Tom Crean has acquired another wing in the 2011 class. 6-foot-4 small forward Remy Abell gave the Indiana coaching staff his pledge after visiting Bloomington on Monday. Abell joins Cody Zeller and Austin Etherington in the upcoming class and that number could grow.
“It’s been a long month but I am so excited to be a Hoosier,” Abell told the Louisville Courier-Journal’s Jody Demling. “I am excited to be going to Indiana. The candy stripes mean a lot to me and I want to be a part of helping bring back the winning tradition.”
Playing ball at Eastern High School in Louisville, Kentucky, Abell adds more depth to the Hoosier roster. With the departure of Guy Marc-Michel, IU had one more scholarship available and was able to benefit from a coaching change at Bradley.
After being released from his letter-of-intent at Bradley, he considered Butler, Penn State, Western Kentucky and Xavier. According to Rivals.com, Abell is a three star player and not ranked in their top-150 prospect rankings for 2011.
He averaged 16 points and three assists during his senior season at Eastern High School. Finishing with a 33-3 record this past year, he and a teammate ended their high school career with the most wins in school history.
He was also named to the Kentucky All-Star team, giving IU fans even more interest in the annual Indiana-Kentucky game. Prized Indiana recruit Cody Zeller was already named Indiana Mr. Basketball and future teammate Austin Etherington is on the roster as well.
Abell adds to an already wing-heavy lineup with Victor Oladipo, Will Sheehey, Maurice Creek, Matt Roth, Verdell Jones III, and the incoming Etherington. In this case, fans must trust Coach Tom Crean and what he believes Remy can add to the cream and crimson. Right now there is a bit of a talent gap but that will close with the talent Crean has signed up for the next three classes.
Here’s what ESPN scouts had to say about Remy Abell.
Strengths:
Abell is a wing that can score the ball. He has a good mid range game with range to the arc where he displays good shot selection and knocks down open shots very consistently. Abell’s ability to hit threes really gets the defenses attention. He is a good athlete that can defend both guard positions and has a good enough handle and passing ability to help at the point as well.Weaknesses:
Abell needs to work on building strength in order to defend taller and stronger perimeter players and continue to build and hone his point guard skills just in case he is force to log big minutes.Bottom Line:
Abell is a scoring combo guard that can knock down threes and play the point in a pinch. He is a must find for the defense in transition and in the half court set because he can change the scoreboard in a hurry.
The Hoosiers gain yet another strong piece to their puzzle on their path to prominence. Their scholarships are all now accounted for, unless of course there are departures from the team.