IU basketball and football recruiting: the week in review

Recruiting has continued during these unique times as players and coaches alike adjust to an unexpected situation this spring and summer.

Each week we recap the top five recruiting developments and notes from the past week.

Here is the latest in IU football and basketball recruiting:

MILLER TALKS INCOMING 2020 CLASS

While the reclassification of five-star point guard Khristian Lander to the class of 2020 has dominated the recent headlines, IU has three more high level players in its incoming freshman group.

Collectively, Lander, Trey Galloway, Anthony Leal and Jordan Geronimo give IU the 13th ranked 2020 class nationally according to the 247Sports Composite.

On a special edition of Inside IU Basketball with Don Fischer on Friday night, Miller had this to say about the original three members of the 2020 class.

“All three guys have a chance to be terrific players while they’re at Indiana,” Miller said of Galloway, Leal and Geronimo. “All of them bring size and strength and skills at different levels but they’re all three physical bodies that are ready.”

Miller said much more about Lander and recruiting on the show.  You can watch the full video here.

IU CONTINUES TO BE STRONG WITH TREY KAUFMAN

The recruit on the top of most IU fan’s minds is Sellerburg, Ind. based class of 2021 forward Trey Kaufman.

For a while now Indiana has been the perceived favorite in a tightly contested regional recruitment, but never by a wide margin.  As time has passed, Virginia has entered the mix with an offer, and rumors of blue blood interest have circulated.

Is IU truly the favorite in this recruitment?  One national analyst thinks so.

Rivals’ Corey Evans said last week that while Kaufman is not moving quickly, he thinks Bloomington is the final destination.

“Yes, Indiana is still the team to beat for Trey Kaufman, but that doesn’t mean that a commitment is right around the corner. While some of his peers in the 2021 Rivals150 have come to a quick college decision, Kaufman doesn’t seem to be in a rush.

Kaufman has only taken official visits thus far to Indiana and Purdue. While the ability to connect with various coaching staffs via Zoom calls and virtual visits has helped, those solutions don’t replace in-person, on-campus visits.

Louisville, Virginia and Xavier have done their best to hold him off from committing, and Kentucky and North Carolina have also shown interest, but I expect Kaufman to ultimately choose the Hoosiers.”

The Nike EYBL AAU circuit announced that it was canceling all of its events this year.  Kaufman plays on the Adidas circuit, and it seems likely that will be canceled as well.  The NCAA and NABC are attempting to schedule live evaluation periods in August, September or October, but with little clarity and nothing coming up near term, it is becoming reasonable to wonder whether players like Kaufman might accelerate their process a bit.

See also:  Our Q&A with Kaufman | Q&A with Kaufman’s head coach | Junior season highlights

TREY, PART TRES

Indiana is attempting to bring a trio of Treys to IU as the Hoosiers stay in the hunt for New Jersey based forward Trey Patterson.

Patterson announced a top ten list last week, and Rivals’ Eric Bossi believes that Indiana is in the top half of that group.

“Active on the visit trail, Patterson has seen many of his finalists and has even completed official visits to Auburn, Florida and Indiana.

At this point, there is no favorite and no timetable has been set for a decision, but in addition to those he has visited officially it would be wise to keep a close eye on Rutgers and Villanova in this one.”

Patterson visited Indiana in October.

As we have written, Indiana seems likely to bring in at least one of Patterson, Kaufman or Mason Miller.  All three are probably best described as stretch-fours, with emerging perimeter skills that could ultimately help them play on the wing over time.

See also:  Patterson junior season highlights

IN-STATE CLASS OF 2023 TAKING SHAPE

It is still early days in the class of 2023, but there are at least two in-state players that Indiana fans will clearly be talking about for the next couple years.

Previously The Daily Hoosier profiled Lafayette, Ind. based point guard Dravyn Gibbs-Lawhorn, and this past week we shared highlights and more background on Indianapolis based forward Jalen Hooks.

Both players appear to be locks for a top-100 national ranking.

TWO IN-STATE DEFENSIVE LINEMEN GOING OTHER DIRECTIONS

After some early momentum recruiting the state of Indiana in the class of 2021, things have gone a bit sideways for Tom Allen.

The slide started when Elkhart defensive end Rodney McGraw flipped his commitment from Indiana to Penn State a few weeks ago.

This past weekend two more top in-state defenders shunned the Hoosiers.

Greenwood, Ind. top-700 class of 2021 defensive end Austin Booker announced on Saturday that he verbally committed to Minnesota.  At one point Indiana was the perceived favorite for the Center Grove High School product.

Also on Saturday, Indianapolis, Ind. top-500 class of 2021 defensive end Kyran Montgomery released a top-six list that excluded IU.  The Hoosiers were widely expected to be in the hunt down the stretch with the Pike High School edge rusher.

Despite the recent run of in-state misses, IU does have a class of 2021 verbal commitment from the state’s top defensive end, Cooper Jones.

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