HAWK TALK

August 30, 2012

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By JAMES ALLAN Adam Woodbury was 6 years old the last time the University of Iowa men's basketball team was in the national recruiting spotlight Now, 12 years later, the 7-foot-1 center is a focal point of a Hawkeye freshmen class looking to help get the program back to national prominence. Along with Woodbury (Sioux City, Iowa), UI head coach Fran McCaffery added fellow top-100 recruit Mike Gesell (South Souix City, Neb.) to the roster, along with guards Patrick Ingram (Indianapolis), Anthony Clemmons (Lansing, Mich.) and forward Kyle Meyer (Alpharetta, Ga.) Freshmen out to prove their ranking Incoming men's basketball freshmen enjoy recognition; aim to move forward "This is a class that, as it grows and develops together, will be the foundation for Iowa basketball, propelling the Hawkeyes to the next step, which is the upper half of the Big and the NCAA Tournament," said Paul Biancardi, ESPN's director of basketball recruiting "This is a class to be excited about." The class finished as the 25th-rated class in ESPN's team basketball recruiting rankings. "People recognizing our program is a good thing and a blessing," said Clemmons, who was the final piece of the recruiting puzzle "It is a blessing that we get to try to be a part of changing the culture in this program." The 2000 Iowa recruiting class was the highest in school history with two top-50 players -- Jared Reiner and Glen Worley -- to go along with Brody Boyd, Courtney Scott, Sean Sonderleiter and junior college transfer Reggie Evans The class was tabbed as fiſth-best nationally. "It was an honor to be recognized as a top class," said Woodbury, the 39th ranked player by ESPN.com, No. 50 by Rivals.com and No. 47 by Scout. com "It is cool to say we're one of the few in recent years, but everything we've done in high school is pushed back now College is a new level and a different style of play. " Four of the five players (Ingram trained in Indianapolis and played in the Indiana All-Star Game) jumpstarted their Hawkeye careers with summer school classes, while competing in the local Prime Time League. 29

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