Valparaiso men’s basketball head coach Bryce Drew announced today that Bobby Capobianco, a 6’9”, 250 lb. forward from Loveland, Ohio, has transferred from Indiana University to Valparaiso and has joined the Crusaders’ men’s basketball program.  Capobianco must sit out the 2011-2012 season due to NCAA transfer regulations, and will have two seasons of eligibility remaining beginning with the 2012-2013 campaign.

“Valpo fans are going to love Bobby,” said Drew.  “He has a great personality, excels in the classroom and has a great deal of skill for a player of his size.  We are looking forward to working with him this year to expand his game and to get him comfortable playing in our system.  Bobby is going to help our program tremendously in the years to come.”

Capobianco appeared in 57 games over his two seasons at Indiana, including making five starts for the Hoosiers as a freshman.  The forward totaled 96 points and 112 rebounds with the Hoosiers, setting a career high with eight points as a freshman in a win over Northwestern.  Capobianco also reached double figures in rebounding once, pulling down 10 rebounds in just 17 minutes in an Indiana win against George Mason.

Capobianco was highly touted coming out of Loveland H.S., earning a top-100 ranking from ESPN.com in the Class of 2009.  He finished his prep career as Loveland’s all-time leading scorer, rebounder and shot-blocker, averaging a double-double in each of his final three seasons.  Capobianco played in the Ohio North/South All-Star game, and was also chosen to participate in the NBA Players Association camp.  He played his AAU basketball for Indiana Elite One.

Drew also announced Thursday that Griffyn Carpenter has joined the Valpo men’s basketball program as a walk-on.  Carpenter comes to Valpo from Triton [Ind.] H.S., where he led the Trojans as a senior with 19.1 points per game while shooting 57% from the floor.  He received Honorable Mention All-State honors from the IBCA as well, as he helped the Trojans to the Class A IHSAA title game.