Published: April 22, 2008 12:15 am            

Ramblin' Reck: Indiana’s Crean hits recruiting trail running

TERRE HAUTE — It was a very good week for the Chicago Cubs, Danica Patrick and … the Indiana Hoosiers in men’s basketball.

IU coach Tom Crean should get his first two recruits this week since Devan Dumes is scheduled to sign with the Hoosiers on Thursday in Indianapolis according to a release from Vincennes University.

Dumes graduated from Decatur Central and played for VU this year after playing one year for Eastern Michigan. The 6-foot-2 shooting guard averaged 16.9 points for the Trailblazers, setting a school record with 109 3-pointers.

Crean also got a commitment from a top prospect in Ohio when 6-8, 230-pound Bobby Capobianco of Loveland said he would sign with IU in the fall. He averaged 21 points, 12 rebounds and three blocks his junior year.

He earlier had said he might sign with Marquette or West Virginia.

Crean also named two assistants for his staff. One is Tim Buckley, who was on his first staff at Marquette before becoming the head coach at Ball State.

Other colleges inked players.

Evansville signed 6-7 James Haarsma of Wisconsin. He averaged 19.3 points and 9.7 rebounds his senior season.

Southern Indiana got two players. One of them is former Metropolitan Interscholastic Conference player Kevin Gant of Indy North Central. He averaged 7.9 assists per game for a junior college in Michigan last season and had a school-record 17 assists in one game.

Michael Woodsmall of North Central (Farmersburg) will attend DePauw and play football. He leaves a big void in the football and basketball lineups at NC.

• • •

• Coaching update — Jerry O’Brien is out as the boys basketball coach at Gibson Southern following a 4-3 vote of the school board. He compiled a 213-111 record in 15 years.

Steve Kilian will be coaching the boys basketball team at Wood Memorial again. He has been athletic director and has coached basketball and football in the past at the Oakland City school.

On a positive note, Indiana State graduate Sharon Rosenburgh has been named to receive the tennis educator’s merit award by the International Tennis Hall of Fame. She has been the girls tennis coach at Carmel 29 years.

In the college ranks. Brian Faison was hired as athletic director at North Dakota. He held the same position at Indiana State.

• • •

• Tom-Cattin’ It — Frank Thomas has been let go by Toronto with his batting average at .167. It could be the end of his baseball career.

Nate McLouth is about the only good thing going for Pittsburgh now. He had hit in all 18 games going into Monday’s game with Florida.

• Former baseball great Tommy Holmes recently died at 91. He mainly played for the Boston Braves and set the National League mark of hitting safely in 37 straight games in 1945, a mark that stood until Pete Rose broke it and hit safely in 44 in a row in 1978.

• Arizona State recently won both the men’s and women’s titles in the NCAA Indoor Track Championships. Greg Kraft is the coach and once was a grad assistant at ISU.

Bev Kerney is one of the top women’s coaches at Texas and had the same role at ISU at about the same time.

The Evansville Invitational for prep track teams was called off before it ended last week due to bad weather.

• In the schedule for the ACC/Big Ten Challenge in men’s basketball, Duke will be at Purdue, Clemson at Illinois and IU at Wake Forest.

• Bryan Bouchie, former Washington Hatchet, has gotten his release in basketball from Valparaiso. He will transfer and it could be in the area.

And so it goes on a nice day for golf, baseball, and all the other sports. Have a good one.



Tom Reck may be contacted by telephone at (812) 232-3231, by e-mail at treck@ma.rr.com or by mail at 4276 South 5th Street, Terre Haute, IN 47802.

        

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