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Recruiting roundup: Could Markus Howard be IU's point guard of the future?

The son of a former Hoosier running back from the 80's has an official visit to Bloomington next month, and now there's talk of him reclassifying to the class of 2016.

By David_Siegel

News, notes, and any other tidbits dealing with Hoosier recruiting:

With Tom Crean's job suddenly looking a lot more safe, we can get back to worrying about the future of the roster rather than who will be roaming the sidelines. That's good news too, because the Hoosiers seem to be in a pretty decent spot for both 2016 and beyond.

- A rather recent development concerns the recruitment of Markus Howard, the 4-star 2017 PG out of Findlay Prep in Las Vegas, NV. Howard, whose father was a running back for Indiana in the 1980's, has 4 official visits scheduled for February (Marquette, Baylor, Central Arkansas, and Indiana), and as this article in SI suggests, he could be considering a jump to the class of 2016.

Howard is currently listed as a four-star prospect in the class of 2017, but he indicated on Sunday that there's a possibility he could jump to the class of 2016, meaning he would join a college program for next season. Howard said that he's prepared academically to make the move if he chooses to do so. "It's up in the air," Howard told SI.com of the possibility of reclassifying. "I haven't really decided anything." Howard also said he plans to choose a school "probably around April".

(Source)

The 5'11", 185 lb PG recently put on a show for the ESPN-televised Hoophall Classic, dropping 25 in a win over Thon Maker and Athlete Institute, and then going 9-9 from the field (6-6 from 3) in a 26 point performance the following day in a 91-67 win over St. Benedict's Prep (NJ).

- Indiana faces a lot of roster turnover heading into next season, but the De'Ron Davis era is on the horizon in Bloomington, making the future seem a lot more secure. On the court, De'Ron has been playing at an elite level, recently going for 22 points (6-8 FG, 10-12 FT), 15 rebounds, and 6 blocks in a 63-55 win over Cherokee Trail (CO). What he means to his Overland (CO) team goes beyond the box score, though, and I strongly encourage you to check out this article that highlights his importance to the basketball program in Aurora, Colorado.

- Freshly-minted Indiana commit Devonte Green certainly picked a good time to have a career game. Less than a week after committing to IU, Green squared off against 5-star Mustapha Heron (Auburn commit) and dropped 39 points in a 73-72 victory. Those kind of numbers are the quickest way to earn a spot in a new fan's good graces.

- It's always hard to tell exactly what a big game really means at the high school level. But it's safe to say that Curtis Jones' numbers are no joke. He is constantly having huge games, like his 22/12/7 game for Huntington Prep in a big win over Purcell Marion, but with the tape to watch, it's easy to see that Jones is no fluke, and is going to be a big part of the Hoosiers game plan from day 1.

- Grant Gelon's bumpy ride of a season marches on. For every game where Gelon is an afterthought for Crown Point, he comes roaring back with a game like Sunday, where he was on fire from 3, knocking 6 treys down in route to a 24 point performance vs. Bowman.

- While the very strong and Indiana-heavy 2017 recruiting class looms just off the radar at this stage of the game (which we will get to in detail in the coming weeks), Five-star SF and North Central-product Kris Wilkes does things that deserve recognition on an alarmingly frequent basis. Here is the latest example, and while you watch, remember that Wilkes is still just a junior in high school.


- As always, keep up to date with our ever-changing recruiting board.

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