The two main competitors for the Wildcats in the preseason rankings have been the Louisville Cardinals and the Indiana Hoosiers. One of those teams received a bit of bad news today:
the second commit to IU's heralded recruiting class, Ron Patterson, has been ruled academically ineligible and will not attend Indiana. [
source] This news comes as a bit of a surprise, at least to me, but we will see how it plays out.
Crean had this to say about Patterson:
“We think very highly of Ron and will continue to work with him as allowed to help him reach his goals,” IU Coach Tom Crean said in a statement released Wednesday afternoon. “He has the chance to do some special things for himself and his family and we will be supportive of whatever he chooses to do.”
Ron's AAU coach spoke with the press and said that Patterson is looking to leave IU after taking summer classes, with his main option being prep school or attempting to meet the standards at another four-year university.
Patteron was not the most heralded recruit in the class (Rivals 3*, Scout 3*, ESPN 3*), but he was a bit of the fan favorite for Hoosier-hopefuls already.
Ron Patterson started #TheMovement hashtag and nickname for his recruiting class, which the IU fanbase embraced. Now it seems he is just...moving. While this loss should will likely not have a greatly adverse effect on the IU squad, it will affect their depth -- a factor that is very important for making a deep run in the tournament. Still, while it may help UK's chances, it is disappointing to see a school's homestate kid hit a snag and have to leave. We wish him the best.
However, did you catch this gem at the end of the article?
Hawkins said this development is unrelated to the team’s oversign of 14 players for 13 scholarships.
Hm.
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