What a difference a year makes.
In late July of 2022, IU basketball had two commits in the rising senior class, and all of their major targets had for the most part wrapped up their official visits.
Fast forward to today, and Indiana has no class of 2024 commits, and almost all of their main targets are either in the midst of their visits, or just getting started. No one IU is after seriously right now seems to be close to a relatively near term (i.e. – next month) college decision.
The Hoosiers are one of just four Big Ten teams without a 2024 commit thus far. Seven of the 16 programs have multiple commits. But it’s still early, Indiana is after a lot of high end talent, and they’ve got a chance to land an elite class.
Right now we’ll call 14 players in the class of 2024 “main targets” for Indiana, obviously with different probabilities and degrees of prioritization. They’d probably take a class size of three to five depending on the makeup. In a perfect class, IU would land a center, power forward, two wings and a primary ball handler. Many of the players below overlap those categories with their diverse skills.
Of the 14, eight have Indiana in their formal list of top schools, and two have visits scheduled to Bloomington.
Click on each player’s names for all of our coverage.
Centers
Derik Queen – 5-star/No. 10 (overall) – Indiana has been involved with Queen for two years, and he’s their top center target. The Washington D.C. area native and Montverde Academy product is expected to take several late summer/fall visits, including a return to Indiana, where he toured last September. IU, Maryland, Kansas, Houston, LSU and Georgetown seem like the contenders, although Queen has not named top schools or announced visits to this point. The 6-foot-9 Queen would like to pick a school in the fall. IU and Maryland seem to have the best chance.
Update: Queen will visit IU Sept. 8-10.
Patrick Ngongba – 4-star/No. 26 – Ngongba has a similar skillset with Queen, and either D.C. area big man would be a major coup for the IU staff. Ngongba has named Indiana, Kansas State, UConn, Providence, Kansas, Duke, Kentucky and Michigan as his top eight. The IU staff is working for an official visit, something Ngongba says he’s considering. That’s the next milestone to watch for — Indiana has to get him on campus to be taken seriously. The 6-foot-10 Ngongba wants to decide in the fall, so things should move relatively fast. UConn could be tough to beat, with Ngongba’s cousin Isaiah Abraham already committed there in the class.
Power Forwards
Asa Newell – 5-star/No. 9 – Newell is starting another round of visits. Gonzaga, Alabama and Texas are on the schedule, and they join IU and Georgia as the leading contenders for the 6-foot-9 stretch four. Look for those schools to be involved when he releases a list of top contenders in the coming weeks. Although he lives in Florida and attends Montverde, Newell is from Athens, Ga. and the Bulldogs have been thought to have an edge. His brother plays in that program. But the IU staff continues to push hard here, going to his games on the Pro16 Circuit throughout the spring and summer. Newell will likely decide by the early signing period in November.
Combo Forwards
Liam McNeeley – 5-star/N0. 8 – When we last reviewed this group we said McNeeley might be the most likely to commit to Indiana, and his subsequent scheduling of a return visit to IU in September only enhances that view. It’s hard to remember an out-of-state player taking multiple official visits and not picking IU. The Texas native and Montverde Academy product is no sure thing, however, with Texas, Kansas, Alabama, Oklahoma and Michigan still in the hunt. The 6-foot-7 McNeeley would like to be done with his recruitment by the end of the calendar year. Before that he’ll likely have a keen interest in how Mackenzie Mgbako is utilized by the Hoosiers.
Tyler Betsey – 4-star/No. 30 – Betsey took an official visit to IU last month, and the Hoosiers are seen as a legitimate contender for the 6-foot-8 wing. He’ll cut his list in the coming days and IU should be included. 2024 6-foot-7 wing Isaiah Abraham’s commitment to UConn could actually help IU in this case. The Huskies are seen as a strong contender for Betsey, a Connecticut native, along with Duke, Creighton, Alabama, Cincinnati and others. Betsey is lining up late summer/fall visits. It would be interesting to see if McNeeley and Betsey would pick the same school — but of course that is a first world problem if IU was fortunate enough to land one of them.
Shooting Guards
Austin Swartz – 4-star/No. 37 – The 6-foot-4 Swartz just announced last week his top-eight schools, along with six planned visits. Of note, IU is his first visit, beginning on Aug. 18. Does being first mean anything? We’ll have to wait and see. But Swartz likes Indiana, and the staff is prioritizing him right now. Miami, Clemson, UConn, Florida State, Notre Dame, Georgia, and Virginia Tech round out the top-eight. It remains to be seen whether Swartz takes all of his visits, and how long his recruitment goes.
Annor Boateng – 4-star/No. 25 – Indiana also made Boateng’s top-eight last week. The 6-foot-5 Boateng has not announced a visit to IU, so that is obviously the milestone to watch for at this point. The Arkansas product is friends with IU center Kel’el Ware, so that’s a factor in Indiana’s favor. Missouri and Arkansas are thought to be strong, however. IU entered the mix relatively late, so this is one of those “if they can get him on campus” situations.
Rakease Passmore – 4-star/No. 48 – The 6-foot-5 Passmore took an official visit to IU in November and still speaks highly of the program. He’s one of the best athletes in the class, and a good shooter and defender too. A list cut is coming soon, along with late summer and fall visit plans. Those markers should tell us more about the level of mutual interest. Oregon, Miami, LSU, and Creighton are also among the contenders.
V.J. Edgecombe – 4-star/No. 16 – Edgecombe is the mystery man in this group. The Daily Hoosier spoke to him just a couple weeks ago, and he really hadn’t thought much yet about top schools or visit plans. That’s still the case. Duke has since offered, so they are obviously a school to watch, along with Miami, UConn, Providence, Mississippi State, and Michigan. If IU gets him on campus it will be time to take their involvement with Edgecombe serious.
Combo Guards
Jaeden Mustaf – 4-star/No. 39 – The 6-foot-5 Mustaf visited IU in June, and that only served to enhance the program in his eyes. Mustaf was already impressed with the one-and-done season Jalen Hood-Schifino had, and he believes he can bring similar size and skill to the college game. The Maryland native will play in the Overtime Elite league this year. IU was in his top schools published in April, but that least has expanded. Maryland, Florida State, N.C. State, Miami, Virginia Tech, Arkansas and Georgia Tech are also in the hunt, and Mustaf has visits scheduled out to September.
Dylan Harper – 5-star/No. 1 – The popular opinion right now is the nation’s No. 1 player is leaning towards either Rutgers or Duke. Indiana is still in the hunt, along with Kansas and Auburn. The 6-foot-5 Harper seems closer than many of the others to wrapping up his process. His brother played for Rutgers, and the Scarlet Knights already have the No. 2 player in the class committed. There’s noise about a lack of NIL funds at Rutgers, and that’s where the other schools might still have a chance. But Harper is likely one-and-done wherever he goes, so while relevant, NIL may not be a deciding factor.
Travis Perry – 4-star/No. 77 – The all-time leading scorer in Kentucky high school basketball should be putting out his top schools and visit plans any day. The 6-foot-2 Perry is still hearing from IU, along with Purdue, Ole Miss, Michigan, LSU, Notre Dame and Cincinnati. You could still call Kentucky a wild card. Perry may end up choosing a program based on style of play. Watching him this spring and summer he appears to be at his best off the ball.
Point Guards
Boogie Fland – 5-star/No. 7 – Indiana seemed nearly out of the picture with Fland in April, but they’ve catapulted to his top tier in just a few months. Credit Hood-Schifino’s season, good relationships, and a very good visit for giving IU a legit chance to land arguably the best pure point guard in the class. The competition is fierce, with Kentucky, Alabama, Michigan, North Carolina, Maryland, UConn and St. John’s still in the mix. The 6-foot-3 Fland will end up seeing all of his top eight — he still has four more visits in the coming months — so nothing is likely to happen fast. A September Kentucky visit will be a major hurdle.
Curtis Givens III – 4-star/No. 50 – Givens is teammates at Montverde with Queen, McNeeley, and Newell. IU is trying to get him to visit like they all have. Indiana offered Givens in April, and they made his top-seven schools soon thereafter. Like most guards, the 6-foot-3 Givens took note of how IU utilized Hood-Schifino. Fland and Givens have a lot of similarities and likely wouldn’t choose the same school. Givens is also considering Villanova, UConn, Memphis, Georgia Tech, LSU, and Texas. UConn just took a 2024 point guard commitment, while Memphis is the home team.
Notes: Since our last comprehensive update on this group, Flory Bidunga and Caleb Williams eliminated IU from contention.
For more on top schools, timelines, highlights and more coverage, check our frequently updated IU basketball recruiting target page.
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