Yesterday was not a banner day for Indiana's recruiting efforts. After apparently thoroughly enjoying his visit to Bloomington, Moses Abraham committed to Georgetown almost immediately after returning home to the Washington area. The H-T-says:
Sources close to the situation in Bloomington say that when Abraham left today, he did so with a plan to speak with friends and family about the visit and to discuss with them making a commitment to Indiana. That apparently changed when he landed.
Adam Zagoria elaborates:
"He just got back from Indiana," Boncore said. "He loved everything about the school. His uncle wants him to go to Georgetown so he’s gonna go to Georgetown."
And then there's Carlino, the kid who committed to IU when he lived in Arizona and now lives in Bloomington. This one has been strange from the beginning, hasn't it? Crean offered very early. Carlino committed very early (before his sophomore year in high school). Then, he and his family, including his father, a practicing attorney, up and moved to Bloomington because they liked it so much. Carlino currently is the #122 player in his class according to Rivals and is from a financially comfortable family, so the dark musings of Purdue fans implying corruption never made much sense, but it was just...strange. Now, the next twist is that Carlino will look elsewhere. Carlino gave essentially the same statement to the H-T, Inside the Hall, and Peegs:
"Coach (Tom) Crean and his staff have been great to me," Matt Carlino reportedly told Rivals.com. "However, I feel I committed too early, and although I like Indiana, I felt it would be good to explore other options."
I really don't know what to think about any of this. As for Abraham, the insinuation from the reporting is that Abraham's family heavily influenced the decision, and who can blame them? Even if IU's program were in great shape, I can imagine that his relatives would want to keep him close to them considering how little time he has spent in the United States. The Carlino situation doesn't bother me terribly as it relates to the roster. He's certainly a replaceable recruit, and commitments taken that early always should be taken with a grain of salt. Still, for a program desperate for good news, today yielded only the opposite.