Friday's Tidbits: May 22

1. Robert Marve to Purdue is absolutely huge for Danny Hope and the Boilermakers. Although he'll have to sit out the 2009 season, Marve comes to West Lafayette with more hype than Kyle Orton and Curtis Painter. There's a reason why Miami, Alabama and others, wanted him in 2007.

2. Indiana and basketball recruiting have been slow as of late, but I have a hunch (and have been told) a committment will happen in the next few weeks, or in late June. Possibly from the 2012 class. Stay tuned.

3. Fort Wayne Harding running back Roderick Smith is one of the fastest rising prospects in the nation. If you haven't seen him play, find his film(Rivals.com has a few clips.) The kid is a beast with slick wheels. According to Rivals.com, Smith is the 48th overall prospect in 2010 and 5th best running back in the nation. He has offers from Ohio State, Tennessee, Michigan, and Purdue, among others. My guess is he commits to the Buckeyes very soon here.

4. Cleveland will win Game 2 tonight. It's a poker game now, adjustments should and will be made. Look for the Cavs to get out in transition more this evening. Lebron James will not go for 49 tonight, though.

5. All this talk of "Carmelo is finally getting respect" is borderline insane. He was the 3rd overall draft pick in 2003. My grandmother even knew he was a really good player. Why is he playing at an MVP level all of the sudden? It's called effort and motivation. Melo' can thank Coach K. and Kobe Bryant for saving his career.

6. I have a bad feeling IU football is in for a long year, despite improvements in the secondary and backfield. The basement door is wide open. Purdue won't be much better, though.

7. Want to see the October 17, 2009, match-up between ND-USC this season? Four tickets (row 20) on Ebay are going for $2,500. Or best offer, of course.

8. The U.S. Men's basketball team is starting to prepare for next year's World Championships in Turkey, and then in London for the 2012 Olympic Games. ESPN reported on Monday that most of the 2008 gold medal team will be back, with Bryant, James, Dwyane Wade, Chris Paul and Dwight Howard leading the way. One player who should and will be on the team next time around is Kevin Durant. Two years from now, Durant will be talked about in the same breath as James and Wade (Kobe will still be there, too). The things Durant can do standing 6-10 are incredible. And he's only 20 years old.