Pre Fall Basketball Signing Period: Hoosier Recruits on Parade

The early signing period for basketball recruits is coming up on us very quickly and the Hoosiers have narrowed their scope of recruits in the 2015 class quite a bit. As a quick disclaimer you never know what could be popping up but it appears at least through the fall that the Hoosiers are going to focus almost solely on Shake Milton, O.G. Anuoby, Thomas Bryant and Stephen Zimmerman. Three of them do have the potential of coming off the board sometime in the next couple of weeks, while Zimmerman has stated that he is going to wait until Spring to commit.

That puts us in a position to possibly fill up our class of 2 or 3 in the fall before ever getting a shot at Zimmerman in the spring. But for now the Hoosiers are playing a waiting game. We’ve discussed Shake Milton several times on this blog and we know that he’s already taken likely all of his official visits. Now the Hoosiers are just waiting on him to make a decision. There was a quick blip last night that he was going to decide tomorrow evening some time, but that now appears to no longer be accurate.

Milton has narrowed it down to SMU, Oklahoma and Indiana. The word on the street is that he’s torn between coming out to an Indiana that impressed on his visit or staying close to his mother and little brother in Oklahoma. The draw of staying near family has the potential to be the biggest factor in this one. Of course, the Hoosiers would be ecstatic to have him, but I’d say at this moment 50/50 is the correct odds to put on IU versus the field.

O.G. Anunoby is a prospect that hasn’t had a ton of mentions on this blog, but that has more to do with his timing of his visit than his ability as a prospect. He visited after Shake Milton and Juwan Morgan and I thought if the Hoosiers got commits from both of them before Anunoby came to campus he/IU would change their plans.

Anunoby is a 6’8” versatile wing that can do a lot of good things. He’s not ranked in the Rivals top 150 but taking one look at his list of offers will tell you that many Power 5 schools don’t think that matters. The Hoosiers are fighting Georgia, Iowa, Kansas St. and Mississippi among others in this one. Though it appears it is down to one of Georgia, Iowa or Indiana. Many think Indiana is the team to beat here, though he may have some hesitations with the addition of Morgan recently. We’re going to be pretty full on the wings for several years to come unless there is some major roster attrition through going pro or transferring.

Finally, Thomas Bryant is the last 2015 left to visit this fall. He was supposed to be on campus last week with Anunoby, but had to reschedule due to a school project. Don’t think of this as a dog ate my homework excuse. He immediately rescheduled and will be on campus two weeks from now. If the Hoosiers can get him to hold out that long without committing to Syracuse or Missouri, then they’ve got a shot. The top 40 prospect, would be a huge addition both physically and mentally to this roster. We need big guys in the paint that can come in relatively college ready. Between Bryant and Zimmerman, they don’t come in more ready.

Ultimately it looks like this class is going to be a 3 man class. I still think Milton is swayed to Indiana. Meaning Morgan and Milton will be accompanied by Anunoby, Bryant or a current off the radar prospect. The Hoosiers of course are already booked for their scholarship allotment for next year, but that’s another discussion. The only way I do see IU taking more than three though, is if we already have a class of three and suddenly Stephen Zimmerman or Thomas Bryant want to come. Those are two guys that you find room for on a roster. Time will tell, but we’re only a few weeks from the early signing period and a lot of dominoes will be falling soon and quickly.