Thursday, May 20, 2010

Dick Vitale, Austin Etherington and Rating Services

If you believe Rivals.com, the national Internet recruiting service, Indiana basketball verbal commitment Austin Etherington has the exact same rating as Dick Vitale.

In other words, none at all.

However, if you believe Scout.com, another national Internet recruiting service, Etherington is rated No. 88 nationally.

So who is right?

We won’t know for about three years, when Etherington is in the middle of his college career.

What we do know is that rating players is an inexact endeavor. Calbert Cheaney was the lowest ranked of IU’s celebrated freshman class of 1989-90 and wound up as the Big Ten’s career scoring leader and the 1993 national player of the year.

Who knew?

Anyway, Rivals.com and Scout.com just came out with their top-recruits-in-the-nation lists. Rivals has a top 150, Scout stops at 100. Both are run by reputable recruiting experts in Jerry Meyer (Rivals) and Dave Telep (Scout).

So what does it show for some of the players IU is recruiting? Let’s take a look, in no particular order:

*Cody Zeller (No. 23 Scout, No. 46 Rivals)

*Branden Dawson (No. 17 Scout, No. 30 Rivals)

*Marshall Plumlee (No. 32 Scout, No. 79 Rivals)

*Mitch McGary (No. 101 Rivals, no Scout rating)

*Aaron Thomas (No. 89 Rivals, No. 98 Scout)

*Jeremiah Davis (No. 65 Scout, No. 96 Rivals)

*Austin Etherington (No. 88 Scout, no Rivals rating)

Remember, all these players are from the state of Indiana, and it doesn’t include No. 2 Marquis Teague, who has orally committed to Kentucky. The state is loaded with talent for the next couple of years and the Hoosiers are poised to capitalize.

In the big picture, the ratings don’t mean anything. Performance does.

Just ask Dick Vitale.

5 comments:

  1. and we will get none of these kids. call it what ya want negative thinking or whatever, bottom line is if we don't start winning some games we might even loose A.E. there is just no attitude on our squad. noone wants to be the man,leader,etc. CTC. needs to do something a little differnt cause what he is doing now is not and will not work. i hate watching our offence its the same every game like coach davis was running. 2-3 more loosing seasons maybe they'll rid our coach and get someone who isn't scared to recruit our state. i know he has schollys offered to a few now, but when he 1st got here he got none of them, where the mistake lies.

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  2. YOU JUST MIGHT HAVE A VALID POINT,TOM CREAN NEEDS TO REALLY WORK VERY HARD TO RECRUIT INDIANA BALL PLAYERS!INDIANA FOR SOME REASON HAS LOST THAT EDGE OF HIGH SCHOOL PLAYERS WANTING TO GO TO INDIANA!I THINK IT REALLY STEMS FRON THE(FALLOUT)OVER THE FIRING OF COACH(BOB KNIGHT)AND NO OTHER REASON?

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  3. Go back to your dungeon troll

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  4. Wow. Speak English. What your English teacher is doing is not working and will not work. I hate reading your posts its like reading every other negative attitude fan has to say. 2-3 more really bad posts like that maybe Pete will run you off and get fans that aren't afraid to post in proper English. The last two sentences of your post made such little sense, I don't even know how to mock you appropriately.

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  5. I didn't write the post but I don't care about grammar in comment sections. Go post on a grammar blog somewhere nerd.

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