While signing day for current high school juniors is over a year away, Tom Crean has added another 2012 recruit to the committed list. A few days ago, Indiana received a commitment from Peter Jurkin, and now Jody Demling of the Courier-Journal reports that Ron Patterson, of Broad Ripple High School in Indianapolis, has committed to play for the the Hoosiers. Rivals ranks Patterson, a 6-3 shooting guard, as the #65 player in his class. Patterson chose IU over Xavier and Tennessee, and Rivals also shows offers from Purdue, Ohio State, Illinois, Iowa, and Cincinnati. As we discussed in comments a few years, Patterson is a nice fit for this class, and this will further undercut the untruths that Crean is either neglecting Indiana or is unable to recruit local kids. Of course, the 2012 class in Indiana is loaded, and the Hoosiers still have room for one of Indy's top 25 point guards, Kein "Yogi" Ferrell of Park Tudor or D'Vauntes Smith-Rivera of North Central. Also, IU reportedly remains strong with five-star power forward Hanner Perea. The results on the court are what matter most, but Crean is beginning to make some serious progress on the recruiting trail. I never thought he wouldn't, but after months of hearing about his supposed deficiencies, it's nice to see something happening.
Update: Here are Patterson's Scout page, Rivals page, ESPN page, and Inside the Hall story with video.