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Zeke Nnaji Cuts IU


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Gotta admit, I know nothing about this kid.  Comes as a bolt out of the blue for me.  Perhaps because he is not from Indiana ?  I don't know.

What I do know.  Is that unlike Crean, when Archie goes out of state to hand out offers, it is not like he is handing out offers like candy, in hopes to catch lightening in a bottle.

Remember the offer to the kid from Florida (who's name I have forgotten), and I am not sure he (Crean) even saw him play, or if he did, only saw him once,   that Crean handed out ?  

In other words.... if Archie has offered Zeke....there has to be substance to his game.   Not doubting Archie in the least. I just am curious as to how many times he has watched this kid..... unlike what Crean did with that kid from Florida.

 

Oh by the way. Not sure how it is pronounced for Nnaji. But spelled the same as, Zeke.... one of IU's greatest nicknames of an IU player ever.

 Isiah   "Zeke" Thomas 

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1 hour ago, Fundamentals said:

Mile?  Wasn’t that FL recruit David Williams or something like that?  He was recruited by the backstabber (former assistant to Crean who played at Duke and botched the Kyrie Irving recruitment).  I believe he was from FL, but played for the Atlanta Celtics AAU??

 

Yes David Williams.  Crean had never even seen him play but that didn't stop him from offering once Mccleod said he had a good game.

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I knew it was a fairly common name.  Something like Smith.  But was not able to recall his name, when I first thought of him.  So, thanks for coming up with the name, Fundy, and  confirming it for me, dbm. As always.... HSN comes through for me.  Thanks !

And as it turned out in terms of McLeod, one is led after the fact,  to believe that he  had already set in motion his plans to hurt IU.  Not only did he highly recommend, sight unseen (by Crean), David Williams to Crean...... but had bad mouthed Crean to Irving's family before Crean even put one foot in their house for his in home with Kyrie.  And then, knowing what was most likely going to take place, conveniently arrived late.... after the fireworks. 

Crean had a mountain to climb, back in those days.... he did not need any walls that McLeod built for him to have to jump over as well.

 

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This kid has the potential to be really really good, just from following the MN prep scene. It is pretty amazing, but the MN high school basketball prospects have really taken a huge jump, which is why you are seeing so many offers from big programs. 

In regards to Pitino, this year is going to be big for him. He kept a few of the top guys home in this class, and will need to show improvement. Issue he currently has with local guys is a lot of speculation about his job security is already starting, a bad year could keep these top guys away not knowing who the coach will be. Also, don't discount Race and his ability to help with connected with the MN guys. The basketball community is very tight here, with all these kids living within an hour of each other so they have gotten pretty close. Race could become the wild card if a guy is down to IU and another big time school or two with any relationship he or his family (or past coaches) have with each other.

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16 minutes ago, milehiiu said:

I knew it was a fairly common name.  Something like Smith.  But was not able to recall his name, when I first thought of him.  So, thanks for coming up with the name, Fundy, and  confirming it for me, dbm. As always.... HSN comes through for me.  Thanks !

And as it turned out in terms of McLeod, one is led after the fact,  to believe that he  had already set in motion his plans to hurt IU.  Not only did he highly recommend, sight unseen (by Crean), David Williams to Crean...... but had bad mouthed Crean to Irving's family before Crean even put one foot in their house for his in home with Kyrie.  And then, knowing what was most likely going to take place, conveniently arrived late.... after the fireworks. 

Crean had a mountain to climb, back in those days.... he did not need any walls that McLeod built for him to have to jump over as well.

 

Too bad IU didn't go after him to repay the salary he received since he was not actually working for IU per the terms of his contract.

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42 minutes ago, IUaic said:

Too bad IU didn't go after him to repay the salary he received since he was not actually working for IU per the terms of his contract.

Not that far removed from Samsongate, at the time, I feel IU had no stomach for more drama.  Just let him go, and get on with it.

However, I did get where you are coming from. 

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  • 1 month later...

I'm thinking Zeke might be a better fit (more athletic, stick around longer?) than Hurt. Plus, IU can always use another Zeke! Will be interesting to see what comes from his visit. Another 6'9" player, not sure where he fits in with our roster and guys like TJD and Brooks. Is he a backup to TJD an/ or Brooks? TJD just needs to commit so we can get a little more clarity with some of these other guys. I could see him pulling a DJ Carton and going elsewhere just for more PT.

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4 hours ago, Reacher said:

I'm thinking Zeke might be a better fit (more athletic, stick around longer?) than Hurt. Plus, IU can always use another Zeke! Will be interesting to see what comes from his visit. Another 6'9" player, not sure where he fits in with our roster and guys like TJD and Brooks. Is he a backup to TJD an/ or Brooks? TJD just needs to commit so we can get a little more clarity with some of these other guys. I could see him pulling a DJ Carton and going elsewhere just for more PT.

Can’t see him committing if TJD does...we have Moore, Forrester, Smith, Race...would have TJD maybe Brooks...Davis for a year more...not a lot of room for a big honestly...seems like a fall back if Trayce somehow ends up at Duke or UK or something.

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9 hours ago, dgambill said:

Can’t see him committing if TJD does...we have Moore, Forrester, Smith, Race...would have TJD maybe Brooks...Davis for a year more...not a lot of room for a big honestly...seems like a fall back if Trayce somehow ends up at Duke or UK or something.

Exactly what I was thinking.. What happens if commits before TJD?

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3 hours ago, Reacher said:

Exactly what I was thinking.. What happens if commits before TJD?

Who knows....just the thought of him visiting and taking Trayce's scholarship might be enough to help us get some movement on him. I know the new trend is to wait for these big name recruits but with these kids shooting up the ranks getting offers....nothing to stop one of them from taking a spot and leaving our primary target out in the cold.

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Here is something from a couple days ago on Rivals. They have him listed as 6'10" and 215lbs.

Eric Bossi • BasketballRecruiting.Rivals.com

NEW YORK -- Top 35 rising senior 

 was just one of several standouts at the adidas Gauntlet Finale who had a big weekend. So, I'm opening up my scouting notebook to discuss some players who caught my eye that I didn't get to mention in either my Saturday takeaways or Sunday's live blog.

vogaludvdae4ibjevctv

 33 
 

One of the best blends of skill, athleticism and upside as he continues to grow into his body, Nnaji was terrific each time I watched him. He runs the floor, gets good post position, finishes with soft touch and he can step out to the three-point line. He's a modern big man who can play the four or the five at a high level in college.

Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, Xavier, Baylor, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue, UCLA and Creighton are among those to offer already and it wouldn't be a surprise to see blueblood involvement.

 
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5 minutes ago, Reacher said:

Here is something from a couple days ago on Rivals. They have him listed as 6'10" and 215lbs.

Eric Bossi • BasketballRecruiting.Rivals.com

NEW YORK -- Top 35 rising senior 

 was just one of several standouts at the adidas Gauntlet Finale who had a big weekend. So, I'm opening up my scouting notebook to discuss some players who caught my eye that I didn't get to mention in either my Saturday takeaways or Sunday's live blog.

vogaludvdae4ibjevctv

 33 
 

One of the best blends of skill, athleticism and upside as he continues to grow into his body, Nnaji was terrific each time I watched him. He runs the floor, gets good post position, finishes with soft touch and he can step out to the three-point line. He's a modern big man who can play the four or the five at a high level in college.

Arizona, Indiana, Minnesota, Xavier, Baylor, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Wisconsin, Northwestern, Purdue, UCLA and Creighton are among those to offer already and it wouldn't be a surprise to see blueblood involvement.

 

Odd that he says "it wouldn't be a surprise to see blueblood involvement" when Arizona, Indiana and UCLA have offered. Guess he doesn't consider any of those 3 bluebloods?

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1 hour ago, cybergates said:

Odd that he says "it wouldn't be a surprise to see blueblood involvement" when Arizona, Indiana and UCLA have offered. Guess he doesn't consider any of those 3 bluebloods?

Yea, Bossi went down a notch in my eyes with that comment.

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8 hours ago, Reacher said:

Yea, Bossi went down a notch in my eyes with that comment.

I would say the modern blubloods (last 25 years) would be Duke, UNC, Kansas, UK, and Michigan St. Those are the power players in college basketball (power 5 if you will). They also have the premier coaches in college basketball. It doesn’t offend me...we will soon be back to where we belong but us and UCLA while multi-national champions have lost our place at that tip top when it comes to conversation on the national scene. The right scenerio could easily put us right back there but it has to happen first. Archie will rectify it for us.

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