Recruiting Central: Trevon Bluiett cuts list, talks about his seven finalists
FILE - Trevon Bluiett glances at the scoreboard as time ticks down in the Class 2A title game March 24, 2012. Park Tudor defeated Bowman Academy 70-57 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. / Rob Goebel/The Star
Park Tudor rising senior forward Trevon Bluiett whittled down his two dozen scholarship offers down to seven finalists on Wednesday night.
The 6-6 Bluiett, ranked as the No. 46 prospect nationally in the 2014 class by Rivals.com, named Arizona, Butler, Indiana, Michigan, Purdue, UCLA and Xavier as the seven schools he will target from now until he makes a decision. Bluiett plans to sign in November, during the early signing period.
“I’m grateful for the all the coaches calling and the opportunities I’ve had,” Bluiett said. “There are a lot of coaches that put in a lot of time and effort to recruit me. But at the same time, it gets a little hectic and I’m happy to focus in on these seven schools.”
There were no surprises on the list, other than possibly Arizona, which offered Bluiett earlier this week. But Bluiett had established a connection with Arizona assistant Damon Stoudamire, a former Wildcat star guard who had recruited Bluiett previously at Memphis.
“We have a good relationship and he’s obviously a former NBA player who knows what it takes,” Bluiett said. “Arizona is in the Pac-12, which is a prestigious conference.”
There was some question as to Bluiett’s interest in Butler followingBrad Stevens’ departure to the Boston Celtics, but new coachBrandon Miller seems to have made a positive impact in his first month on the job.
“I’ve always liked Butler,” he said. “The move to the Big East was big and I’ve known coach Miller since I was in the eighth grade. He was at almost all of my games in July, so that made a big impression on me.”
Bluiett, who averaged 27.8 points and nine rebounds as a junior, has been a frequent visit to Assembly Hall for Indiana games through the years and said he’s had positive interactions recently with both coachTom Crean and assistant Tim Buckley.
“The Big Ten is a great conference and coach Crean has coached a lot of NBA players,” said Bluiett, who has scored 1,570 career points. “He has a sense of urgency about him, which I like. Obviously Yogi(Ferrell, his former high school teammate) is there, and we have good chemistry together. And the atmosphere in Bloomington for games is crazy.”
One of Indiana’s Big Ten rivals, Michigan, is also squarely in the mix for Bluiett.
“I probably have the best relationship with their coaches,” he said. “Me and (assistant coach) LaVall Jordan talk or text almost every day and coach (John) Beilein is in contact about once a week. He lets his players play and I like that. He has a lot of trust in his players and they play with a high IQ.”
Bluiett said he included Purdue on the list in large part because of proximity and a long relationship with Purdue assistant coach Jack Owens.
“It’s an in-state program that has been at the top of the Big Ten and coach Owens was the first coach who started to recruit me,” he said. “He was the first one to show interest in me. Coach (Matt) Painter is a great coach and what he’s done in the past with his teams speaks for itself.”
UCLA became a serious contender when Steve Alford took over as coach and hired Ed Schilling, Bluiett’s former coach at Park Tudor, as an assistant. Schilling, who had previously coached in college and the NBA, has been a mentor for Bluiett since the sixth grade.
“It wouldn’t bother me at all to be coached by him another four years,” he said. “It’s in the Pac-12, a great conference, and who doesn’t like Cali? They’ve had a lot of players come from there and make it to the NBA, a lot of successful players.”
Xavier assistant coach Travis Steele has also established a relationship with Bluiett over a number of years. He pointed to that relationship, as well as Xavier’s recent success and move to the Big East as reasons for his high level of interest.
“ The campus is nice, the academics are great and they’ve had a lot of success,” he said. “I’ve had a great relationship with coach Steele for a long time and also coach (Chris) Mack.”
Bluiett leaves Thursday for Los Angeles to participate in the Adidas Nations camp. He said he plans to take a little down time after that before setting up additional visits, either official or unofficial.
“I might try to take all five officials, but we haven’t talked about that yet,” he said. “But I’ll definitely sign in November so I can focus on my high school season.”
July 31 2013 Indystar.com link
July 31 2013 Indystar.com link
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