Jake Odum not to be confused with Oden.

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SycamoreStateofMind

SycamoreStateofMind

The Odum Level
Supporter
Jake Odum the standout from Terre Haute South not to be confused with Portland Trailblazer Greg Oden who should have been a stand out until he was recruited by Lawrence North (That's another topic for another day).

Jake is a must see player - hope you all get the chance to watch him play in the Pizza Hut Classic at Terre Haute South. This kid is the leading candidate for Indiana Mr. Basketball right now. Did I mention ISU wants him to walk on next year? He is a verbal commitment because their is no scholarship for him next year! WARNING: If you do not sign this kid someone else will mark my word! I have heard he is not a very good student, but I am talking about this kid as a basketball player... He handles the ball better than anyone on Indiana States team currently hands down. He can pass the ball and score going to the basket - he has a suspect mid range jumper but has been accurate from 3pt this year connecting on some 9 of 12 3s. He has not shot a lot of 3s this year, he leaves that to the Jarvis kid who can flat out let it fly (Menser style) If you have seen him shoot you will agree...
 

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I agree with you once again. I don't know what his grades are like, I am assuming that they are not bad. This kid had no statewide publicity coming into this year, but that is starting to change. He is close to averaging a triple double. Right now he is at 21 p/g, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds. I am guessing but probably 4 steals and 1-2 blocks as well. Yesterday, he had 8 pts, 2 steals and 3 blocks in the first quarter.

We need to get Jarvis as well. He can just flat-out stroke it and is a pretty good athlete.
 
Yeah Jarvis can stroke it for sure... My understanding is that Butler is hot on him. I can see it now Indiana State travels to Butler and Jarvis lights us up for 36 A.J Graves anyone? How do you not get kids like this....

I hope we land Jarvis and Odum, however don't hold your breath. You might not get to breath again.

I know that Indiana State has expressed intrest in the Idol boys from Marshall, ill. If you have seen these kids play (twins) they can flat out play also. Matter a fact the Idols, Odum and Jarvis are all on the same AAU team.
 
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Jarvis went for 34 today, 9 three pointers, and two alley-oop dunks.

Sad thing is that we have 3 players at TH North and TH South that would probably get us toward the top of the MVC in Jarvis, Odum, and Gant. However, I will be surprised if any of the three come here.
 
John Michael Jarvis JR: Tree Haute South - Being recruited by ISU.
Upside:
Got a great shot with a quick release. Also very athletic kid that can get up and dunk the ball. Seems to have a high basketball IQ (I don't know what that actually means I have just always wanted to say that someone has a high basketball IQ).
Downside:
Not an amazing ball handler he would have to play the 2 guard. Size could be a concern but with his shot I wouldn't worry about his size to much.

This was my scouting report on Jarvis before I saw him play last night. I think I pretty much nailed this one. Does Indiana State have a head coaching vacancy yet? Do they need someone to complie scouting reports?
 

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Jake had 34 last night against a "game" West Vigo team. However West is undersized and just not athletic enough to play with South or stop Odum. Was anyone else at the game at Terre Haute South to see this performance? Comments? The kid can handle the ball and score no doubt about it. But he has no shot what so ever and it could be his demise at the D1 level. He is a guard and guards need to be able to shoot to create opportunities of the bounce.
 
Morgan said:
Jake had 34 last night against a "game" West Vigo team. However West is undersized and just not athletic enough to play with South or stop Odum. Was anyone else at the game at Terre Haute South to see this performance? Comments? The kid can handle the ball and score no doubt about it. But he has no shot what so ever and it could be his demise at the D1 level. He is a guard and guards need to be able to shoot to create opportunities of the bounce.
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Tell that to Emminecker at Drake last year. He didn't hit a 3 in his career but was MVC POY.
 
Very nice point....

Don't think I am not high on Jake Odum... I mean I am the type of person that you show me perfect and I will try and find a way to make it better. Their is no such thing as perfect. I look at Jake Odum and say you got everything it takes to be a good player at the D1 level except a shot. You are a guard at this level you need to have a shot. Have you seen Odum play? What is your assessment?
 
I think you could form a pretty good D1 bball team around local tallent in the next 4 years. If I was the coach I would make all of these kids a priority. Not only would we have a good team, I think you would see attendance numbers rise. This is kind of like the womens team did a few years back with all the local women (Mel B. Kristen W.)

PG. Jake Odum 6"1 (Dunks,Pass, Dribble, Rebound, Defend) MVP type tallent makes everyone around him better.

SG. John Michael Jarvis 6"3 (Dunks, Shoots Lights Out) He elevates so well hes an explosive player if he could do a little more of the dribble hed be sick!

SG. RJ Mahurin 6"9 (Dunks, Shoots Lights Out) A little slow, a little soft but hey hes just a kid.

SF.Lucas Eitel 6"4 (Dunks, Shoots, Pass, Rebounds, Defends) Might be the best of the bunch. NOTE TO SELF: He is a SR. and unsigned. Not heavily recruited.

SF.Logan Eitel 6"4 (Dunks, Shoots, Rebounds) Not as good of ball handler as his brother. But if you get one you get the other. If Logan get's in a fight or foul trouble you could switch jerseys at half and bring back Lucas.

PF. Thomas Anderson 6"7 (Dunks, Rebounds, Defends) Big body might not have the tallent to ever start but you could bring him off the bench.

C. Justin Gant 6"9 (Dunks, Shoots, Rebounds, Defends) He would be the youngest of the group when we brought him in since he is only a Soph. at North. Let's see how this kid develops, he looks like he could grow 2 more inches. However rumor has it he has a short mom. :) Not that it means anything but just saying.


Give me all these kids and I would like to see what they could do. 4 years! The Zach Harrison kid from Terre Haute North is also a pretty nice player. The more and more I watch him the more and more I like his game. A year ago I would have said no way the kid is weak sauce. But hes a decent 2 guard might not ever play D1 but hes a nice player. Hes got a sweet little mid range pull up jumper.
 
It's beyond me why no local schools are recruiting those Eitel twins from Marshall. Good kids, good students. Why in the world isn't that team ranked in Illinois ? They beat the #1 school in Indiana Class A, the #4 school in Indiana Class AAAA that beat the #1 school. Marshall plays old school team basketball, and they have been a pleasure to watch this week.
 

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WORD! I have no idea. I think since they are so close to the Indiana border the rest of the state is scared to death of them. Eastern Ill. would be silly not to land Logan and Lucas so would ISU but I don't think we have the resources or the roster space to take on two players. But to have a 6"4 SF that can step back and shoot the 3 and be the team player that Lucas is well I would want that on my team all day. They didn't necessarily play harder than South last night they played smarter than South. Mike Saylor got out coached.
 
Morgan said:
This kid is the leading candidate for Indiana Mr. Basketball right now. ..
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Not to rain on your parade but most of the time Mr. Basketball comes from Marian County or a population center of the north. RJ and Odum could split the vote for this part of the state and hurt each other. I have heard his numbers are good 20ppg/8apg/4 rpg (correct me if I am wrong). Colt Ryan is averaging 29ppg/7apg/7rpg, so Numbers alone colt would have it, Colt was also a junior All-Star, and has taken his team deep in the tourney the last two years. For non Marian county player it is weighted on how far your team went your junior year and the AAU perception of you that helps you get press. You also have to look at kinds like SVT and Bade from the Indy are who are going to Louisville and Purdue, as well as Elston from Tipton.

Does he have a shot at Mr Basketball, absolutely, but keep in mind that there are other players with better numbers who have been in the mind of the statewide media longer. But as of right now I just do not see it.
 
I said he was a candidate... I also posted that before they had lost and were the #4 team in the state of Indiana. Fact of the matter is if you are Terre Haute South and win the MIC and you finish ranked as a top 5 or 10 team in the state then I think the kid who leads you in scoring, assists, rebounds, steals, and blocks might get some attention.

I have been around these parts long enough to understand the media circus that surrounds plays in the Indy area and even up around Fort Wayne and such... But to suggest he does not have a shot to win it because he is from Terre Haute is wrong. If anyone in this area gives RJ a vote they have lost their mind. Granted RJ is a nice player but Jake Odum makes South a top 10 team in the state without him they are weak sauce.
 
Let me start this by saying this is not a bashing post, that said, RJ really dissapointed in the classic. He for sure plays no defense, see the lazy reach he took as Eitel drove by him for the winning shot?

He doesnt know what the inside of a weightroom looks like and he benefits from the offense being run FOR him. They scream for a foul EVERY missed shot. He doesnt like getting pushed around. Just what ISU needs is another soft player. The good news is that alot of this is fixable. Id like to see ISU redshirt him and buik him up and toughen him up with a year of practice and weights. Odum will see courtime before RJ, IF Odum doesnt play himself into a scholarship somewhere else, which is possible.
 
Morgan said:
I said he was a candidate... QUOTE]

I was not bashing anyone, howevere in the initial post you said he was THE candidate, I guess I should have been more to the point. Mr Basketball as well as All-Star team selection ends up being more of a life time achievment award.

A young man can have identical stats to another player but if he had done the year or two before and had deep tourney runs mixed with AAU success chances are that he is on the medias mind more, no knock on any athlete, just on the system.

Perfect example is Oufut (spelling) last year, he was out all season and still named an all star, a perfect example of life time recognition and not senior season.

Odum like any late bloomer has to compete with the likes of Colt Ryan, Steve VanTreese, Patrick Bade, Elston, and Koch who have been talked about since their respective freshman years. Anyone can win it, some just start a little ahead of others due to previous years successes.
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Fair enough. and again your state wide knowledge is obviously a little more extensive than mine so I will take your word for it.

When my statement was made he was playing on the #4 team in the state and he was putting up gaudy numbers. He is still playing on a top 10 team in the state and he leads them in every major statistical category. If I kid like that is not considered one of the leading candiditates coming out of the MIC then I would say their is a huge flaw in the system for sure.

But thanks for your insight. I still would like to think hes in the hunt for Mr. Basketball but loosing to Marshall, ill. might have hurt his chances a little bit.
 
I completely agree, the system is flawed, it is a popularity contest. In down years where there is no clear cut candidate it is almost like “who does IU have coming from in state? Lets give it to that kid” Some years you have a wide open field (such as this year or 20001 or 2 when Justin Cage of Pike won) or in my opinion either of the Zeller brothers, others there is a clear cut favorite coming into the year, ala Greg Oden, Luke Recker, or Damon Bailey. I would say Cage was Mr. Basketball by an edge because of Pike’s season success and state title run.

Yes a lot of great players have not won the honor, hell Larry Bird did not win. I did not realize they were ranked that high, hopefully they can continue to have a great year and he can put up great numbers, but no so great he gets a better offer!

Now that you have brought him to the forefront, can you shed some light on what he and his teams have done in years past? I will admit I tend to follow the teams from southeast and south central Indiana the most as well as the northern half and Indy since I have lived in all of those regions.

I guess the key to Mr. Basketball is will candidates split the vote in areas, VanTreese and Bade could split the Indy area, The Koch kid from Winchester would normally have the vote for the eastern part of the state, except he has sat out five games for an alcohol related violation, if we are looking at student athletes and how the exlimplify Indiana high school basketball he may be out of the running. The key for Jake is if he could persuade some of the media from Indy, Evansville, and Bloomington etc.

Some if not most voters have it narrowed down to 3 or 4 candidates coming into the season and they follow them very closely and vote from that list, unless someone surprises them, also the school’s promotion of players has to do with it. Some schools only promote as player as an All-Star Candidate while some only promote as a Mr. Basketball candidate, there are so many factors that we have no idea about. Is the systems flawed, yes, just like the heisman is. But it is ours and being Mr. Indiana Basketball still means something in our state and across the nation.

This all being said best of luck to Jake, RF, all ISU recruits, and young men mentioned in this post.
 
just a reminder mr basketball in some states means nothing . Jay Tunnell was Kansas Mr. Basketball. however in the state of Indiana it means alot. and yes it is popularity like just about anything is i mean comeon Luke Zellar was Mr Basketball because he hit a half court shot to win his Class Basketball State Championship. who got screwed on that one ?
 
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