But perhaps the biggest win of the night came when James Blackmon, Jr., a freshman guard at Bishop Luers in Fort Wayne, committed to play for Indiana. Blackmon, the No. 1-rated shooting guard in the 2014 class, according to ESPN, is the son of former Kentucky standout James Blackmon, Sr., who confirmed the news late Thursday.

The commitment represents another strong statement about Indiana coach Tom Crean’s success in building relationships with in-state recruits. Crean already has commitments from 2011 and 2012 in-state prospects Austin Etherington and Ron Patterson, respectively, and this pledge furthers the notion that Indiana recruiting is recovering nicely.

We’ll try to have more for you on this tomorrow. In the meantime, feel free to bask in the glow of an undefeated football team and another coveted commitment. Happy Friday folks.

Around the Hall is recommended reading from the Inside the Hall crew. So go ahead, get your read on.

+ Chris Sheridan of ESPN.com writes that Eric Gordon might have earned himself a spot in Team USA’s starting lineup after scoring 21 points in a 92-57 win over Tunisia.

+ Gordon is a guest blogger for the Los Angeles Times from Istanbul and weighed-in with his thoughts following today’s win.

+ Clips Nation recapped Team USA’s win over Tunisia and noted that at the conclusion of pool play, Gordon is the team’s second-leading scorer at 10.9 ppg. Impressive when you consider that many believed Gordon was near the cut line for the final roster.

+ In totally unrelated news to Eric Gordon’s budding stardom, former IU guard and radio color commentator Todd Leary was arrested for allegedly stealing appliances from foreclosed homes in Hamilton County.

In men’s basketball, according to sources, the Big Ten is expected to play a 16-game conference schedule by taking a model similar to those used by the Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference. In those leagues, teams play each division opponent twice and then single games — three at home and three on the road — against teams in the opposing division.

The Big Ten announced football divisions on Wednesday evening and commissioner Jim Delaney had the following to say about men’s basketball:

“In basketball, they will start their own course,” Delany said. “The sport is structured completely differently.”

Our friend Dustin Dopirak of The Herald-Times also had this tidbit from the Big Ten’s teleconference:

Delany said the divisions do not apply to basketball, and that he does “not see any compelling reason,” to have divisions in basketball at all because the dynamic of the sport is so much different from football. He said if the league’s athletic directors decided they wanted divisions, he would be amenable to it, but that those would also be competitively balanced. The current divisions, which most notably, would provide a cakewalk for Michigan State with Iowa, Northwestern, Michigan, Nebraska and Minnesota as their division mates, would be “irrelevant,” as Delany put it.

So there we have it. No super, incredibly unbalanced basketball divisions as earlier reported. Dylan has a nice writeup over at UMHoops on why the Big Ten did the right thing by avoiding divisional misalignment for hoops. And with that, we can all go back to counting down the days to a Cody Zeller decision.

The details:

Multiple sources told ESPN.com that the two divisions in the Big Ten will look like:

- Michigan, Nebraska, Iowa, Michigan State, Northwestern and Minnesota.

- And Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana and Illinois.

In men’s basketball, according to sources, the Big Ten is expected to play a 16-game conference schedule by taking a model similar to those used by the Big 12 and the Southeastern Conference. In those leagues, teams play each division opponent twice and then single games — three at home and three on the road — against teams in the opposing division.

These divisions have clearly been formed with football, football and more football in mind, but from a basketball perspective, the road back to the top of the conference just got tougher for IU.

Traditionally, four of the six best programs in the conference (sans IU) are grouped with the Hoosiers. And even though the 16-game schedule is not yet a done deal, it’s looking unlikely that a chance to beat up on Nebraska or Iowa twice per season will happen again.

Butler, the defending national runner-up, will be the first school to host Zeller on October 9-11. North Carolina will receive their visit on the opening weekend of practice (October 15-17). And Indiana will get the opportunity for the last impression as the Hoosiers will host Zeller on October 29-31. Indiana football hosts Northwestern on October 30.

Since I’m often asked by readers for my opinion on the direction of Zeller’s recruitment, here are a couple of thoughts:

+ If you’re looking for clues on where Cody will end up based on comments from the family, you’re going to hit a dead end quickly. There are going to be rumors and “I heard this from so-and-so” in the comments and on the message boards up until the decision is made. And while it might be fun to read and discuss, I don’t buy any of it.

+ The visit to North Carolina on the opening weekend of practice makes sense if Cody’s parents, Lorri and Steve, will be making the trip to Chapel Hill to watch Tyler and the Tar Heels kick off their season.

+ I have an opinion, privately, about where I believe Zeller will end up. Some readers have asked me to comment via email or Twitter, but the upside to making a public prediction is zero. If I say I believe he’s going to IU, I’ll be called a homer and then an idiot (or worse) if he doesn’t end up picking the Hoosiers.

With that, I’ll leave you with a video compilation of Zeller and a Q &A from July at the adidas Invitational after the jump:

Among the players featured: IU commits Austin Etherington and Ron Patterson as well as Cody Zeller, Devin Davis, Yogi Ferrell, Gary Harris, Zak Irvin, Jeremy Hollowell, Trey Lyles and Basil Smotherman.

After a breakout summer on the AAU circuit, McCluer North (MO) guard B.J. Young shot up to five-star status in the recruiting rankings.

Fresh off being named the MVP of the Five-Star Super Session in New York, Inside the Hall caught up with the 6-3 combo guard for the latest on his recruitment:

On the schools currently involved in his recruitment:

“Indiana, Arkansas, Illinois State, I think Kansas and Memphis are starting to get into it, but I don’t really know yet. Baylor is one of them. Iowa, Iowa State, Marquette, Louisville, Providence, North Carolina State.”

On where he stands with his recruitment:

“I’m still really open.”

On his decision to take an official visit to Arkansas:

“I really like Arkansas. I got family from down in Arkansas. They wanted to set up a visit with me, so I got a date set up with them.”

On his recent contact with Indiana:

“I talk to Indiana regularly. They get two calls per week. I still talk to them regularly. I like them a lot. Me and Indiana are still really close.”

On potentially taking an official visit to Bloomington:

“I think they want me to take an official visit and they want to make an in-home visit too.”

On his timetable for making a decision:

“Probably after I take all of my visits and sit down with my family and talk. So probably in November sometime.”

On where he sees himself fitting in at Indiana and how much of a priority he is for IU:

“They’ve made it seem like I’m very important. I think they want me to fit in as a combo guard, but I think I could go down to Indiana and me, Austin and Cody, if we all decided to go, we would be a good trio.”

On how the first three weeks of school at McCluer North:

“School is going great. Everything’s good. I’m getting my classes right, getting my grades. So I’m good for right now.”

On placing an importance on academics and his maturation process:

“Everytime I think about school, I think about basketball and then I think about my parents. I really want my parents to be able to do nothing one day. I just really want to support my family one day, so that’s what really made me mature and grow up.”

On potentially being a part of rebuilding the Indiana program:

“I know if I go there then we can turn the program around. I know Coach Crean and his resume shows that he has a winning record.”

(Photo credit: Jody Demling)

Yea, me too, but let’s be honest: After two years November tossing the Hoosiers in well over their heads, and facing as talented a Big Ten as we’ve seen in five years or more, there’s really nothing wrong with taking it a little bit easier before the New Year turns.

Given that IU will still play Kentucky, still has a date in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge, (which it had no power in deciding) and will still meet Northern Iowa and, potentially, New Mexico, the pre-Big Ten slate really isn’t as weak as it could be – trust me. To some extent, it probably also looks a lot easier when you consider Indiana’s last two years, with dates against Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Gonzaga and Maryland, among others, on top of the traditional rivalry with the Wildcats.

In truth, it probably still tells us a fair amount about these Hoosiers, who – given their schedule – have more than just an outside shot at postseason basketball for the first time since 2008. No, not the NCAA Tournament, but anything beats staying home, doesn’t it?

Considering its path through the first quarter of the season, there’s ample reason to believe Indiana will be 8-0 when the Hoosiers head to Kentucky on Dec. 11. In fact, it would be rather surprising if Tom Crean’s squad wasn’t 8-0 (certainly nothing below 7-1) on the bus to Lexington.

Which brings me to the primary point of this rambling – can Indiana beat Kentucky at Rupp Arena in mid-December? I’m sure it’s something plenty of you salivate at the thought of. One way or the other, it’s a worthwhile debate to have.

Consider the following:

+ Kentucky loses basically all its experienced leadership and its top four leading scorers from one year ago. More than that, perhaps, with the loss of John Wall, Eric Bledsoe, etc., the Wildcats lose the basis of their team identity, not an easy commodity to replace.

+ Three guesses who Kentucky’s best returning frontcourt player might be. You should only need one guess, since Josh Harrellson is the only possible answer. The senior forward is literally the only forward coming back from last year’s team, and he averaged right at four minutes per game last season. Super freshmen Enes Kanter and Terrence Jones along with JUCO transfer Eloy Vargas will probably be expected to carry most of the load down low for a squad whose official roster only lists four players as forwards. That is a bit deceiving, with the athleticism of taller guards like DeAndre Liggins.

+ Once again, John Calipari will field a team that’s primarily driven by freshmen – albeit, again, impressively gifted freshmen – including the aforementioned Kanter, Brandon Knight, Jones and Stacey Poole. The blessing in that is that Calipari has made a habit of getting the most out of freshmen in recent seasons. (See: John Wall, Demarcus Cousins, Derrick Rose.) The curse is that, unlike last year, Kentucky does not have nearly the clear-cut veteran leadership to guide and back up all that youth. Patrick Patterson, Perry Stevenson, these were guys who brought that kind of experience and guidance. This year, Harrellson also gets the privilege of being the team’s only senior, and the Wildcats only have two juniors that aren’t transferring in this year, as well.

+ We should all have a good idea what Kentucky brings to the table by the time the Hoosiers find Lexington. Calipari and crew open with two rather easy opponents before a trip to the Maui Invitational, and a road date with UNC and a home tilt with Notre Dame stand between the beaches of Hawaii and the bank shots of Verdell Jones. If all those aforementioned freshmen can find their proverbial sea legs quickly, turn out some good early-season results and drum up some confidence, then Kentucky ought to be in a very good frame of mind for their annual rivalry match-up. Stumble early, and it could be a different story.

+ The Hoosiers, by contrast, face no real tests other than a trip to Boston College, where former Cornell coach Steve Donahue has his hands full remaking a program that sort of fell apart a little bit when Al Skinner’s tenure ended rather unceremoniously. The Hoosiers won’t be perhaps as battle-tested as Kentucky, but they also won’t enter the season with nearly as many questions to answer, either, beyond Maurice Creek’s health.

So what do you think? My two cents: I think it’s very possible. Indiana ought to be a very good place when it travels south to Lexington, and frankly, I’m not sure I have as much undeniable faith in this crew of freshmen as I did Kentucky’s last group of college greenhorns.

I would demur from making any sort of firm prediction now, because well, it’s August, and I need at least two months of college football before I even start thinking about other sports. Also, I’m taking the easy way out while Maurice Creek continues to work his way back from a knee injury.

But at the end of the day, I think it’s possible. Do you?

Via a source, below is what we believe to be the 2010-2011 Indiana basketball schedule, which should be officially released soon:

Friday, November 12 – Florida Gulf Coast, 6:30 PM, BTN
Sunday, November 14 – Wright State, TBA, ESPNU
Tuesday, November 16 – Mississippi Valley State, 7PM, BTN
Sunday, November 21 – Evansville, 1PM, BTN
Tuesday, November 23 – North Carolina Central, 7PM, BTN
Friday, November 26 – Northwestern State, TBA, BigTenNetwork.com
Wednesday, December 1 – ACC/Big Ten Challenge At Boston College, 7:15 PM, ESPNU
Saturday, December 4 – Savannah State, TBA, ESPNU
Saturday, December 11 – at Kentucky, 5:15 PM, ESPN

LAS VEGAS CLASSIC
Friday, December 17 – SIU-Edwardsville, 7PM, BTN
Sunday, December 19 – South Carolina State, 4PM, BTN
Wednesday, December 22 – Northern Iowa, 7:30PM
Thursday, December 23 – New Mexico/Colorado, 7:30PM/10PM

Monday, December 27 – Penn State, 7PM, BTN
Friday, December 31 – Ohio State, 6PM, ESPN2
Tuesday, January 4 – at Minnesota, 7PM, ESPN2
Sunday, January 9 – at Northwestern, 7PM, BTN
Saturday, January 15 – Michigan, 8PM, BTN
Thursday, January 20 – at Wisconsin, 9PM, ESPN2
Sunday, January 23 – at Iowa, 3PM, BTN
Thursday, January 27 – Illinois, 9PM, BTN
Sunday, January 30 – at Michigan State, 6PM, BTN
Wednesday, February 2 – Minnesota, 6:30PM, BTN
Saturday, February 5 - Iowa, 4PM, ESPN/ESPN2
Tuesday, February 8 – at Purdue, 7PM, ESPN
Saturday, February 12 – at Michigan, 4PM, BTN
Saturday, February 19 or Sunday, February 20 – Northwestern, TBA
Wednesday, February 23 – Purdue, 8:30PM, BTN
Saturday, February 26 or Sunday, February 27 – at Ohio State, TBA
Wednesday, March 2 or Thursday, March 3 – Wisconsin, TBA
Saturday, March 5 or Sunday, March 6 – at Illinois, TBA
March 10-13 – Big Ten Tournament – Indianapolis, Ind.

Comments from Tom Crean on the schedule after the jump …

“This schedule will present us with a lot of unique challenges.  Twice, we have stretches early in the season where we will play six games in 14 days so our depth and health will be a critical factor.”

“I think we will learn a lot about our team during the four non-conference games we play away from Assembly Hall.  Boston College has one of the most experienced teams with 11 seniors or juniors, the Kentucky game is one of the most intense rivalries in college basketball and in Las Vegas we will see a very good Northern Iowa team and then a day later have to take on a team like New Mexico or Colorado.”

“The Big Ten schedule is a grind that you have to be mentally and physically prepared to handle.  This year, the league should be as good as any in the country.”

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(Photo Credit: Jack Arent/adidas)

For the first time since the conclusion of the July evaluation period, we’ve updated our 2011 Recruiting Board and as discussed frequently in the comments, the board is focused on Cody Zeller and B.J. Young. Both prospects are now rated in the top 20 of both Rivals and Scout.

We’ll be updating our 2012 Board in the coming weeks, but for now, check out the updated 2011 Board at the link below.

Continue to the 2011 Indiana Basketball Recruiting Board »