And then there were two.
Bloomington South High School shooting guard Anthony Leal announced today via his Twitter account that his recruitment is down to two schools.
The 6-foot-5 Leal will decide between Indiana and Stanford.
Final 2
✞
Thank you to every coach who recruited and believed in me, but through God’s grace I am proud to announce my final two schools: pic.twitter.com/dQr4R3helV— Anthony Leal (@anthonyl3al) July 25, 2019
This list cut eliminates primary contenders Northwestern, Xavier, and Cincinnati, as well as Ohio State, which had also recently offered a scholarship.
An Indiana fan growing up, Leal has long been suspected to be a heavy IU lean.
But his recruitment has gone longer than some expected since Indiana head coach Archie Miller offered him a scholarship in April.
Leal has never wavered in openly admitting that playing at IU would be special for him.
At the same time, because he is a high level student, his recruitment has presented another once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Now the top student and athlete is down to just the hometown Hoosiers and what is surely a very intriguing academic option with Stanford.
Leal took an official visit to Stanford in March, and he is of course a regular visitor to the IU campus.
As a junior at Bloomington South, Leal averaged 19.9 points per game and led a talented squad to the 4A regional final where the Panthers came up short against Trayce Jackson-Davis led Center Grove.
Leal made 55% of his shots on the 2018-19 season including 38% from long range. He added 4.9 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 2.1 steals per contest.
Rated No. 96 nationally according to the latest 247Sports Composite, Leal is the top player in the state of Indiana among incoming seniors according to that service.
Playing with the Indiana Elite on the Adidas AAU Circuit, Leal had a productive spring and summer running alongside fellow IU recruiting targets Trey Galloway and Khristian Lander.
Leal averaged 12.2 points per contest for Indiana Elite in 21.5 minutes per game. He shot 48.6% from the field overall, including 41.9% from three-point range.
He added 3.1 rebounds, 2.9 assists, .8 turnovers and .7 steals per contest during AAU play.
Leal has consistently stated that he will make a final decision prior to the start of his final high school basketball season. He told the Herald Times’ Jon Blau that a commitment could be announced anywhere from a couple weeks to the next few months.
Just talked to Bloomington South Anthony Leal about cutting his list to IU and Stanford. Says a final decision could take anywhere from "a couple of weeks to a few months." #iubb
— Jon Blau (@Jon_Blau) July 25, 2019
See Also: Anthony Leal could follow a unique Bloomington to IU pipeline.
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