IU Basketball Recruiting Focus Goes Big

For all of you who have been wondering about Tom Crean’s focus on recruiting guards (backcourt players Victor Oladipo and Will Sheehey comprise the Class of 2010 so far), consider Moses Abraham, a big guy with a Biblical name who just might help lead some college team to the Promised Land.

Sorry. We couldn’t help ourselves.

Anyway, Abraham is a 6-9, 237-pounder from Maryland out of Nigeria being recruited by a ton of big-time programs such as Connecticut, UCLA, Texas, Tennessee, Georgetown, Maryland and, now, Indiana.

Here’s the deal. Crean went to see Abraham and his Progressive Christian team play last Thursday. Abraham scored 11 points in a 55-50 loss, but that wasn’t the point. His ability to rebound and defend and play hard and be a physical presence inside -– and to perhaps do it next year as opposed to being a project player -– caused Crean to reportedly offer a scholarship right away.

There is a note of caution here. Abraham is listed as a four-star player by Rivals.com, a national Internet recruiting service, but he is not ranked among Rivals’ top 150 players or among the best at his position. It’s the same with Scout.com, the other major national Internet recruiting service.

As a reader has noted, the lack of ranking comes because Abraham hasn't been in the country long enough to get rated. Still, it's uncertain where he would rate once he has been in the country long enough.

That doesn’t mean Abraham won’t be a college standout, but he likely won’t be the second coming of Greg Oden.

But then, who is?

The original plan was for Abraham to attend Thursday night’s home game against Wisconsin. If so, he would have been able to see right away how much playing opportunity he’ll have next year if he becomes a Hoosier. He almost certainly would have experienced a rocking Assembly Hall crowd and IU's rich basketball tradition that might help knock Georgetown from atop his reported favorite’s list.

Hey, the Hoosiers already have a Hoya connection with Jeremiah Rivers, so anything is possible.

However, Abraham is now not expected to make it for the Wisconsin game. But hopes to visit soon.

Still in the picture for 2010 is Florida forward Will Yeguete. He's a 6-7 three-star player who also is not ranked in anybody's top 150. Again, that doesn't have to be a negative as long as he develops into a physical, tough-minded college player.

But we won't know about that for a couple of years.