

6-4 Marcus Olugosi /Hammond High will begin his college career across the Indiana/Ilinois state line at South Suburban Junior College....Veteran SSJC mentor Terry Collins has done his homework and has landed the " dynamite explosive" ,shot blocking ,paint intimidator....With perimeter work, the gifted Olugosi will be a huge recruit in two years....

5-10 PG OSIRIS LANDS /SOUTHPORT is the student-athlete IBN viewers will remember that was left off of the IBCA coaches all state academic TOP 25 in spite of the fact he is SOUTHPORT'S valedictorian with a 4.6/4.0 GPA and a 1350 SAT....LANDS tells IBN that he will keep his options open for all high academic institutions even though his family is pressuring him to attend Harvard....Harvard has no roster spots next season but want Osiris to attend prep school next 2000-2001 school year and then lead the Harvard team at point the next four years....Ever been triple teamed ?? How about four people in your face with the same " song and dance " Lands has Uncle Steve Downing (IU),cousin Mike Artis /East Chicago/Univ. of Cincinnatti,father, and brother Shabaka Lands all pushing him to this prep school/Harvard deal....Osiris is impressed with the situation except he would rather matriculate now to an IVY LEAGUE type school without prep school...Big Time academic schools should contact IBN or call Steve Downing at The Indiana University Athletic Office....

Recruiting Rumblings....6-2 2G Mike Flynn /New Albany has offers from Indiana Wesleyan and Hanover College...He primarily is seeking the highest level situation that offers his academic interest of Computer Animation....Decision within the next four weeks....Churubusco High was led this season by 5-10 James Ford....The textbook Indiana guard, Ford " leaves all energy on the court " in hard nosed Scott Skiles fashion...James Ford states he will decide between Franklin and Tri-State in the next week.... 6-5 sharpshooter Derek Bechtel /Edinburgh will decide between Franklin College and Marian College...We believe Franklin will win since someone has sold Bechtel that Franklin Pre- Law students are always accepted to National Law school programs....Time will tell in the next week....Thank God Derek's mother is his Chief advisor in this process!!! Overbearing father Rick can play some Golf and his jumper is legendary in Oakland City ;but MAN, the guy is a nice fella but not half the talent his wife developed in son Derek...Academic scholarship granting schools are " totally sleeping at the wheel" by not offering the 25 feet triple threat Derek Bechtel /Edinburgh....

Attention all Junior Colleges !!6-4 Power Forwards and Small Forward prospects Antonio Lisenbee /Ben Davis and Brad Gulick /Dekalb are both slam dunking, rebound machines that seek the best situation....Gulick chose not to play this season due to family issues but Coach Cliff Hawkins remains in his corner ....6-8 George Wilder /Mississinewa had a broken foot for half the season ....At 230 lbs. , George is a paint roadblock that knocks opponents around before he inhales the rebound....Wilder receives a great deal of interst from several schools but now wants the best possible Junior College situation

Thursday -April 27, 2000

Comical is the fact that anyone would today report that Greg Stone has any connection with Ben Davis....The very gifted team player Stone is now the legal guardianship of IUPUI asst. Kevin Jones... Stone attends Lawrence Central with coach Jones equally talented son-Kevin Jones,Jr.... Guardianship of Greg Stone was as a matter of fact done since he could not handle 2time state champ Steve Witty's disciplined team program.....Stone is arguably the finest shooting guard in the state and this latest development must also signal an early committment to IUPUI...We hope his prep career will now flourish on the far eastside of Indianapolis....

6-7 SF Sinisa Komatina/Park Tudor of Indianapolis ....According to Coach Ed Kelly,The Belgrade Yugoslavian native will probably sign with Glen Oaks CC or possibly Danville Area CC in neighboring Danville,Illinois....Shockingly is the fact that shot Dr. John Spezia has yet to see Sinisa play...Routinely, no JUCOS recruit Indianapois harder than John Spezia...Komatina has excellent ball handling skills and the size that equals high major in two years with the right development....Decision soon!!

6-2 COREY STOKES/EAST CHICAGO....Stokes story is long but not much different than most Region athletes....We expect the High major to sign now with Paris, Texas...Hutchinson was a leader but they do not call anymore....Central Florida is still a possibility....San Jose in California was a visit but not having the possibility of playing for A National title is a big negative....USC is the impetus pushing Corey to San Jose ...Set up a prep in a good JC situation and then expect him to matriculate your way is a tune that is "played out"...Stokes in two years does not need a parachute anywhere...What he needs is an Associate Degree and the opportunity to continue his education and playing career in the best situation possible...NOT A SITUATION THAT HAS BEEN DICTATED BY ANYONE OTHER THAN COREY STOKES..... Basically the young man is devastated that he was not chosen for The Indiana All-Star team...His performance at Pike High School ,in an event that was reportedly to allow officials to view prospective all stars, was outstanding!!! Easily his performance was top five but his 3 hour drive south was in haste once the the " shot callers " went behind closed doors and made their demands and threats for their hometown heroes...The team brokers realize that Kentucky is weak this year so why waste a selection in Lake County on someone that we do not need to win and certainly will not sell any tickets to the game ??East Chicago/Villanova 6-7 Ricky Wright was chosen last season because they had to have him....Wright was in horrible condition at the workout; but, the other INDIANA post players were so average they had to invite him or be embarrassed... Let's face it ,Indiana sweeps this year with Zach Randolph,Jared Jeffries,Brody Boyd,Brett Buscher and Andre Owens....The Stokes snubbing places him in elite company from Lake County --of which is a whole different story....The bottom line is take a Lake County athlete if we need him to win or if his popularity is such that many tickets will be sold because of him....Is his coach active as "a mover and shaker in the state" ? YES ? Then you still have a chance my friend...Corey Stokes unfortunately lost out for all those reasons... ....Look at the Indiana Basketball Hall of fame and view similar snubbings of worthy candidates....What type of Basketball state has not elected East Chicago's Jim Bradley,Junior Bridgeman,Pete Trgovich ,Bob Cantrell or Darnell Adell to the Hall of Fame ?? Want bios on these champions ??? Who has won a state championship as a player and also coached a team to the final four ?? Darnell Adell is the only one as he led EC Washington to the 1971 state championship and later coached Cleveland Indians Kenny Lofton to the final four with East Chicago Washington....With all the inductees credentials that are not even close to Darnell Adell's and the other aforementioned East Chicago Legends, what does it take to become elected ???Only in Indiana Basketball!!!

Wednesday-April 26, 2000

Due to final examination preparations, Bradley University had to postpone their visit with Warsaw's Chris Wiggins....The University does not have an available scholarship at this time so Chris would have to walk-on his freshman year...Wiggins visits "up and coming planned Division NCAA 1" Gardner-Webb this weekend so possibly a decision is soon from the Talented Tiger...

6-4 shooter Andrew White /PENN is in a similar situation as Chris Wiggins...Many NCAA D one schools desire them to walk-on but also want them to wait and see if a scholarship is available after the school is rejected by other nationwide preps that may reside higher on their recruit list....White certainly is determined to send IBN his next address from an NCAA DIVISION ONE Institution....After viewing his post season performance in the "TOP 40 GEOGRAPHICAL STATEWIDE WORKOUT " and his MVP performance in the SOUTH BEND TRIBUNE ALL-STAR CLASSIC, IBN is convinced White will enroll this August as a roster player in NCAA DIVISION 1 MENS BASKETBALL...Like Wiggins,Bradley has the same interest in Andrew as a walk-on....Eastern Michigan,Central Michigan ,Eastern Kentucky and St. Peter's (NJ) All want White to visit....The good news for D1 that need late recruits is the fact that White will play anywhere in America to achieve his dream of D1.... Whether he triple threats you to 25 feet or" bangs for boards" ,White and his tremendous winning attitude and huge potential-- will be a great addition to any program needing leadership on the court....

6 TIME NAIA D2 NATIONAL CHAMPION BETHEL COLLEGE has two signings to report...

The National champs have signed two "run thru walls guards" in namesake 5-10 Matt Walls/Monrovia and 5-10 Adam Bontreger /Westview....Both Walls and 2 time state champ Bontreger are warriors anyone would go to battle with and the perfect choices for a program that is accustomed to nothing less than a NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIP....Bethel is also close to signing more talented Indiana preps....MORE SOON..

Anderson University Head Coach Denny Lehnus has won 70% of his games the past two years at The Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference University...He played College hoops at the Central Indiana private School before embarking on a 30 year successful High School,College and Jr. College coaching career....Yesterday he announced that he has signed 6-5 forward Brandon Etchison /Frankfort who scored 15 ppg. and grabbed 9 rpg. while also earning All Central Indiana Conference honors ...Etchison joins previously signed 6-4 Chris Hansen /Franklin Central in the Ravens current class of 2000....More Raven Recruiting info. in next few days...Stay Tuned!!

Tuesday- April 25,2000

6'8" JOHN WATKINS /DEKALB /WRIGHT STATE HAS RECEIVED HIS OFFICIAL RELEASE

The big forward with small forward skills offensively will leave the under achieving Dayton,Ohio program in search of a scholarship granting program that will play an exciting brand of hoops....He could go JC for one year or sit out next season with three years eligibility -- all options the Watkins family are open to...As a freshman ,John scored 18 on Central Michigan and had a nice year until older,injured players returned healthy and sat him down for no reason...IBN subscribers should call for further info. or call coach Cliff Hawkins directly at Dekalb High School

CAMERON STEPHENS SIGNS WITH THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA AT CHARLOTTE!!

The 6'7 Vincennes JC standout has ended all speculation regarding his next NCAA D1 destination by signing his national letter of intent with the Charlotte,North Carolina institution....Stephens called IBN to report the University seemed a perfect match for what he has to offer as a small forward.."They needed me the most", Cameron stated as he also was considering Ball State,Memphis State, Long Beach State and Houston...The former Ft.Wayne South star/ Indiana All-Star and Purdue recruit has now hopefully found NCAA happiness at UNC-CHARLOTTE...Ben Davis fans will remember their Indianapolis westside star Henry Williams(1988) as being UNC-Charlotte's all time leading scorer..Here's hoping the same success for the amiable Cameron Stephens

Denny Lehnus's Anderson University Ravens have signed 6'4 forward Chris Hansen /Franklin Central and we expect Levi Perigo /Southwood to run Track and run the point guard position the next four years at Anderson University...6'6 Mike Shelton/Jeffersonville is also leaning towards Anderson...Coach Lehnus is also expected to be signing two very good posts from Cincinnati...Raven Basketball is on the threshold of huge National possibilities in both Conference and Tournament play....

TRI-STATE SIGNS THREE....Yesterday we reported Chad Browne signed with the Angola ,Indiana program and today we have two more committments...PG Luke Amstutz/Carroll of Ft.Wayne and PF Jacob Shearer /Churubusco have also signed on with Dick Hack's stellar program...We also expect the Gary Westside connection of Jon Gates to also produce 6'6 James Booyher(2000) and 6'2 Idorthus Turks/Westside(99)/ Lincoln Trail(2000)...Bill Barkimer of New Haven is also a Tri-State possibility....Stay Tuned!!!

Monday-April 24, 2000

6'4 Shooter Andy Means /Lawrence North will walk-on at Duke University....Andy visited Coach K during his spring vacation and Duke basketball is receptive to his attempt for a roster spot....Time will tell...

Attention all Chris Wiggins Fans!! Your interest in the multi talented High major prospect is admirable but Chris tells IBN Sunday evening he will probably not make a decision before the end of the month...We appreciate your 27 emails inquiring about his visit to Bradley except for the fact we never stated that he would be in Peoria this past weekend...What we did report was he would visit Bradley and he tells us this Easter evening that his Bradley visit is Tuesday....He visits Gardner Webb the 28th of this month and we will report before then if Chris plans to Announce......Again, we thank you for all the interest because Chris Wiggins is a special player....Please visit IBN first for all your recruiting news so you do not waste your time with librarians that do not find authentic information----WHAT THEY do is surf the web - paraphrase other sites information and pass it off as their own.... At 6'5 Chris Wiggins of Warsaw is Indiana's top unsigned prospect!!

6'6 Mike Shelton /Jeffersonville will decide between offers from Anderson, Manchester, and Bellarmine....

6'5 Steve Siebenmorgen /Warsaw has basketball interest from Bethel, Manchester and Hanover...We expect him to attend Hanover unless he turns to baseball...

6'4 Ricky Gooden /Michigan City has a Bethel offer and interest from St.Xavier,North Park,Tri-State and Lincoln Trail JC....

6'5 2000 Indiana All Star Blake English /Evansville North will either play at Depauw or walk-on at Butler...

6'0 Aden Cheike /Plainfield has an offer from NCAA D2 North Dakota ...He is waiting for test results and also is weighing interest from Brescia....

6'0 David Hanger /North Newton is awaiting test score results and at this time favors St.Josephs College (IN).

6'2 scoring machine Wes Carmony /Indian Creek has offers from Goshen and Marian...NCAA D1 interest remains from Oral Roberts and Troy State...

6'6 Todd Patterson /Brownsburg will decide between Hanover and Depauw

6'2 Corey Stokes /East Chicago was top 5 in the political top whatever workout but as expected he was omitted from the Indiana All Star team....He will either attend JC at Central Florida,Hutchinson or Paris....

Danville Area CC has signed Ben Davis grad Virgil Akers from the 1996 state champ team...At 21 freshmen Akers should be a force...1998 Arlington grad Hogan Black starred at Danville the past two years and Black has now signed with NCAA D2 SIU-Edwardsville....

IBN viewers seeking senior college committment news should click on the blue Recruit College Choice News button that resides in the middle of this news page...College choices this time of year are done as we report...We have added several signings/committments since yesterday....A great deal of Recruiting News on top preps will be here tomorrow morning

Sunday-April 23, 2000 The Indianapolis Star-News announces Indiana/Kentucky High School All Star team.

Congratulations to the selected team members that will represent Indiana in the annual border war!

ZACH RANDOLPH /MARION /MICHIGAN STATE

JARED JEFFRIES /BLOOMINGTON NORTH /INDIANA UNIVERSITY

BRODY BOYD /DUGGER /IOWA

ANDRE OWENS /PERRY MERIDIAN /INDIANA UNIVERSITY

AARON THOMAS /NORTHRIDGE /ROBERT MORRIS

BRETT BUSCHER /CHESTERTON /PURDUE

MIKE BENNETT /BREBEUF /BALL STATE

BLAKE ENGLISH /EVANSVILLE NORTH /UNDECIDED

STEVE DRABYN /LAPORTE /BELMONT

JOHN STANDEFORD /MONROVIA /PURDUE(FOOTBALL)

SHANE POWER /ANDREAN /IOWA STATE

AUSTIN PARKINSON /NORTHWESTERN /PURDUE

JOHN HAMILTON /GREENFIELD CENTRAL /WEBER STATE

RECRUITING NEWS.....Westview two time state champion Derek Yoder is deciding where to take his deadly jumper next season....The final three finalists are Bethel,Tri-State and Huntington College..

Aaron Jillson of Munster has offers from Depauw,St.Josephs,Marian. Continued NCAA D1 interest is from Western Michigan and Northern Arizona...

2000 Indiana All Star Aaron Thomas/Northridge had signed to play for Jim Boone at Robert Morris..Once Boone resigned to take the Eastern Michigan position, speculation arose over Aaron's future at RM..Prep school or JC would have been an "easy out" for Thomas...Let's face it, he signed to play for Jim Boone's style of basketball..Coincidental was the fact,Jim Boone was the coach at Robert Morris...Now that fired Nebraska coach Danny Nee has taken the job,Aaron plans to fulfill his committment and attend Robert Morris...Coach Nee assured the Northridge star that he is a big part of their plans the next four years....So-- JUCOS and PREP schools can stop calling IBN for Aaron Thomas updates....

Ft.Wayne Harding's point guard Daryl Burnett now reports he has earned a 23 ACT with his 1070 SAT..Having a 2.5GPA,Burnett should now qualify for NCAA D1...He plans to call all those NCAA D1'S that called earlier but thought he would not qualify...A Purdue walk on he states is possible..Junior Colleges at Owens CC and Lincoln Trail are the most interested along with NAIA Union...

Demetrick Gamble/Ft.Wayne Snider should decide next week between Central Florida,Lincoln Trail,Paris,and Owens CC Junior Colleges....

Purdue transfer Cameron Stephens has big decisions this spring between UNC-Charlotte,Memphis State,Ball State,Houston and Long Beach State...His first cousin 6-5 Brandon McClemore also of Ft.Wayne South has similar decisions at the Junior College level...The explosive, active three-four man has interest from Lincoln Trail and Owens Community College ...

IBN wishes all a peaceful and spiritual Easter Sunday!! Take Care of Yourselves..

Saturday-April 22,2000

JOSH WITTGREN TO LAKELAND JC....The 7'0 rail thin shot blocking paint menace has chosen the Mattoon,Ill. Junior College in order to gain muscle mass for the next level...With his family DOC predicting one more growth spurt to 7'5", Big Josh may have the entire NCAA world at his doorstep in two years....Anyone who watched the CLASS A final game would have to agree Wittgren is the definition of potential....Rejecting at least 10 shots vs. eventual champion Lafayette Catholic,Wittgren showed quick feet and a nice touch in the lane whenever he could get his feet set...Muscle mass and weight gain is often hard for big thin athletes to gain....Time will tell if Josh will be able to add the necessary strength....We look forward to following his progress..Stay Tuned...

Hanover College's Dr. Michael Beitzel has signed two solid low major prospects with the addition of Thad McCracken/Bedford North Lawrence and Tony Sanders/Mitchell...We would have thought the 6-6 Sanders would have chosen football but his physical strength will greatly help Hanover....Always an IBN favorite,McCracken is a fiery "run through walls " type of lead guard...Hanover would like to also add John Gergely/Speedway and Eric Yoder/Westview....Those decisions soon..

WABASH COLLEGE IS THE CHOICE FOR MATT STORM!!! Lapel High School's skywalking 5'10" Mr.Everything has decided to continue his playing career in Mac Petty's Wabash program....Recovering from a broken nose, Storm had contemplated walking on at Evansville but as of today his choice is Wabash...Basketball fans in Western Indiana should take in Storm's game at Wabash....When Matt is hot, he is a special player to watch!!

Tiny Calumet College of Whiting,Indiana is a four year Bachelor degree granting institution that specializes in non-traditional students that work full-time....They will be implementing an Athletic program for the 2000-2001 school year and have hired former Bishop Noll girls coach Andy Jucsik as their first Athletic Director...Entering the tough NAIA D2 league that Bethel College annually has dominated,,Calumet College was fortunate to hire Teyon McCoy as their first mens coach....Hoosier fans will remember Teyon as Jack Gabor's star guard at Bishop Noll Institute and later as a collegian at Maryland....McCoy also has administrative experience working in the ATLANTA HAWKS organization....Home games will be played in the historic Hammond Civic Center....6'5 slam dunking swing Nick Jovanovich of Griffith tells IBN that he plans to try the new program his freshman year...1997 Gary Roosevelt grad Damon Bruce has bounced around for three years in search of a good situation..He now also plans to take his incredible point skills to Calumet College in spite of CBA offers...Bishop Noll senior Quentin White predictably will take his accurate jumper to Cal College and we also expect Terrence and Torrence Hayes of Gary Wallace(1996) to also "hoop it up " in Whiting,Indiana...When one considers the huge talent pool just on the playgrounds of Northwest Indiana, the success potential of Calumet College is incredible...Rebound is key here as Calumet will be a second and third chance for all those region athletes that annually return home for various reasons .These reasons can be academic deficiency, homesick,not good enough or just a need for work...The reason/excuse list for athletes returning home to the region is too huge for one website...Academic acceptance into the University requires little more than a heartbeat but the remediation and user friendly opportunities are attractive to all prospective college students seeking a Bachelors or Associate Degree....The development of Calumet College Mens Basketball certainly will be an interesting observation the next year....STAY TUNED

RECRUITING UPDATES.....Shelbyville High School's Mark Drake spent Easter weekend in Alaska so you know he is a serious college prospect...The NCAA D2 Alaska-Anchorage program has offered a full athletic scholarship as has Spoon River and Northwest Junior Colleges....Marian College of Indianapolis also covets Drake but they have no athletic scholarships to offer other than grants based on need...The Drake family have no financial need ..We expect the talented combo guard to invest in Winter wear and head for the outstanding situation in Alaska unless he wants to continue entertaining his legitimate dream of NCAA D1 basketball....If that is the case then WYOMING will be his next home...Stay Tuned....

Edinburgh High School's 6'5 shooter Derek Bechtel still entertains East Coast interest but non scholarship granting Franklin and Marian are his most serious offers....Father Rick Bechtel was a good player eons ago at Oakland City College and now that he is a school teacher---he would appreciate serious grants in aid in the form of tuition/lodging for his sharp shooting son...The lithe marksman is that 24 feet triple threat that cannot be taught and we have always rated his game D2 TO LOW D1 scholarship worthy....Stay at IBN for all your recruiting news...

The straw that made two time Class 3A state champion drink championships so to speak was point guard Eric Yoder....Eric seeks a medical related career and more than likely will pursue this career at Hillsdale College in Michigan or Hanover College in Southeastern Indiana....

Indianapolis Northwest High School's 6'6 Dayton Milan is equally a talent in both Basketball and Track-Field....We expect Dayton to attend Danville,Illinois JC for hoops but Virginia has other college opportunities that Milan has chose to entertain....

Evansville Bosse's 6'2 180 lb. shooting guard prospect Damon Dowell is the nephew of former USC great Derrick Dowell..Damon produced 14.5 ppg. and 5 rpg. for coach Gene Ballard's last team at Bosse....Evansville legend Andy Elkins will take over next season for the retired Ballard...Dowell has interest from Oakland City College,Union College and Niagara....Recruiters can evaluate Dowell at Eddie Ford's Hoop Stars College Prospect Showcase this April 29 and 30 in Louisville,Kentucky....Call Eddie Ford for more info. at :270-322-8717...The showcase of talent will display many top prospects from Indiana , Kentucky and the Midwest....

Evansville North's point guard Brandon Ragland has chosen to forego using his " jet point " skills in favor of a higher ground...Yes-Brandon Ragland will attend Bible Institute and work towards his calling of "serving the LORD ."Walking away from the game he loves is not easy according to Brandon but his decision has been clear for awhile now...Wow!! A prep with focus and actual goals past next month is rare and we believe Brandon Ragland is that prep with the master plan....

Friday-April 21, 2000

Depauw University has committments from three Indiana Preps....Head coach Bill Fenlon ecstatically reported to IBN that Matt Kleymeyer/Park Tudor,Jon Owens/Brebeuf and Aaron Drake/Cambridge City have all committed to the program and they have all been accepted by the University....Kleymeyer will finally learn how good he really can be now that he will not be playing football and baseball.... Owens is just a huge steal for Depauw ,but like many freshman he will need to realize Depauw academics and hoops is a tough mix....Aaron Drake is the big fish in small pond illustration since we have seen him for years battle in the summer....At 6-5 he can drain treyballs all day or rebound and drop step dunk on bigger opponents....Depauw may also land 6-8 John Gergely/Speedway but Taylor,Hanover are also offering...Lehigh and Bucknell also continue to stay interested in John Gergely... Valparaiso's Joe Nixon was all league as a freshman last year for Depauw and Chesterton's Joe Ringger is predictably the scoring machine of the future....Depauw is primed to improve on their second place league finish....

Franklin College has signed two solid guards in Scott Study/Winchester and Matt Callen/Milan...

Michael Frazier/Charlestown is the 26 ppg dynamo from southern Indiana...He reports that his visit to John Logan JC went well and he also plans to visit Cincinnati State Tech...Frazier further states that he will remain open to others through the end of May...Michael Frazier can drain 30 for you or also throw 15 assists off penetration.....

Portage High School's Jay Durr is close to Mount Olive committment...The 6-0 point guard did not play as a junior but chose to return once New and exciting head coach Tom Wells was hired to lead the football crazy athletic department....Durr needs mass but he has all the tools for a lead/combo guard....

Jeff Carroll of the MUNSTER TIMES reports that 6-10 Mike O'neill has matriculated from New Mexico Military JC ..Big Mike is an 1998 graduate of Andrean High school that has worked hard and earned a DIVISION 1 scholarship to DRAKE UNIVERSITY.....Unlike some that have fathers dealing relatives in order to reach NCAA D1 , BIG MIKE got his D1 scholarship the old fashioned way-HE EARNED IT!!!!..... IBN salutes O'NEILL for never giving up on his D1 dream!!

Thursday- April 20, 2000

Attention all Junior college subscribers....We have found four incredible prospects 6-7 to 6-8 that are all HIGH MAJOR in ability....All Junior Colleges should contact IBN for more information....

Rose Hulman Institute signs 6-7 Cole Hays of Praire Heights High School....Coach Jim Shaw has added the tall jump shooting post scoring sleeper from Prairie Heights...IBN salutes the Valedictorian from Prairie that is planning to use Basketball in order to earn his Bachelors in Chemical Engineering....

Wednesday-April 19, 2000

BALL STATE'S RAY MCCALLUM TO HOUSTON !!

The Cardinal seven year mentor has accepted the head coaching position that became available when NBA legend Clyde Drexler recently resigned....The MAC lost a tremendous motivator of young men....Bittersweet it must be for coach McCallum to leave his hometown and the basketball program he starred at as a collegian....As a coach he attracted hugely underrated instate talent and drove them to excellence- as evidenced by the MAC tourney championship this season and the huge upset of Purdue University....Never truly appreciated in his own hometown-we applaud his decision to bolt for Houston where he will receive all the support necessary to build a TOP 25 program....Speculation now abounds concerning his replacement at BSU...With a full roster intact, we hope the University would move slowly in the hiring process so the right coach will be hired....Cardinal hoops has been exciting under coach Ray McCallum and the next leader must be committed to maintaining that sizzling brand of Basketball !!

Clark Golish of Class A runnerup Union-Dugger has decided not to pursue college basketball.The scrappy 6-3 small forward states he is hanging up the sneakers and will be attending Indiana State University solely for academics....Do not be surprised in a year or so if IBN reports that Golish has resurfaced in a college basketball program....Few played the game this season with his passion and desire...We wish Clark Golish the best in all his endeavors and appreciate the excitment he brought to Indiana Basketball!!

Avon High School's 6-7 Troy Weisshaar and 6-6 John Harshbarger have signed their letter of intents with Olney Central JC of Olney,Illinois..Olney assistant and Vincennes native Lance Madison already had signed Myron Hodge and Chris Maffett from Evansville Bosse...Coach Madison has the frontcourt solid and now has his eye on Indiana guard prospects including C.J.Hill,Demetrick Gamble and Bryant Northern...

Indiana natives faced with many college choices!

1998 LAWRENCE NORTH graduate John Miles has verbally committed to Taylor University....Miles verbal rejoins him with former LN teammate Matt Boling who recently accepted Taylor's scholarship offer....Miles, Boling and sophomore 6-8 Adam Musters/Plainfield should fortify Paul Patterson's front line the next few years....

6-4 power forward John Collins/South Bend Lasalle has signed with Northwest JC in Wyoming........

Jeffersonville High School's Bryant Northern has offers from Morehead State,Ky. and Western Kentucky...Louisville has no scholarship but they have grants available for Northern...With his SAT/960 he still must raise his core GPA to qualify but he reports " all qualifications will be met upon his graduation." He has visited Vincennes JC and we expect his decision by the end of the month-stay tuned.....

No recruitment has had more rumors than Warsaw's Chris Wiggins...The long armed 6-4 guard prospect told IBN Tuesday evening that he has planned visits to Gardner-Webb and Missouri Valley Conference Bradley University....Rumors are worthless and IBN will always report directly from the source....The academic brilliant and rugged power forward Scott Fisher/Bloomington South has narrowed his choices to The University of Chicago and Cornell..Fisher plans an end of the month announcement...

How many shooting guards can you name that are better than C.J. Hill/Ben Davis or Demetrick Gamble/Ft. Wayne Snider??? Not many? Both must attend Junior colleges for academic work but otherwise they are mid to high major college prospects....Gamble scored 22 ppg. for Snider and Hill has been coveted by colleges nationwide for his " A.J Guyton type game ." Shockingly the entire college world asks us how they cannot be in the HOOSIER BASKETBALL MAGAZINE "TOP 40 " workout??? We do not know as we do not endorse that list as being the best in Indiana....Gamble's college choices are " up in the air " but C.J. will decide between Vincennes, Wabash Valley, Tyler,Paris,Hutchinson and he states he will remain open for some time now since he just recently learned JC is his only option...

After dominating the "Top 40 ", Corey Stokes drove home and was a huge player in the NCAA non sanctioned Northwest Indiana All Star game at his home gym in East Chicago...Time will tell if All Star game politicos will allow for the second year in a row a player from East Chicago....Ricky Wright's dominance last summer is just a small example of the huge talent that graces the roster and hallway of East Chicago Central each school year....The entire PAC 10 desire Stoke's tremendous elite skills but JC will be his first address....Vying for his John Hancock the most serious are Hutchinson, Gene Smithson's Central Florida JC, Paris and Lincoln Trail..... Who provides better Indiana prep/college recruiting coverage than IBN ?? Daily authentic , original news separates IBN from all others....Visit us daily for all the latest in Hoosier prep news....

Tuesday-April 18, 2000

JAMAAL DAVIS ends all speculation by signing with the Cincinnati Bearcats!

The talented Merrillville,In. native that was released from Purdue University and who had a stellar season this year at Barton JC will be playing NCAA D1 hoops the next two years for Bob Huggins....Davis tells IBN Monday evening that he cancelled all other college visits and signed with Cincy after he met with the Cincinnati Athletic Director....The Director assured him that Coach Huggins was returning next season and that he was not leaving due to poor graduation rates or any other reason.....All athletes at Cincinnati are easily College graduates if they take the initiative and decide what they need to do in order for earning a degree.......IBN salutes our long time friend Jamaal Davis and his decision to accept the University of Cincinnati offer.....We still expect John Davis,Jr. to be competing next season for Cincinnati State JC...He should graduate from Philadelphia Prep this June and join brother Jamaal in Beantown next Fall....

Monday-April 17,2000

MARCUS JEFFERSON TRANSFERS TO IOWA STATE

The East Chicago native has received his release from BIG EAST Providence College and will continue his collegiate career at Iowa State University..Marcus has desired to return closer to home and he reportedly was not comfortable in the Friar program.... Iowa State has been effective in the state lately with the recruitment of Shane Power/Andrean,Tyray Pearson/Hammond/Kankakee JC, and Junior Adam Schaper/Kankakee Valley High School ...Speculation is that Marcus Jefferson will be playing the shooting guard position while Shane Power will be the wing forward....Coach Larry Eustachy's program has begun to rule recruiting in Northwest Indiana and their hardwork and efforts are very admirable..

6'8" sophomore Matt Kiefer/Evansville Mater Dei is RISING FAST in the class of 2002....Kiefer defines the term rangy !!! Quick,agile with big bounce-Matt Kiefer is well skilled and should grow two more inches...A fiery,physical competitor--Kiefer has been woefully underrated by IBN ...High Major cannot miss is the rating he most deserves....This past weekend his exciting post game led a southwest Indiana club of sophomores to the Kentucky Hoopfest championships....Winning the tourney 72-60 over the St.Louis entry,his squad also defeated the Spiece Pistols 70-60 in semifinals....Dedrick Finn/Castle scored 19 and Boonville's Bryan Mckain penetrated for 22 points....6'9"Andrew Olynk/Jasper is only a freshman and once his rail thin frame stops growing at 7'0"--he will be very good as he now has nice skill....Matt Kiefer was the story this weekend!!! His paint dominance against 6'8" Tyler Best/Lafayette Catholic,6'6" Mike Otto/Maconaquah and 6'9" John Morningstar/Concord was very impressive and a solid reason why he belongs near the top of the Class of 2002

ANDRE THOMAS IS MVP of HBCA All Star game...The Evansville Harrison star scored 33 points to lead his West team to a 123-116 victory over the East in the southern Indiana coaches association all-star classic... Scoring at 23.3 ppg. this season enroute to the school's all-time scoring record,Andre's achievements and talent was not worthy of Hoosier Basketball Magazine's "TOP 40" workout invitation...Thomas was widely recruited by NCAA D1 schools but chose to play football at TOLEDO in the MAC.... Also playing well in the game was:Mike Flynn/New Albany(27 points),Mike Frazier/Charlestown(24 points)and Blake English/Evansville North-20 points....

JOHN MILES will return to BASKETBALL!..The 1999 LAWRENCE NORTH grad has attended Indiana University this school year on a track/field scholarship...Prep fans will remember the 6'5" 205 lb. small forward as an explosive rim-rattling rebound machine in the same line up as the late great 7'0" JOHN STEWART...For the first time in his life,Miles chose to try The High Jump last spring at LN..RESULT? The rookie won state at 6'10" and earned his scholarship to Indiana University...Now the elevator man reports to IBN that he sorely misses the game he loves and he desires a transfer to a scholarship granting University that is in need of his explosive power game..Miles has good range to 17 but he has always overpowered opponents inside with vertical gifts....Interested recruiters should contact IBN for further information....

Saturday-April 15, 2000

University of Indianapolis signs Rossville's Mickey Mcgill!! The 6'2" high flying small town hero has accepted a full athletic scholarship to the Indianapolis southside private college...Elon,Gardner Webb and Taylor University also offered Mcgill....Competing in the Nation's strongest NCAA D2 conference, U of I must annually sign D1 caliber athletes to survive...Mickey Mcgill fits that bill perfectly as he could easily play in any D1 CONFERENCE in America...Congrats to Todd Sturgeon and asst. Ian Brown for keeping the talented Mcgill home in Indiana!!

Friday-April 14, 2000

Michael Darrett verbally committs to Long Beach State University !!

Olney Central Junior College's 6'2" Point Guard has decided to play NCAA division one basketball at the California Institution....The 1998 Evansville Bosse graduate chose Long Beach over Dayton and Southern Illinois University....Evansville Central High School's Chavon Farmer has chosen to accept a full athletic scholarship to the University of Southern Indiana....Farmer will be playing Sunday 4:00P.M. in the HBCA All Star Game at Corydon High School in Corydon Indiana....

2000 INDIANA BASKETBALL NEWS PLAYER OF THE YEAR-ZACH RANDOLPH OF MARION HIGH SCHOOL

IBN'S Third Annual player of the year award winner is Zach Randolph....Not only did Zach dominate Hoosier Hoops enroute to the state championship, he later dominated the best America had to offer in spring All star games....Few players in the history of Hoosier Hysteria have dominated statewide and nationally as Zach Randolph....IBN SALUTES ZACHARY "ZEEBO" RANDOLPH !! Past winners are Clint Keown/Evansville Memorial (1998) and Jason Gardner/North Central (1999)

The Hoosier Basketball Coaches Association Annual All Star Game is Sunday, 4 P.M. at Corydon High school....Corydon is 20 miles West of New Albany, Indiana....Solid unsigned Seniors participating are: Mike Frazier/Charlestown, Wes Carmony/Indian Creek, Derek Bechtel/Edinburgh, Jerry Hanger/Crawford County, Curt Chase/Rushville, Travis Cole/Paoli, Nate Humes/Scottsburg, Mike Flynn/New Albany, Tony Sanders/Mitchell, Scott Williams/Martinsville, Blake English/Evansville North, Jeremy Broshears/Tecumseh and his teammate Jimmy Funkhouser, Brett Pund/Forest Park....East coaches are: Jeff Embry/Austin and Bill Zych/Center Grove....West coaches: Kevin Oxley/Tecumseh and Tom Beach/Forest Park....

Merrillville, In. native Jamaal Davis is visiting the Cincinnati Bearcats this weekend....The Barton County soon to be graduate will be at Cincy this weekend with mother Belinda Brown and brother John Davis,Jr....The talented 6'5" small forward brother's presence is just another reason to believe that Jamaal is near signing with the Bearcats...John did not graduate from Merrillville but will have his credentials this June....John will then matriculate to Cincinnati State junior college....John playing in the same town the next two years as the school recruiting his brother the hardest is obviously no coincidence....Look for Jamaal Davis to announce for Cincinnati in the next day or so.....The extremely talented Davis has been on a roller coaster ride since the premature comparisons to Glen Robinson in his 8th grade year....Jamaal Davis is much more mature as a man than he was as an incoming freshman at Purdue University....IBN expects Davis to begin actualizing his huge potential at the next level when he signs with The University of Cincinnati!!

Anderson,Indiana native Eric Bush could leave Barton Junior College with three years of NCAA D1 eligibility at either Bowling Green State or East Carolina University...Not sold on either situation, we expect Bush to again play at Barton with 2 years of NCAA D1 eligibility when he graduates in June of 2001 .... CARLTON " OUDIE " BAKER had a huge freshman season at Barton Junior College yet situations may require him to transfer near home....Time will tell!!....5'8" point guard Travis Johnson of Shakamak High School has signed to play at Lakeland Junior College in Matoon,Illinois....

Thursday-April 13, 2000

Preps Showcase Saturday April 15

50 of Indiana's top Sophomores and Juniors will be showcasing their skills at Louisville Male High School in Louisville,Kentucky....The athletes participate in the Spiece Gym Rats Club....Notable players are Brandon McKnight/South Bend LaSalle, Jake Wiltrout/Plainfield, Tyler Best/Lafayette Catholic, and Babo Serge Christian/Arlington ...Visit the indiana-basketball website thru the IBN link page for club rosters....Game times begin at 10 A.M. Louisville time and 9:00A.M. Central Indiana time ....Male High School is located at 4409 Preston Highway in Louisville....This Eddie Ford tourney also has teams from St. Louis. Illinois, and Kentucky....

Hoosier Basketball Magazine "Top forty" Workout is set for 1-5:30 P.M. at Indianapolis Pike High School .... The event is NCAA sanctioned and several good Senior prospects are still unsigned.... Top prospects include: Blake Betzner/Maconaquah, Aaron Brothers/Evansville Memorial, Wes Carmony/Indian Creek, Terry Collins/Fort Wayne Snider, Blake English/Evansville North, Mike Frazier/CharlesTown, David Hanger/North Newton, Aaron Jillson/Munster, Bryant Northern/Jeffersonville, Zack Robbins/Bedford North Lawrence, Corey Stokes/East Chicago Central, Andrew White/Penn, Derek Yoder/Westview, Mark Drake/ Shelbyville, Mike Flynn/New Albany, Jake Elder/Providence, Ryan Hixson/ Milan, Jon Owens/Brebeuf, Scott Study/ Winchester, Chris Wiggins/Warsaw....Keep in mind this is not IBN's top Forty selections ....These athletes are solid college prospects but their top forty ranking is from Hoosier Basketball Magazine ....See you at the workout !!!

The Northwest Indiana All Star game is 6:30 P.M. also on Saturday at East Chicago Central High School....Unfortunately for the unsigned involved seniors, the game is never NCAA sanctioned...Only those JUCO'S and small colleges not governed by NCAA rules will be able to attend and evaluate the many good unsigned college prospects....Most affected by the non sanctioning is Aaron Jillson/Munster,Chris Ikpoh/Michigan City ,Reuben Gonzalez/Gary Wallace and Marvin Smith/Merrillville..All strong division one NCAA prospects, they are academically qualified and deserve to be playing in an event that NCAA D1 COACHES can legally attend....The many other strong college prospects playing in the game include:Marcus Olugosi/Hammond,Corey Stokes/East Chicago,Kevin Boyd/Highland,John Richey/Munster,Lamar Long/Calumet,Mike Nastav/Whiting, Nick Jovanovich/Griffith,Josh Boshonowski/Munster,Andre Clark/Gary Wallace,Ricky Gooden/Michigan City,Jamel Travers/Gary Westside,Marcus Gholson/Gary Wirt,Randall Swope/Gary Mann,and Jay Durr of Portage High School....Directions to East Chicago Central High School and any other game particulars should be directed to the game director Rodney Williams at:Hoosier Lottery-(219)882-3433

Wednesday-April 12, 2000

Lincoln Glass to sign today with Auburn University!!

The 1998 South Bend Clay grad and Lincoln Trail Jr. College All American will sign today with Auburn University of the Southeast conference.....Not bad for Northern Indiana's best player in 1998 that, was deemed an alternate/replacement in Hoosier Basketball Magazines Top 40 workout.....The stocky powerful Glass exudes the playmaking,scoring of a Khalid El- Amin.....Former Clay coach Tom Debaets, current Clay coach Joe Huppenthal and Lincoln Trail coach Rick Arp must be commended for lending Glass support/guidance during the hectic recruiting process.....Lincoln Glass will lead the Auburn Tigers the next two years in the Southeast conference.....

Matt Springer of Heritage High will play college basketball at Grace College.....The 6'3" Linebacker built shooter scored 20ppg. and grabbed 6 boards per for Heritage this season.....Prep fans will remember Matt's older brother Caleb starring at Logansport....Now a Sophomore at Rollins College, Caleb is enjoying hoops on the beaches of Florida.....Matt Springer's strength will be a force in Grace Hoops.....

Lawrence North's Matt Boling accepts scholarship to Taylor University.....The 6'8" 1999 LN graduate has spent the past year at New Mexico Junior college..... His committment to Taylor is a huge acquisition for Paul Patterson's Upland, Indiana program.....A triple threat to 22 feet, Boling's perimeter versatility and post explosiveness is just what Taylor needs for a return to National prominence.....

The Hoosier Basketball Magazine "top" 40 geographical workout will take place Saturday, April 15, at Pike High School.....The first session is 1 P.M. to 3 P.M. Second session is 3:30 P.M. to 5:30 P.M. The Workout is sanctioned NCAA for the first time ever.....Several unsigned solid NCAA Division 1 prospects will be playing.....Saturday evening, April 15 the North West Indiana All Star Classic will be held at East Chicago Central High School. Tip-off is 6:30 P.M. Participants will be released in tomorrows news but NCAA division one schools must realize the game is not NCAA sanctioned.....More news tomorrow

Tuesday-April 11, 2000

Butler University names assistant Thad Matta the new Head Coach!!!! In a no brainer decision, the Butler stuffed shirts named the talented and aggressive Thad Matta as head coach....With Collier's recommendation and the players telling the AD that they want Matta--what easier decision did the administration have than to hire the 32 year old Thad Matta....? Deposed Reggie Minton of Air Force was mentioned as a possibility but program loyalty and continuity was the reason for choosing Thad Matta....Recruiting is Matta's strength and we expect athletes of a higher level to be playing at Butler under his regime....No one in America has ever gotten more out of his available talent than Barry Collier did at Butler University....Matta may very well not match Collier's record but he will try to at a very fast uptempo pace....IBN will go on record stating Matta is no Collier clone as we cannot expect any coach to expertly coach like Barry Collier....We do believe though that Matta will bring in more uptempo players than he did as an assistant...The Matta Dawg game will be exciting!!!!

South Bend Clay's Michael Miller will sign with future NCAA D1 IUPU-Ft.Wayne

The 6'2" solid but laid back Miller will sign with the Great Lakes Valley D2 program...Miller scored 13.9 ppg. stole 3 steals per and tossed 4 apg. for Joe Huppenthal's Clay Team of South Bend...Rumors stating Ft. Wayne Snider's Terry Collins is close to a IUPU-Ft.Wayne committment is premature...Collins told IBN Monday evening he needs 20 more SAT test points and he will acheive the score before he makes a decision.... Former South Bend Clay star Lincoln Glass of Lincoln Trail Junior College is close to a decision for Auburn University and Cliff Ellis's SEC big budget program....Former Clay coach Tom Debaets has remained a close friend to Lincoln during this recruiting process....Expect a Glass decision in possibly a day or so.... Jamaal Davis visits with Cincinnati this upcoming weekend....Read it first at IBN!!!

Monday-April 10, 2000

"Late" breaking update!! Monday evening today at 9:30 P.M. Lathaniel Staten of 3A runnerup Andrean tells IBN that he has chosen NCAA division 1 UIC...The silky smooth,6'3" long armed heart of Andrean will be the heir apparent point guard leader for Jimmy Collins' University of Illinois at Chicago Mid-Western Collegiate conference program.... Mid Continent Conference king Valparaiso showed interest as did MAC champion Bowling Green State University that is led by Andrean legend Dan Dakich....Staten still needs a qualifying SAT score but he probably earned it this past weekend....IBN has rarely met a nicer more personable prep than Lathaniel Staten...We predict Staten to lead UIC to the NCAA tourney....

ANDREW FORD will walk on at Purdue University

The 6'3" lefthanded combo guard from West Lafayette High School has chosen to not accept low major scholarship offers in favor of staying home in West Lafayette Indiana ....Playing one day for the Black and Gold of Purdue University is a dream come true for the son of Purdue legend Bob Ford....Walking on at any major college basketball program is an extremely difficult task since there never is any assurance that hard work will ever translate into playing time....With the success of walk-on Chad Kerkhoff at Purdue, many athletes like Andrew Ford seemingly perceive that Gene Keady always needs a roster player that wants to "run through walls for him" and do all the fundamental things necessary to execute Boiler game plans....Walking on is a tough experience but if anyone can do it sucessfully-Andrew Ford can....

Jared Jeffries wins Mr.Basketball by a landslide.....With only 38% of the eligible 1040 voters returning their ballots,the Indiana University recruit easily won the top player crown by a 3-1 margin....Zach Randolph dominated the state of Indiana basketball this season by a 10-1 margin but sinless voters refuse to forgive the 18 year old for his repented mistakes....Not since Shawn Kemp was rejected the top award- has a player dominated the game so easily as Zach Randolph has ....The rejection is obviously hard to accept but the fun loving "Zeebo" has a strong spiritual foundation to help him deal with the reality of the situation....People continue to mention character as an issue in the voting ...Anyone who knows Zach realizes he has a strong character....Integrity of Zach Randolph is not something any voter with a whistle or typewriter has the right to judge....Do not mention character issues- just say you cannot vote for a teenager who has been arressted..That is the issue here..Zach got in trouble with the law so Indiana Basketball believes he does not deserve Mr.Basketball....Shawn Kemp before him turned out to be fairly successful and in the same manner we predict Zach Randolph to have a long and prosperous career in basketball....

Friday-April 7,2000

6'7" Lindsay Henderson/Hammond Morton accepts scholarship to IUPUI-Ft. Wayne....Maine,Lewis and Bucknell Universitys also coveted the hi-post jump shooter but Henderson chose new coach Doug Noll's future NCAA D1 program....Morton coach Russ Marcinek also played for the Ft. Wayne University....

Brandon Webb of Knox High School leads All Stars to victory in South Bend Tribune Prep Show Case

The Oklahoma Christian University recruit drained 26 pts. from long range to lead all area stars past Metro Stars 132-104....Webb was named MVP of the victor and 6'4" Andrew White/Penn was named MVP of the Metros....White scored 21 pts. with 9 rebounds and now has interest from Eastern Michigan and Indiana State....6'4" Combo Chris Wiggins/Warsaw scored 13 for the winners and will visit St. Joseph's, Indiana and Gardner Webb....Michigan State is still a possibility for Wiggins once the champion Spartans return to the universe....Unsigned seniors playing well were 6'4" 220 lb.John Collins/South Bend Lasalle,6'2" Michael Miller/South Bend Clay his 'mate 6'2" wing Dwight Williams,South Bend Adams point Rod Emmons - their athletic 6'4" point to wing Gary Wright and 6'3" Antwan Cassell of Elkhart Central.... Big forward Collins showed good agility in limited action scoring 10 and pulling 8 boards..Tyler,Lincoln Trail and Northwest JUCOS are all interested....Michael Miller is a solid D1 prospect and he has an offer from IUPU-Ft.Wayne....Dwight Williams has interest from Lincoln Trail JUCO and is potentially a strong shooting guard D1 prospect in two years....Rod Emmons scored 10 early points before spraining his ankle..SB Adams Gary Wright is a hugely talented point guard prospect at 6'4" and needs JUCO for refinement of his incredibly gifted physical skills...6'3" Antwan Cassell is a quick bouncing pogo stick in the paint and relentlessly boards and scores at a rate of 11 and 19 per game this year for Elkhart Central..Glen Oaks and Northwest are two JUCOS with most interest...Like Wright,Cassell is big time athletically and potentially can be as good as their work ethic produces the next two years...The South Bend Tribune newspaper for 14 years now has done a wonderful job of hosting this prep showcase..The play is very disciplined for an all star game and the players report in good playing condition..

No African Americans on the Indiana Basketball Coaches Association All State Academic team?? Surely there must be a mistake in the 25 names that Hickory Husker has printed per the IBCA because not one student-athlete of African -American heritage was included on the list!!! Are the standards incredibly high with all school valedictorians and 1500 SAT scores??? HMM?? NO!! The listed 25 athletes are all very deserving, but in most cases they are not the top students in their respective schools..Where is Osiris Lands of Southport High School?? Lands is the Valedictorian of the huge Indianapolis Southside school and also the owner of a documented 1350 SAT score...As IBN'S student-athlete of the year we found not one athlete who combined his classroom performance and test achievement!! Certainly it is possible for Osiris Lands to have been somehow overlooked..Maybe his nomination form was lost in the mail..Osiris Lands not only belongs on the prestigious 25 member Academic All State team--His name belongs at the top of the list!!

Thursday-April 6, 2000

Top Unsigned Seniors at Bethel College

NAIA National Power House Bethel College is hosting their annual Northern Indiana high school ALL STAR GAME....Game time tonight is 7:00 P.M. and Bethel College is located in Mishawaka, Indiana....Just minutes East of South Bend....For further directions call Bethel College Athletics at 219-257-3343....Outstanding prospects participating include : 6'4" Shooter Andrew White/Penn....6'4" Combo Chris Wiggins/Warsaw.... 6'3" Enforcer Antwan Cassell/Elkhart Central....6'0" Point Ryan Thwaits/Fairfield....6'0" Point Rod Emmons/South Bend Adams....6'2" Combo Michael Miller/South Bend Clay....6'2" Wing Dwight Williams/South Bend Clay....6'4" Big Forward John Collins/South Bend LaSalle....6'3" Shooter Brandon Eaton/Tippecanoe Valley....6'4" Wing Gary Wright/South Bend Adams....The game promises to be an outstanding showcase of these student athletes college potential....See you at the game !!!!

Wednesday-April 5, 2000

Northeastern High School's Mark Fowler signs with Eastern Wyoming Junior College The 6'2" combo guard scored 22 ppg.at Northeastern this season and may very well be Indiana's most underrated senior...A tremendous shooter with great court vision, we expect Fowler to be a highly sought after NCAA D1 prospect in two years...

Butler University coach Barry Collier to Nebraska!!

Our inside sources say it is a done deal for the hugely successful Midwestern Collegiate Conference coach to become the next coach at the football power...Furthermore we have learned that the Indianapolis northside NCAA MCC power will name Thad Matta as the next Head coach...Matta is a no brainer as he has been Collier's right arm,eyes,and ears for several years now....Definitely a vertical move for Collier,we expect the cornhuskers to quickly become a top 25 program and we also predict many Indiana preps to migrate towards the Nebraska program....Collier has only needed a stronger conference to recruit top notch athletes and he now has it in Big Time Nebraska Athletics.....Look for an annoncement soon!!!

NCAA D1 PROSPECT AARON BROTHERS from Southwest Indiana

The shooting combo scored 21.5 ppg.,got 5 rpg. and threw 5 apg...Evansville's best senior guard prospect has been an IBN favorite because he never turns the ball over and like MSU'S Mateen Cleeves--he gets the job done by leading and delivering whatever his team needs to win!! Hanover, Campbell, Ball State, Elon,Gardner-Webb, Lehigh, Depauw, and University of Indianapolis are all very interested....

Olney Central point guard Michael Darrett of Evansville will now decide between Dayton and Southern Illinois University...SIU being in dire need of a leader like Darrett --must be considered the frontrunner since his Evansville family is close to Bruce Webber's SIU program...Decision soon..Log on daily at IBN for the only daily authentic recruiting news in Indiana....

Thursday at 7:00 P.M. Bethel College will be hosting a Northern Indiana High School All Star game....Since the game is not during the NCAA EVALUATION period,IBN will cover the event ....The many unsigned seniors will be listed in Thursday's morning news....

Tuesday-April 4, 2000

...Spiece Gym Rats and Bloomington Red are top venues this weekend for college recruiters to evaluate Indiana's top underclassmen !!

Beginning at 9:30 A.M. on the courts of Wabash High School ,60 of Indiana's top freshman to junior players will be showcasing their college potential....Spiece Gym Rats rosters have and never will be a secret as they can always be downloaded at www.indiana-basketball.com....The Bloomington Red Nike Sportsplex center and their information can also be accessed thru the IBA gym rat website.... Bob Pryor's 25 year old program will also feature 50 of Indiana's top underclassmen this spring-summer....Playing at the new Nike sportsplex this season we expect recruiters to be driving between Wabash and Bloomington this weekend....The Red showcases Sean Kline,Chris Thomas,Dennis Coutee,Terren Wilson,Jared Adler,Johnny Miller,Kyle Hankins and super sophomore Sean May not to mention many other low major scholarship prospects....If recruiters are not driving between Wabash and Bloomington this weekend then they have no business recruiting players from Indiana....

Monday-April 3,2000

6'5" DEREK BECHTEL-EDINBURGH and 6'6" NATHAN MESHBERGER-SOUTH ADAMS

No prep has shot the ball any better the past four years than Derek Bechtel...The silky shooting slender sniper averaged 18 ppg. this season while firing 52% from treyball land...Scoring 1331 points for his splendid career,Bechtel now has big college decisions to make...Serious interest thus far has been from Lafayette, Franklin,Hanover,Manchester and Marian...Our prediction-whatever decision Bechtel arrives at -one thing is for sure..He will continue being a perfect gentleman and outstanding student athlete!!

Nathan Meshberger is a very vertical small forward prospect from an athletic family..His sister is a professional volleyball player in Germany..Nathan scored 15.6 ppg.,grabbed 8.5 rpg.,blocked 3 shots per game and drew 21 charges this season...His college interest is from Indiana Wesleyan,Huntington,Central Weber and Glen Oaks JC...His SAT is 880 and he retakes the test on April 8...Nathan can be evaluated April 15 at the Hi potential recruiting workout in Sheperdsville,Kentucky...When you combine Meshberger's perimeter skill and Athleticism--you have a huge low major prospect that many D1 to D2 NCAA programs are missing on....

Sunday-April 2, 2000

What does Del Harris,Greg Popovich,John Wooden and Bill Foy have in common with hundreds of high school,college and professional coaches??They all developed their basketball knowledge in Indiana before embarking on successful coaching careers...Longtime NBA coach Del Harris learned his craft at Earlham College in Richmond,IN....World champion Greg Popovich of the San Antonio Spurs learned hoops in East Chicago,In before playing prep ball at Merrillville,In...Ten time NCAA champion John Wooden learned the game as a young man in Martinsville before becoming a living legend at UCLA..Who is Bill Foy you ask?? Foy is a perfect example of how Indiana natives are coaching basketball in all corners of America...Foy is the head coach at Paris Jr. College in Paris, Texas...Paris is 54-16 the past two years under Foy's direction...The Ft. Wayne native is a 1982 graduate of Indiana University...Foy began his coaching career as an assistant at Southern Methodist University for Dave Bliss...The past twelve years he has led Juco programs at Blinn,Lee and now Paris....Back home this weekend for the NCAA final four,Foy is recruiting Terry Collins-Ft. Wayne Snider,Corey Stokes-East Chicago,David Hanger-North Newton and C.J. Hill-Ben Davis....Indiana Basketball News salutes Bill Foy and hundreds of Indiana bred coaches like him that teach and coach Indiana's Game throughout the World!!

Saturday-April 1,2000

FT.WAYNE SNIDER'S TERRY COLLINS IS CLOSE TO QUALIFYING ACADEMICALLY!

The 6'0" 190 lb. scoring machine needs to score just 20 more points on the SAT in order to qualify under the NCAA academic standards for incoming freshman....This is huge college prospect news because only Brody Boyd can arguably be regarded as a better combo in the state....MAC tournament champion Ball State has been wise enough to stay in contact with Terry..Rick Majerus's Utah program has also expressed interest in Collins if he can score those final twenty test points....Scoring on the court has never been a problem as Collins finished the season at 23.6 ppg. and close to 2,000 points for his career....IBN will never forget our first encounter watching Terry Collins in the spring of his freshmen year..At Anderson University his AAU team the "Believers" were down by twenty at halftime..Understandably his team's confidence was sagging..Collins was noticeably agitated with their attitudes and subsequently ripped each one as they walked to the locker room....He certainly lit a fire within himself because in the second half he poured in 32 points enroute to the team victory..Draining threes off the dribble and drawing fouls to the "rack"-Collins displayed a versatile arsenal that only The Iowa bound Brody Bomber has been able to match in the class of 2000... Not only did he make a "Believer" out of IBN but he restored the confidence of his teammates and they finished the summer season winning several midwestern tournaments... We bet on Terry Collins making his test score this May 6 but if he does not--He will decide on JUCO offers from Paris-Texas,..Central Florida CC and Kilgore,Texas....