The dominos continue to fall in Bloomington.
Today, Indiana and Head Coach Tom Crean picked up another commitment for the 2012 class, and he’s an Indiana guy.
Broad Ripple junior Ron Patterson has verbally committed to IU today, confirmed by his Indiana Elite AAU coach Chris Hawkins. The 6-3 shooting guard has continued to improve during the summer AAU season.
Patterson, a four-star recruit is considered a top five prospect in the state. He took an unofficial visit to Bloomington last Thursday and clearly things went well.
The Broad Ripple recruit had offers from Cincinnati, DePaul, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio State, Purdue, Tennessee, Virginia Tech and Xavier.
This is Crean’s second commitment for the class of 2012. Last week, 7-foot center Peter Jurkin announced his intentions at the Adidas Nations tournament in Chicago. It would not be surprising for more players to commit as early as this week. Once the situation becomes even more intriguing the dominos continue to fall.
Lawrence Central’s Jeremy Hollowell says he is essentially down to Ohio State and Indiana. Hanner Perea has narrowed his list to Baylor and IU. Surely one of them will decide soon. The number one goal is of course Washington’s Cody Zeller for the class of 2011. The two commitments this week absolutely help his cause. What the Hoosiers also crave is a solid point guard. They could come with Gary Harris or even Yogi Ferrell.
Coach Crean has been tenacious on the recruiting trail. He admitted this job has been more difficult than anyone could have imagine. He has battled through unprecedented waters and the future finally appears bright. Just 16 wins at Indiana but that will change soon.
Without any subtractions, the Hoosiers have five open roster spots for the 2012 recruiting class. The commitments of Jurkin and now Patterson leave Crean with three scholarships remaining for a talented class in the state of Indiana.