Indiana had multiple coaches on hand to watch a matchup between two defending state champions and two of their top targets in the class of 2021.
Silver Creek’s Trey Kaufman and Blackhawk Christian’s Caleb Furst went head-to-head at Southport High School on Saturday night in connection with the Forum Tip-off Classic.
While IU head coach Archie Miller and assistant coach Tom Ostrom came to see Kaufman and Furst, it was Kooper Jacobi that stole the show as he led Silver Creek to a 78-74 win.
The 6-foot-6 Jacobi went for 36 points as he showed an ability to score from all three levels. The News and Tribune reported that it was a career high for Jacobi. The small forward holds a number of mid-major offers including Akron, Indiana State and Miami, Ohio. Jacobi had 26 points by halftime.
Hailing from Fort Wayne and Sellersburg, Ind., respectively, Furst and Kaufman more than held their own in this one as well.
Furst poured in 23 points while Kaufman had 17. The pair were matched up frequently, but Jacobi also took on the duty of guarding the 6-foot-9 Furst at times.
Furst scored most of his points in the paint, although he did show an ability to extend his range out to 15 feet and had some moments handling the ball in transition as well. The lefthander showed off an impressive array of post moves as well his explosiveness jumping off two feet with multiple dunks.
Furst told reporters after the game that he is planning a junior year official visit to Indiana.
Kaufman continues to show off his evolution to a more perimeter oriented game. The 6-foot-9 wing knocked down multiple jump shots and demonstrated an ability to get to the rim off the bounce.
Silver Creek (5-0), remained perfect on the season.
CARMEL 63 EVANSVILLE REITZ 37
In earlier action at Southport, defending state champion Carmel’s stifling defense shut down Evansville Reitz.
Five-star Reitz point guard Khristian Lander scored 18 points, although Rivals’ Nick Baumgart reported that he only got off four shots from the field in the second half as the Greyhounds directed a lot of attention his way. The Courier Press reported that Lander added five rebounds and four assists.
Carmel sophomore and likely division one prospect Peter Suder led the Greyhounds with 21 points.
Kevin Brockway from CNHI had these quotes from Lander after the game:
Lander said he recently received a call from Roy Williams, Tar Heels in play, along with Indiana, Louisville, Michigan
— KevinBrockwayGators (@KevinBrockwayG1) December 14, 2019
Lander on relationship with IU coach Archie Miller, "Very strong, he doesn't sugarcoat anything." #iubb
— KevinBrockwayGators (@KevinBrockwayG1) December 14, 2019
Several reports had IU legend Calbert Cheaney at the game, along with Miller and Ostrom.
The #1 Point Guard in class of 2021 Khristian Lander looks like a nightmare to guard @khristianlander pic.twitter.com/zCg6q5QYaD
— Ballislife.com (@Ballislife) December 15, 2019
BLOOMINGTON SOUTH 44 CULVER ACADEMIES 38
Fans looking to see a matchup of IU class of 2020 commits went home disappointed.
Culver’s Trey Galloway has a cast on his wrist and is expected to be out for a few weeks.
The Eagles still produced a strong defensive effort in the final game of the evening and held the Panthers’ Anthony Leal to just 11 points. Leal sat on the bench extensively with foul trouble. Bloomington South improved to 5-0 on the season.
BROWNSBURG 72 HERITAGE HILLS 54
The other IU 2021 recruiting target that made an appearance on Saturday at Southport was Brownsburg’s Pierce Thomas. An IHSAA state long jump champion, the 6-foot-4 Thomas scored 17 points in the Bulldog win. Miller and Ostrom were in attendance for this game as well, based on multiple reports.
Pierce Thomas Catches Nasty Dunk @FORUMTipoff @bhsdogs #forumtipoff pic.twitter.com/XYJF9HEQ85
— In The Gym Hoops (@inthegymhoops_) December 14, 2019
You can watch replays of all of the games here.
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