Recruiting News

Just a couple of quick "hits" on the Ivy League recruiting front...

First, the Indianapolis Star confirms that Tommy Eggleston, the younger brother of Penn forward Jack Eggleston, will indeed enroll at Penn to play basketball. The Indy Star writes:

Heritage Christian high school's Tommy Eggleston was going to pursue a football scholarship but when his best offers were being a recruited walk-on at a Division I school he returned to his first love -- basketball.

Eggleston, a 6-5 safety/guard, committed to the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in February but then football indirectly re-entered the picture. He had taken a visit to Penn for football and applied to the school but didn't get accepted until after he had changed his focus to basketball. When the Penn coaches found out he had been accepted, however -- Eggleston's brother, Jack, is a two-year starter for the Quakers -- they offered him a spot on the team (Ivy League schools do not offer athletic scholarships).

"I couldn't turn down the opportunity," Egglgeston said of the Ivy League education. "(Penn basketball) had recruited me some in the fall and over the summer but hadn't talked to me recently when they called out of the blue (in late March). It was a tough decision. I had been committed to Milwaukee for a month but I'm happy with my decision."

Penn graduated two wings and another backcourt starter is transferring so Eggleston is hoping to earn regular time off the bench. He will have two seasons with his brother, a 6-8, 215-pounder who was in the top 10 in the Ivy League in rebounds, free throw percentage, blocks and steals, and third on the team in scoring at 9.6 points per game.

"I talked to my dad and playing both sports would be hard, even at a Division III school, which I looked at," said Eggleston, who will major in political sciene. "He said, 'Go with what you're passionate about.' Basketball is my first love.

"And it's downtown Philadelphia. I wanted an urban campus. A lot of the other schools were rural. I also know a lot of the players through my brother. Being able to get an Ivy League education and play basketball made a lot of sense."

In other Ivy League recruiting news, the New England Recruiting Report published a recap of Yale's Elite Camp. The Cornell Basketball Prospect Camp will be held from June 26-28 on the Cornell campus. Cornell coaches and players will be instructors.

Sticking with Cornell news, the West Lafayette-based, Journal & Courier has a few new quotes concerning Errick Peck's performance with the Indiana All-Stars last week.

Also noteworthy in recruiting news, Complex.com references Harvard's alleged recruiting violations during 2008.