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The 2014 recruiting class saga has finally ended at Indiana University today. The Hoosiers have picked up a commitment from three star forward Emmitt Holt which represents the 13th and final scholarship for the 2014-2015 Hoosier team. Holt is listed in the 2015 class currently, but will reclassify to 2014 in order to enroll at Indiana this week with classes starting next week. He was being recruited by Drexel, Duquesne, Fairfield, Hofstra, Towson, and Vermont for 2015.
— EAZY E (@holt_real) August 20, 2014
Holt is listed at 6'6" on many recruiting websites, but it was recently reported he has grown to 6'7" and he was listed at 6'8" in Nike EYBL play this summer. Regardless of his size, Holt plays very big. In Nike EYBL play, he was 4th in blocks per game at 2.1 (ahead of some very tall and talented players such as 6'11" C Stephen Zimmerman who is ranked #11 in 2015.). He has a 7'3" wingspan and wears size 18 shoes - so bottom line - he plays big. And that is exactly what Coach Crean and the Hoosiers are looking for - a serviceable presence in the paint who can score on offensive put backs, rebound the basketball, and block shots. Here is a short video that I also posted last week:
Holt does show a lot of athleticism in this video. There is no sign of a jump shot in this video, but that can always be developed if worked on hard enough. In Year 1, Indiana doesn't necessarily need a big man that can hit a jump shot. They need an enforcer down low and Holt has a chance to give them that if put in the right situations. Yes, the current offer list is a little concerning for Hoosier fans, but Holt has had a huge summer and it was just a matter of time before the big schools were going to offer him for the 2015 class. Coach Crean just beat them to the punch and landed him a year early.
This commitment ends what has been a crazy 7 day period for Indiana recruiting. Early last week, it was announced that former Oregon signee PF Ray Kasongo, who didn't qualify academically at Oregon was interested in Kansas, Michigan State, LSU, and Indiana. Then all the sudden Kansas and Michigan State were out (Michigan State has since re-entered the picture). About mid-week, it was announced that Holt was also going to visit Indiana in the upcoming week and would be a member of the 2014 class. On Saturday, it came out that Kasongo didn't qualify at LSU either and it was only down to Indiana. However, late Saturday night - the inevitable happened - Kasongo was deemed ineligible at Indiana as well. This paved the way for today's commitment of Emmitt Holt and finally ends the 2014 class for Indiana. Now Coach Crean and company can turn their focus to 2015 and 2016 to try and bring even more talent to Bloomington.