RECRUITING

Notes: Davon Dillard, McDonald's nominees, rankings

Kyle Neddenriep
INDY
Stephon Matthews of BD somehow scored on this play despite a hard foul by Bowman's Davon Dillard. Ben Davis defeated Bowman Academy 81-71 at Ben Davis Friday January 3, 2014.

Davon Dillard woke up Saturday morning "to about five phone calls" asking if he'd committed to Purdue.

"I'm like, 'No I didn't commit, where did that come from?'" Dillard said with a laugh. "I did just get back from the Purdue-Ohio State game, so maybe that's why."

Dillard, a 6-5 junior from Bowman Academy in Gary, is a top target for Purdue in the 2015 class. He said his latest visit to Purdue went well.

"Even though they lost, they played hard," said Dillard, who led Bowman to the Class 2A state title last season. "They still have a team that is coming up and learning."

Dillard, ranked as the No. 112 prospect in the 2015 class by Rivals, scored 27 points in a 96-84 win over Proviso East (Ill.) at Tech on Saturday, including three sensational dunks late in the game. He is averaging 14.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.4 steals on the season.

Dillard, who said Purdue is also making a push for East Chicago Central junior point guard Hyron Edwards, added that he doesn't feel like he's close to making a college decision yet. He said Creighton has actually been the school recruiting him the hardest recently and he hopes to visit soon. He also visited Michigan State for the North Carolina game in early December.

"Creighton is actually after me a lot right now," Dillard said. "I get text or call from them pretty much every day and plan to visit there soon."

Dillard said he likes Michigan State's style of play, but is also hearing from a number of other schools. He said Indiana, Memphis, Tennessee, Marquette, DePaul, Florida, Florida State, Miami (Fla.) and North Carolina State are also among the programs that have been in contact.

Though Dillard said his season has been up and down, he thought Saturday was a "breakout game." Bowman Academy (9-2) is one of the top contenders to win state after moving up to Class 3A.

"I don't want to make it sound like we're the best, but I know we're going to be a team that's hard to beat down the road in state," he said. "We play one of the best schedules in the state and it gets us prepared for teams we'll see. We don't want to play teams we know we're going to easily beat."

*Tech's Trey Lyles headlined the IBCA/Subway Player of the Week honorees after averaging 33.7 points and 13.3 rebounds in three weeks last week.

The 6-10 Lyles, a Kentucky recruit, poured in a school-record 45 points and had 16 rebounds in a 95-88 overtime win over Park Tudor on Saturday. He also had 36 points and 14 rebounds in a 71-60 win over nationally-ranked LaLumiere and 20 points and 10 rebounds in an 80-61 win over Lake Central.

Lyles is joined by Northridge senior Nate Ritchie, Columbus North junior Josh Speidel, Fort Wayne Canterbury senior Kindell Fincher, Scecina senior Shannon Gavaghan and West Washington senior Shana Keller.

Ritchie, a 6-7 forward, scored 30 points on 10-for-15 shooting in a 74-52 win over Fort Wayne South. Speidel was picked as the MVP of the Bob Wettig Memorial Tournament in Richmond after leading Columbus North (9-2) to a 4-0 showing. Speidel averaged 20.3 points and 10.5 rebounds and shot 29-for-44 from the field.

*The list of 2014 McDonald's All-American Games nominees was released today. The team will be announced on Jan. 29. Here's a look at nominees from Indiana:

Boys: James Blackmon Jr., Marion; Trevon Bluiett, Park Tudor; Trey Lyles, Tech.

Girls: Whitney Jennings, Logansport; Lauren Whitlatch, Bloomington South.

*Carmel (7-0) jumped two spots to No. 14 in the latest USA Today Super 25 boys basketball national rankings, as did Tech (11-1), which is one spot behind Carmel at No. 15. LaLumiere (14-2) is No. 21.

*CBS MaxPreps released its Midwest Top 25 rankings with Tech at No. 1. The Midwest region encompasses all teams from Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

Also on the list: Carmel (No. 5), Park Tudor (No. 7), La Lumiere (No. 10), Greensburg (No. 17) and Bowman Academy (No. 18).

*The inaugural Indiana-Kentucky Challenge Cup will be played on Saturday at Freedom Hall in Louisville.

It is a five-game event featuring teams from Indiana and Kentucky. Admission is $10 for the entire day of games:

Girls: Roncalli vs. Elizabethtown, Ky., 11 a.m.

Boys: Barr-Reeve vs. Elizabethtown, Ky., 1 p.m.

Boys: Corydon Central vs. Covington Catholic, Ky., 3 p.m.

Boys: Park Tudor vs. Hopkinsville, Ky., 5 p.m.

Boys: Guerin Catholic vs. Louisville Ballard, 7 p.m.