News, notes, and any other information regarding Hoosier recruits and/or targets
Well, it didn’t take long. After locking his down his class of 2017 by retaining all three of Tom Crean’s commitments, Archie Miller and his staff have set out a broad and robust recruiting strategy that seemingly places Miller, Ed Schilling, Tom Ostrom, and Bruiser Flint everywhere around the country all at once.
Specifically, Miller has made a point of reconnecting with the top talent in the state with the help of the deep connections of Schilling, but that’s just the start. Tom Ostrom has been successful in Minneapolis area in the past, and suddently the Hoosiers are in on the top prospects from the state of Minnesota. Bruiser Flint coached for two decades in Massachusetts and Philadelphia, and you can be sure that Flint will not let the relationships IU made with east coast recruits, in particular New York, go to waste.
Most striking, though, is not the geographic range of the new Indiana staff’s approach; it’s the pace. In just about a month, mostly every big name in Indiana has already had a sit-down to get on the same page with Archie and/or his assistants, and now, after a cascade of offers to 4 and 5-stars around the country, taking a step back and looking at the big picture can shed some light on how Miller wants to build his teams. To me, that plan is simple - make very clear what you’re looking for and then find top talent to bring that vision to life. In just the past two weeks, let’s take a look at what Archie and his staff have been up to.
2018 Class
- Romeo Langford, Archie Miller and Ed Schilling’s first big recruiting test, keeps solidifying himself as a bonafide 5-star prospect and as maybe the biggest prospect in Indiana since Damon Bailey. At the Adidas Gauntlet AAU tournament last weekend with the IU staff on hand, Langford outdueled the superhuman, Steph Curry-approved highlight machine Zion Williamson in a battle between the #2 and #3 overall prospects in the class of 2018, going for 28 points in front of coaches from pretty much every major program. Watch the video below and then go leave your parents a scathing email for passing along such mediocre genetics.
- The sky is the limit for Musa Jallow, the local kid who keeps skyrocketing up the rankings in the class of 2018. Now a four-star (#58 overall), Jallow has a chance to be something really special, and Indiana seems to be well aware of this, hosting the Bloomington North product for an unofficial visit last week. While there is undoubtedly some reacquainting necessary for both sides, look for Indiana’s new staff to make Jallow a priority in the class of 2018.
- Eric Hunter, the 4-star Tindley (IN) guard who has received renewed interest in the wake of the new coaching staff in Bloomington, had this to say about how Archie Miller operates. "He's a serious guy to me. He won't be like the previous IU staff, kind of wishy-washy. If he likes me, he's going to let me know, if he doesn't, I am going to know.” (Source) The definitive nature of Miller’s actions has been a recurring theme in his short time at the helm of the Indiana program, and it seems to be a welcome change in the mind of many recruits, including Hunter.
- Another Hunter on Indiana’s radar, this time Pickerington North (OH) junior Jerome Hunter, had been previously pursued by Archie Miller to come play at Dayton. The 6’7” F, ranked #104 in the class of 2018, has not yet received an offer from the Hoosiers, but Miller and Schilling were front in center at his Adidas Gauntlet AAU games in the opening weekend of the first evaluation period, and will definitely be somebody to watch in the coming weeks and months.
- For only the most ardent of Indiana fans, Louis King’s name might ring a bell. The 5-star prospect, who had an offer from Tom Crean last year, talked with Archie Miller this past week, who reaffirmed Indiana’s interest in the 5-star prospect out of Hudson Catholic HS in Burlington, NJ. A 6’8”, 195 lb F ranked #25 overall in the class of 2018, King is a name to keep an eye on despite heavy interest from a number of other top programs.
- After a dominant performance last weekend at the EYBL, 2018 prospect Cole Swider (Barrington, RI) caught the attention of the Indiana coaching staff in a major way, and left with an Indiana offer. After averaging 21.8 PPG over the weekend (including 12-16 from 3), the 6’8”, 210 lb SF is only a three-star (#138 overall) currently, but as a dead-eye shooting big man with a solid handle, that is sure to jump in the next refresh of the 2018 rankings.
- Race Thompson is a new name from a new region for Indiana fans. The four-star PF out of Robbinsdale Armstrong HS (MN), Thompson received a visit from IU, representing the first foray into the Minneapolis area for the Indiana coaching staff, where assistant Tom Ostrom has historically had recruiting success. Thompson, a 6’8”, 200 lb PF, is ranked #73 in the class of 2018.
2019 Class
- Well, 2019 should be fun. Along with Keion Brooks Jr. and Trendon Watford, Matthew Hurt is now on the list of 5-stars in the 2019 class who are receiving heavy IU interest. Hurt (#7 overall, #2 F), a 6’9”, 200 lb F out of John Marshall HS in Rochester, MN, is an AAU teammate of 2018 target Race Thompson. A top 10 player overall, the 5-star Hurt will have his pick of top programs across the country, but please, just watch the video below and tell me that it’s not at least encouraging to see the Hoosiers getting involved with a player like this.
- The NY pipeline is not a thing of the past, as Isaiah Stewart, a 6’8”, 243 lb PF from Rochester, NY was offered yesterday by Indiana. While he missed most of his sophomore season due to injury, the 4-star prospect is averaging a double-double so far in Nike EYBL play.
- Trayce Jackson-Davis, a four-star PF out of Center Grove (IN) HS, is a new in-state name that Miller and his staff have been keeping a close eye on. Already having received offers from Purdue and Iowa, the 6’8”, 210 lb PF averaged 12.4 PPG and 9.0 RPG as a sophomore.
- UPDATE: Add another 5-star 2019 prospect IU is interested in to the list, as 6’11”, 210 lb C James Wiseman just received an offer from Archie Miller after the IU staff watched him over the weekend. Wiseman, the #8 overall prospect in the 2019 class, is from Ensfield High School in Nashville, TN.
- As always, keep up to date with our ever-changing recruiting board.