As an undergrad at Indiana, I heard a common narrative among students that Indiana coach Tom Crean is a "great recruiter but poor in-game coach." I never subscribed to that theory because, well, I'm not sure if either half of that two-part notion is accurate.
I recently analyzed Indiana's recruiting efforts since 2009 -- Crean's first full recruiting cycle in Bloomington -- and compared the Hoosiers' recruiting classes with other programs nationally to see how they stacked up. I found that even though Indiana is considered a "blue blood" program in college basketball, it hasn't necessarily recruited like one. It recruits on the level of Florida State, Baylor, Michigan State, UConn, Ohio State and N.C. State more so than the other blue bloods, Arizona or Texas.
Top-50 and top-100 recruits have become somewhat hard to come by for Indiana in recent years. In the four-year span from 2014-2017, four of the 74 top-50 recruits Indiana has offered have committed (5.4%) and seven of the 109 top-100 recruits with Indiana offers have committed (6.4%), according to 247Sports' Composite Rankings. (Note: Indiana still has some outstanding offers for 2017 recruits)
It's also worth noting Indiana struggled in recruiting Yogi Ferrell's successor. The Hoosiers didn't sign a true point guard in 2013, 2014 or 2015. Devonte Green was ranked No. 198 nationally in the 2016 recruiting class and Aljami Durham is ranked No. 237 for the 2017 class.
Here's a closer look at Indiana's recent annual recruiting record, using 247Sports' Composite Rankings.
2017:
Reported Offers: 38
Top 50 Offers: 20
Top 50 Commitments: Zero
Top 100 Offers: 25
Top 100 Commitments: One (Justin Smith - No. 72)
Point Guard Offers: 10
Point Guard Commitments: One (Aljami Durham - ranked 10th among players offered at that position)
Shooting Guard Offers: Six
Shooting Guard Commitments: Zero
Combo Guard Offers: One
Combo Guard Commitments: Zero
Small Forward Offers: Nine
Small Forward Commitments: Zero
Power Forward Offers: Seven
Power Forward Commitments: Two (Smith, Clifton Moore - ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, among players offered at that position)
Center Offers: Five
Center Commitments: Zero
2016:
Reported Offers: 45
Top 50 Offers: 18
Top 50 Recruits: One (De'Ron Davis - No. 41)
Top 100 Offers: 34
Top 100 Recruits: Two (Davis, Curtis Jones - No. 85)
Point Guard Offers: Seven
Point Guard Commitments: One (Devonte Green - ranked seventh among players offered at that position)
Shooting Guard Offers: 12
Shooting Guard Commitments: One (Grand Gelon - ranked 11th among players offered at that position)
Combo Guard Offers: Five
Combo Guard Commitments: One (Jones - ranked fourth among players offered at that position)
Small Forward Offers: Eight
Small Forward Commitments: One (Freddie McSwain Jr. - ranked eighth among players offered at that position)
Power Forward Offers: Seven
Power Forward Commitments: One (Davis - ranked fourth among players offered at that position)
Center Offers: Six
Center Commitments: Zero
2015:
Reported Offers: 35
Top 50 Offers: 19
Top 50 Commitments: One (Thomas Bryant - No. 20)
Top 100 Offers: 27
Top 100 Commitments: Two (Bryant, Juwan Morgan - No. 100)
Point Guard Offers: Six
Point Guard Commitments: Zero
Shooting Guard Offers: Nine
Shooting Guard Commitments: Zero
Small Forward Offers: Three
Small Forward Commitments: One (OG Anunoby - ranked third among players offered at that position)
Power Forward Offers: 10
Power Forward Commitments: Two (Bryant, Morgan - ranked second and seventh, respectively, among players offered at that position)
Center Offers: Seven
Center Commitments: Zero
2014:
Reported Offers: 36
Top 50 Offers: 17
Top 50 Commitments: Two (James Blackmon Jr. - No. 20, Robert Johnson - No. 49)
Top 100 Offers: 23
Top 100 Commitments: Two (Blackmon Jr., Johnson)
Point Guard Offers: Two
Point Guard Commitments: Zero
Shooting Guard Offers: 10
Shooting Guard Commitments: Two (Blackmon Jr., Johnson - ranked third and sixth, respectively, among players offered at that position)
Combo Guard Offers: One
Combo Guard Commitments: Zero
Small Forward Offers: Six
Small Forward Commitments: Zero
Power Forward Offers: 12
Power Forward Commitments: Three (Emmitt Holt, Max Hoetzel, Tim Priller - ranked 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively, among players offered at that position)
Center Offers: Five
Center Commitments: One (Jeremiah April - ranked fifth among players offered at that position)
I recently analyzed Indiana's recruiting efforts since 2009 -- Crean's first full recruiting cycle in Bloomington -- and compared the Hoosiers' recruiting classes with other programs nationally to see how they stacked up. I found that even though Indiana is considered a "blue blood" program in college basketball, it hasn't necessarily recruited like one. It recruits on the level of Florida State, Baylor, Michigan State, UConn, Ohio State and N.C. State more so than the other blue bloods, Arizona or Texas.
Top-50 and top-100 recruits have become somewhat hard to come by for Indiana in recent years. In the four-year span from 2014-2017, four of the 74 top-50 recruits Indiana has offered have committed (5.4%) and seven of the 109 top-100 recruits with Indiana offers have committed (6.4%), according to 247Sports' Composite Rankings. (Note: Indiana still has some outstanding offers for 2017 recruits)
It's also worth noting Indiana struggled in recruiting Yogi Ferrell's successor. The Hoosiers didn't sign a true point guard in 2013, 2014 or 2015. Devonte Green was ranked No. 198 nationally in the 2016 recruiting class and Aljami Durham is ranked No. 237 for the 2017 class.
Here's a closer look at Indiana's recent annual recruiting record, using 247Sports' Composite Rankings.
2017:
Reported Offers: 38
Top 50 Offers: 20
Top 50 Commitments: Zero
Top 100 Offers: 25
Top 100 Commitments: One (Justin Smith - No. 72)
Point Guard Offers: 10
Point Guard Commitments: One (Aljami Durham - ranked 10th among players offered at that position)
Shooting Guard Offers: Six
Shooting Guard Commitments: Zero
Combo Guard Offers: One
Combo Guard Commitments: Zero
Small Forward Offers: Nine
Small Forward Commitments: Zero
Power Forward Offers: Seven
Power Forward Commitments: Two (Smith, Clifton Moore - ranked sixth and seventh, respectively, among players offered at that position)
Center Offers: Five
Center Commitments: Zero
2016:
Reported Offers: 45
Top 50 Offers: 18
Top 50 Recruits: One (De'Ron Davis - No. 41)
Top 100 Offers: 34
Top 100 Recruits: Two (Davis, Curtis Jones - No. 85)
Point Guard Offers: Seven
Point Guard Commitments: One (Devonte Green - ranked seventh among players offered at that position)
Shooting Guard Offers: 12
Shooting Guard Commitments: One (Grand Gelon - ranked 11th among players offered at that position)
Combo Guard Offers: Five
Combo Guard Commitments: One (Jones - ranked fourth among players offered at that position)
Small Forward Offers: Eight
Small Forward Commitments: One (Freddie McSwain Jr. - ranked eighth among players offered at that position)
Power Forward Offers: Seven
Power Forward Commitments: One (Davis - ranked fourth among players offered at that position)
Center Offers: Six
Center Commitments: Zero
2015:
Reported Offers: 35
Top 50 Offers: 19
Top 50 Commitments: One (Thomas Bryant - No. 20)
Top 100 Offers: 27
Top 100 Commitments: Two (Bryant, Juwan Morgan - No. 100)
Point Guard Offers: Six
Point Guard Commitments: Zero
Shooting Guard Offers: Nine
Shooting Guard Commitments: Zero
Small Forward Offers: Three
Small Forward Commitments: One (OG Anunoby - ranked third among players offered at that position)
Power Forward Offers: 10
Power Forward Commitments: Two (Bryant, Morgan - ranked second and seventh, respectively, among players offered at that position)
Center Offers: Seven
Center Commitments: Zero
2014:
Reported Offers: 36
Top 50 Offers: 17
Top 50 Commitments: Two (James Blackmon Jr. - No. 20, Robert Johnson - No. 49)
Top 100 Offers: 23
Top 100 Commitments: Two (Blackmon Jr., Johnson)
Point Guard Offers: Two
Point Guard Commitments: Zero
Shooting Guard Offers: 10
Shooting Guard Commitments: Two (Blackmon Jr., Johnson - ranked third and sixth, respectively, among players offered at that position)
Combo Guard Offers: One
Combo Guard Commitments: Zero
Small Forward Offers: Six
Small Forward Commitments: Zero
Power Forward Offers: 12
Power Forward Commitments: Three (Emmitt Holt, Max Hoetzel, Tim Priller - ranked 10th, 11th and 12th, respectively, among players offered at that position)
Center Offers: Five
Center Commitments: One (Jeremiah April - ranked fifth among players offered at that position)