Indiana Basketball recruiting: Clifton Moore shines bright as playoff action gets underway

News, notes, and any other tidbits that deal with Hoosier recruits and/or targets

• The Derby Classic, taking place on April 15th in Freedom Hall in Louisville, will feature all 3 of Indiana’s 2017 commits - Justin Smith, Al Durham, and Clifton Moore - in addition to a number of other Kentucky and Louisville commits, including Malik Williams (Louisville), a former Hoosier target.

• Speaking of Clifton Moore, the rising 6’10”, 200 lb PF out of Hatboro-Horsham HS (PA), was a man among boys in the opening round of the District 1-6A Pennsylvania state playoffs. His 22 point, 13 rebound, 10 block triple-double, including the clutch baby hook in overtime seen below, led HH to a 34-32 double-overtime win last week over Central Bucks West. 34 points as a team in a playoff win! In double OT! It’s like if Bo Ryan and Tony Bennett got together to talk defense and long possessions, didn’t sleep for 4 straight nights, and then fever-dreamed this game into existence.

• Justin Smith knows how to cap off a career. On Senior Night, the Stevenson (IL) product dropped 32 points and 16 rebounds (12-15 FG) in a blowout win over Warren (IL). The 4-star prospect has made steady progress the whole year, and continues to be a stabilizing force in a recruiting class that could end up surprising a lot of Indiana fans next year.

• The Mark Smith recruiting hype train continues to roll along, with the Edwardsville (IL) PG now receiving an offer from THE Ohio State. The recent flurry of attention has impacted his ranking in the 2017 class too, where he now sits as a 4-star, rated #107 overall.

• All is quiet on the Jordan Tucker front. While my personal opinion is admittedly 100% subjective and not in the know, the lack of activity does not seem to bode well for Indiana given the current turmoil throughout the program and fanbase, alike. The longer this recruitment drags out, the slimmer my hopes are of Tucker suiting up for the Hoosiers in 2017-18.

• Romeo Langford, already the New Albany all-time scoring leader, has become the all-time scoring leader in Floyd County now, too. And he’s still only a junior. This past weekend, Langford (1,906 career points) passed former Indiana standout Pat Graham (1,886) and Jerry Schellenberg (1,891) as he went for 76 points between his team’s two games, including a 40 point, 11 rebound performance in a 76-72 win over Indianapolis Manual.

• Missed this last week, but 2018 PG Robert Phinisee took an unofficial visit to Bloomington for the Indiana-Purdue game, and is still very much on the radar for both schools. On the court, Phinisee dropped 15 for McCutcheon (IN) in a win over Indy Arlington.

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