Blue-chip recruit Rush visits Indiana

[greasywheels121]

Good to see you talking Indiana B-ball again Rex.

[Rex Hudler]

Lucky for you, the one thing I know more than baseball is college basketball.  Illinois will be good this year, but they're going to be a totally different team than they were last year.  The main reason they were so great last year is that they were a phenomenal shooting team.  You leave them open, and they'd drain it.  There's a gigantic dropoff in the shooting ability from someone like Head to Randle.  Michigan St. will be the class of the Big 10, but I fully expect Illinois to get around a 4 seed next year.

 

I wouldn't underestimate the loss of Roger Powell either. Illinois has talent no doubt and they may be very good. But as you said, they will be a very different team. Last year's team had a unique cohesiveness. This year new players will have to step up and they will have to all fit together to make that happen.

[Rex Hudler]

Thanks greasy....... this is always a favorite time of year for me. Baseball is winding down, college football is about to begin and it is about the right time to start thinking IU hoops in depth.

 

[greasywheels121]

http://cbs.sportsline.com/collegebasketball/story/8745410

 

While Rush is still on, Hoosiers also court European big man

By Gregg Doyel

CBS SportsLine.com Senior Writer

 

While Indiana has been competing with Kansas and Illinois in a very public recruiting battle for Brandon Rush, the Hoosiers have been working behind the scenes on an international recruit who could have a similar impact -- this season.

 

His name is Cem Dinc, he's a 6-foot-10, 255-pound athletic marvel of Turkish-German descent, and if he's not a household name in your household ... don't feel bad. Dinc has spent less than six months in the United States, and never played organized basketball in this country. He was enrolled last fall at Brewster (N.H.) Academy but left in November with a broken finger, returning to Germany and earning his high school degree.

 

"When he returned to Germany, he literally fell off the map," Brewster coach Jason Smith told CBS SportsLine.com on Wednesday night. "Everyone forgot about him."

 

Smith says Indiana coach Mike Davis must have learned about Dinc through Turkish national coach Bogdan Tanjevic, who coached Davis in the 1980s in Europe. Recently the Hoosiers have been recruiting Dinc quietly but furiously, believing he could be the missing piece on their otherwise loaded roster. Indiana has guards galore with Lewis Monroe, Marshall Strickland, Robert Vaden and A.J. Ratliff, and they have skilled forwards in 6-7 Marco Killingsworth and 6-9 D.J. White.

 

But Indiana doesn't have a center like Dinc, whose arrival could push the Hoosiers to the top of the Big Ten. Dinc told Smith on Wednesday that he will visit Indiana early next week. Dinc also is being courted by North Carolina, Smith said, and could visit the Tar Heels next week as well -- but a visit to Indiana is the only one Dinc has arranged.

 

Smith is holding out hope that Dinc will play this season for Brewster. Whoever gets him, Smith said, is getting a physical specimen.

 

"In terms of athleticism, Cem is phenomenal," Smith says. "He runs like a guard, is an explosive athlete, and has great footwork and great hands."

 

However, Dinc is still a mystery -- even to Smith.

 

"You can't judge heart and work ethic, because you just don't know," Smith says. "Nobody over here has seen him for a full year."

 

Few U.S. college coaches know Dinc as well as ex-Western Carolina coach Steve Shurina, who hosted Dinc on an official visit to WCU last year. Shurina feels he probably would have signed Dinc had he not been let go after the 2004-05 season.

 

"I'm like just about everyone else over here -- I've never seen him play -- but everyone says Cem is an unbelievable athlete for his size," Shurina says. "The people we spoke to in Turkey, our contact, said he's a freak -- literally. He was raw, but they'd never seen a guy his size do the thing he does."

 

Dinc's injury last year, and subsequent return to Europe, weren't the only reason he has been under the U.S. recruiting radar. Shurina says the schools that did know about him were led to believe Dinc would spend the 2005-06 season at a prep school, thinking it would be his best route to the 2006 NBA Draft.

 

Now, Smith says, Tanjevic is pushing Smith toward Indiana. Even if the Hoosiers land Rush, they would have a scholarship available for Dinc because redshirt freshman center Lucas Steijn is expected to transfer to a junior college.

 

Smith said Dinc should have no trouble getting eligible. For one thing, Smith said, Dinc was a terrific student in Germany who has aspirations of becoming a doctor after his basketball career is finished. For another, Smith said, Dinc's involvement with German club teams was limited to second-division squads that didn't compromise his amateur status with the NCAA.

Source: Chaney to Indiana won't happen

 

A source close to Utah transfer Richard Chaney said the shooting guard won't end up at Indiana, contrary to Chaney's own announcement earlier this week. In the Utah news release announcing Chaney's departure on Monday, the player said he would be transferring to Indiana.

 

Not going to happen, the source said. A more likely destination is Long Beach State.

[He_Gawn]

Sweet, another huge freaking big man. We should dominate the boards.

Edited August 19, 2005 by He_Gawn

[CanOfCorn]

Don't underestimate the trip to Spain for Brock and Randle. That could be huge in cohesion and experience. The Illini won't be a run and gun team next year...they will be much bigger with Carter, Arnold and Augustine. There's always a chance they could be better than last year because they won't live and die on the outside shot. I don't think they will go 37-2 again...but I bet they go around 24-6 ish.

 

As for Texas, Tucker is eligible, Aldridge is back but CJ Miles is in the NBA. The only thing the 'horns don't have is shooting. Gibson is awesome, but he's not a great shooter. They are going to struggle from the outside but they are going to beat up on some teams. this reminds me of Barnes' teams at Clemson. could be a Final Four team again this year.

[greasywheels121]

Not a loss at all, and IIRC this opens up another scholarship FWIW.

 

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...S0601/508190480

 

Hoosiers' Steijn headed for junior college

Associated Press

 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Lucas Steijn, a 6-10 redshirt freshman from the Netherlands, has decided to leave Indiana and transfer to a junior college, coach Mike Davis said Thursday.

 

"He is a player who has a load of potential and we wish him the best of luck in his future," Davis said.

 

Steijn, who has not decided where he will enroll, played high school basketball at Notre Dame Academy in Middleburg, Va., and averaged 12 points and eight rebounds per game. He also played three years on the Dutch National Team, averaging 16 points and 10 rebounds per game.

[Chisoxrd5]

Not a loss at all, and IIRC this opens up another scholarship FWIW.

 

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...S0601/508190480

 

Hey Greasy have you heard anything about the Turkish National player Cem Dinc (pronounced Gem Dench) visiting IU? I know he was being recruited by Illinois last year, played overseas last season, and has recently returned. Apparently he transformed from fringe prospect to big-time player while he was gone. I heard he will be visiting IU and UNC and possibly choosing between the two.

[greasywheels121]

Hey Greasy have you heard anything about the Turkish National player Cem Dinc (pronounced Gem Dench) visiting IU? I know he was being recruited by Illinois last year, played overseas last season, and has recently returned. Apparently he transformed from fringe prospect to big-time player while he was gone.  I heard he will be visiting IU and UNC and possibly choosing between the two.

 

Yep 2 steps ahead of you....Post 79...

 

http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...ndpost&p=835681

 

Reading about him, I think I'd almost be more excited if he came over Rush. I really think Rush is ending up at KU.

[Chisoxrd5]

Yep 2 steps ahead of you....Post 79...

 

http://www.soxtalk.com/forums/index.php?sh...ndpost&p=835681

 

Reading about him, I think I'd almost be more excited if he came over Rush.  I really think Rush is ending up at KU.

 

Ha...well reading is a skill, which apparently I don't possess.

 

 

I kinda hope you grab him. He's always intrigued me and I'm all about this upswing which all the Big Ten teams are currently on.

 

Personally, I still doubt Rush plays anywhere this season. But if he does Kansas sounds like the place. I'm sure Self is making promises to him that other coaches won't make when it comes to playing time, etc. Hell, we all know how good of a recruiter he is.

[Cerbaho-WG]

Not a loss at all, and IIRC this opens up another scholarship FWIW.

 

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...S0601/508190480

 

I remember seeing Lucas at the Wright C-Store a lot and he was definitely at a loss upstairs. I'll sadly have to tell my RA buddy that his favorite player left IU

 

 

As for Dinc, I hope he comes here. Another actual German on campus wouldn't be bad.

[aboz56]

Talked to Clark Francis (The Hoop Scoop) this week, he came into my work, said that any program that takes Rush is crazy and that the kid is a cancer waiting to happen. Says he is one of the least disciplined guys you will find.

[Palehosefan]

The problem with Cem Dinc is that he wants to play on his national team and their team likely won't end play until September. UNC admissions wouldn't let him in that late, but Indiana gave him the clearance. Either way, it looks like he's headed to Indiana and should be a nice pick-up, though I'm not sure anyone on IU or UNC coaching staff has ever seen him play.

[whitesoxfan99]

Rush should be announcing his decision today.

[maggsmaggs]

He is going to Kansas and just about everyone knows that.

[greasywheels121]

He is going to Kansas and just about everyone knows that.

 

I don't really want him anymore, after some things I've heard, so I hope it's Kansas.

[Buehrle>Wood]

He is going to Kansas and just about everyone knows that.

Not really. The only sources for this is Phog.net and radio reporters who use Phog.net as a resourse.

[He_Gawn]

whens he announcing?

[whitesoxfan99]

whens he announcing?

 

Apparently not today anymore. There are even a couple reports on Kansas boards saying no decision has been made yet.

[He_Gawn]

UH OH!!! I see shuf viewing this.

[greasywheels121]

I'm really happy about this one.

 

http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/arti...509/1004/SPORTS

 

Turkish player decides on IU

By Terry Hutchens

[email protected]

 

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Cem Dinc needed just eight hours on the Indiana University campus Tuesday to decide he wanted to play basketball for the Hoosiers this fall.

 

Dinc (his full name is pronounced Gem Dinch), a 6-10, 250-pound member of the Turkish national team, gave IU coach Mike Davis his oral commitment over dinner Tuesday night. Later in the evening, he canceled visits to the University of North Carolina and the University of Florida.

 

He returned to Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday but will be back in Bloomington on Sunday and start classes Monday. He is expected to miss some early class, however, as he said he plans to play for Turkey in the European Championships in September.

 

"I just knew right away that this was the place I wanted to play," said Dinc, who turned 20 in July. "It was just everything. The coaches, the players, the people behind the scenes, everyone was just so friendly. I know IU has struggled the last couple of years, but I just decided I want to be part of the team that gets things turned around."

 

Dinc will be eligible to play this fall, and will sign one of two scholarships Davis had to offer. He becomes the fourth member of the IU recruiting class of 2005, which also includes freshmen Ben Allen and Joey Shaw, and junior college transfer Earl Calloway. The Hoosiers are waiting to hear from Brandon Rush, who visited IU two weeks ago, and reportedly narrowed his choices to Indiana and Kansas.

 

While most observers expect Dinc to give IU some much-needed depth inside, he said he plays both small forward and shooting guard on the Turkish national team. He said he envisions sharing time with Robert Vaden at small forward in a lineup that could include D.J. White and Marco Killingsworth.

 

"People see that I'm 6-10 and they automatically expect me to play inside, but that's not necessarily the case with me," Dinc said. "I can run, I can jump and I can shoot. I think I can give Indiana a different dimension."

 

Because Dinc has only given an oral commitment, Davis isn't allowed to comment on his latest recruit until the first day of classes.

 

Recruiting analyst Bob Gibbons of All-Star Sports has heard glowing reports on Dinc's potential.

 

"He's reputed to be a top international player, and from what I've heard in college circles he's a player who is loaded with potential," Gibbons said. "Generally, you find that international players are more fundamentally skilled than players over here, and from what I understand he's a typical international player in that regard."

 

During his visit, Dinc actually saw very little of the basketball facilities. Assembly Hall is under construction to put in new scoreboards and the floor is covered.

 

Dinc said he went in the darkened Hall on Tuesday night and visualized a game-night atmosphere.

 

"I can tell it's a very special gym and the coaches just told me to wait until Midnight Madness and I'd get a feel for it then," Dinc said. "I can't even imagine what it's going to be like. I'm very excited to be a part of it."

[He_Gawn]

Hell f***ing Yes

[Rex Hudler]

I like...... not that there is much of a chance to get Rush, but I am torn between wanting him or not. My gut tells me that it is probably best he go to Kansas and that IU has what it needs for this year. This guy and Ben Allen are two big question marks, but most reports seem to lean toward both being ready to play right away.

 

Depth may actually be a problem this year. If Monroe and Calloway can handle the point, I like the makeup of this team so far. Now we just need to get all of them practicing and playing together to form some cohesiveness.

[greasywheels121]

I like......  not that there is much of a chance to get Rush, but I am torn between wanting him or not.  My gut tells me that it is probably best he go to Kansas and that IU has what it needs for this year.  This guy and Ben Allen are two big question marks, but most reports seem to lean toward both being ready to play right away.

 

Depth may actually be a problem this year.  If Monroe and Calloway can handle the point, I like the makeup of this team so far.  Now we just need to get all of them practicing and playing together to form some cohesiveness.

 

Some reason I just see Rush being nothing more than Bracey Wright II. I'm not interested in that.

[aboz56]

Some reason I just see Rush being nothing more than Bracey Wright II.  I'm not interested in that.

He could be a lot worse, Bracey Wright was not as bad as many make him out to be. He is actually a very good kid who got some bad advice about going to the pros and he basically had no help last year.