Indiana basketball recruiting: Jordan Tucker names Tom Crean and the Hoosiers his top choice

News, notes, and any other tidbits concerning Hoosier recruits and targets:

It’s a weird time to be an Indiana fan, and even more so if you’re an Indiana recruit. The lack of activity in IU’s 2017 class, and possibly 2018 as well, is a direct reflection of the instability surrounding the program at the moment. Tom Crean’s employment status, as well as the unclear futures of O.G. Anunoby, Thomas Bryant, James Blackmon Jr., Collin Hartman, and a number of others on the current roster is clouding the picture of exactly how many scholarships will be available for the 2017-18 year and beyond. While still involved with a number of high-level 2017 prospects, the Hoosiers have a 2017 recruiting class that stands 3 deep, and even that is technically oversigned by two. With Indiana’s future as fluid as ever, its recruiting pitch is currently stuck in a pretty severe state of limbo.

• Tremont Waters, the 4-star 2017 accounting-loving PG who was once considered a heavy Indiana lean, has asked to be released from his commitment to Georgetown. No word as of yet about what his future moves will entail, but you can be sure the IU coaching staff will be doing their due diligence.

• I know I sound like a broken record, but Mark Smith has yet again found a way to one-up himself and continue his ascent into a legitimate 4-star prospect out of seemingly nowhere. In a sectional final against Danville (home to both former Illinois coach John Groce and CQ’s own Kyle Swick, which to be honest makes Smith’s accomplishments seem a lot less impressive), the 6’4”, 225 PG went for 45 points as his Edwardsville team cruised to an 81-59 win. A new highlight tape of his can be seen below, fully equipped with a personalized rap that feels like a diet version of “Bitch, I’m Frank Mason”.

• Well, here’s an interesting turn of events. Jordan Tucker, the 4-star 2017 SF who in December was a hot pick to commit to Indiana before the new year before cooling his interest level and letting other schools (Oregon, Georgia Tech) get involved in his recruitment, sent out the tweet below last night about Tuesday’s NIT matchup. Then, in an interview with Rivals, Tucker had this to say about his current status, “I think Indiana is at the top and then those other three (Nova, Oregon, GT) are pretty even. The only thing with Villanova is I’m just waiting to see who is leaving and who is staying.” This is obviously great news for Indiana, but honestly I am shocked after the months of seemingly descending interest levels between the two parties. Recruiting is a weird game, man.

• Romeo Langford’s dream season came to an abrupt end on Saturday as New Albany fell to Castle by a score of 72-64 in the Regional final. It wasn’t for a lack of production on Langford’s part, though, who put up 44 points (He now sits at seven(!) career 40+ point games), including the massive dunk seen below.

• IU’s Chuck Martin was in to see 3-star PG Jordan Walker (The Patrick School, NJ) this weekend. Indiana’s interest in Walker, a good friend of 2017 commit Al Durham, has remained steady as of late, but appears to be nothing more substantial at the moment.

• Time to officially ramp up the Trendon Watford-to-IU hype train. The 5-star 2019 prospect, who also has an older brother that personally is responsible for John Calipari’s refusal to ever come back to Assembly Hall, wrapped up a 7A Alabama state title for Mountain Brook last week. The 6’8, 217 lb F first led the way with 22 points, 20 rebounds, and 5 blocks in a 52-41 Mountain Brook semifinal win, only to top that in the final by dropping 26 and 11 to accentuate a 63-43 championship victory.

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