The biggest surprise of the spring/summer for me has been R.J. Hunter. Hunter has always been known as a shooter from the outside and IUPUI coach Ron Hunter's son. This spring he has shown the ability to get to the rim off the dribble and do some other dirty work things like rebound and play defense. Hunter is still super skinny, but it hasn't stopped him from being very effective while playing in the up in the 17U group.

Zak Irvin has been a surprise to many since he played junior varsity this past season for Hamilton Southeastern. I was impressed with him during the high school season and wondered in the back of my mind why he wasn't playing varsity. Irvin was recently offered by Indiana University although by my count he has yet to play varsity basketball.

Another player who has started to attract more attention as of late is Andy Smeathers. Smeathers had a very good year for Center Grove. Smeathers is a 6'6 shooter who is pretty athletic and is a tough competitor. Current offers from Morehead State and William & Mary with interest from Ball State, Butler, Bucknell, and Miami. He plays for Spiece All-Indiana with Johnny Marlin and Max Landis.

Prep School

The new trend in Indiana is for players to attend prep school before graduating from high school. Last fall there was a mass exodus with Justin Martin, Domnique Ferguson, Xavier Jones, Kennis White, and Ronald Ross all choosing to attend prep school for their senior year.

This year even younger players are thinking about making the move. One has already decided to...Dylan Langkabel will attend St. Benedict's in NJ. Former IU assistant Roshown Mcleod is now the head coach at St. Benedict's. D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera was debating on joining Langkabel at St. Benedict's but has decided to stay at North Central.

There have been rumors floating around that Marquis Teague will go the prep school route next year and attend the legendary program Oak Hill Academy. Those rumors have settled down a bit but they are still out there.