The 2018-19 Indiana University men’s basketball season is right around the corner. To help get you ready, The Daily Hoosier is profiling every player on the 2018-19 IU roster. You can see all of our 2018-19 player profiles in one place here. If you are looking for the 2018-19 IU basketball schedule, you can find that here.
When Jake Forrester verbally committed to Indiana in September of 2017, the buzz surrounding in-state commits Damezi Anderson and Rob Phinisee was still palpable, and the anticipation of Romeo Langford was building.
Who was this kid from Pennsylvania?
After just a few short months on campus, Forrester has gone from an afterthought to someone who many are regarding as a diamond in the rough.
While it may be a slower process for IU fans to appreciate Forrester’s potential, he has been on Indiana’s radar for a long time.
He initially received his scholarship offer from the Hoosiers from former coach Tom Crean. When Indiana hired Archie Miller away from Dayton, the new coach honored the offer of the previous staff and got to work getting to know Forrester and his family.
Forrester’s development accelerated at Westtown School as a junior when he went up against Mohamed Bamba every day in practice. He also played along side Duke-bound five star recruit Cam Reddish, who tended to overshadow him a bit as well. Nevertheless, people noticed.
Forrester was ranked #127 by Rivals and #131 by 247Sports in the class of 2018. He averaged 12.2 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while leading Westtown to a 23-10 record. The 6-foot-8 forward played AAU basketball with the PSA Cardinals, which is the same program that produced Thomas Bryant.
ESSENTIALS
- Height: 6-foot-8
- Weight: 218
- Position: Forward
- Class: Freshman
- Hometown: Harrisburg
- High School: Westtown School
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING
Archie Miller on Forrester:
“Well, Jake is a livewire. He really is. He is a livewire. He as energetic, as vocal, as high-strung of a guy as I’ve had come into college in a while. He provides instant energy. He provides instant energy, he provides instant talk. He can be the life of the room, and in practice just more so than anything, you really need life in practice, which I love. With that motor, he’s also a guy that’s not afraid. He’s going to challenge you on both ends of the floor, whether he’s trying to dunk on you or whether he tries to block your shot, which is another great attribute to have.”
VIDEO
Highlights from Forrester’s senior year at Westtown.
WHAT 2018-19 SUCCESS LOOKS LIKE
Already our description of what success looks like for Forrester as a freshman is different than what we would have a said a few months ago.
As we saw last year with Zach McRoberts — Miller places a lot of value on hustle, energy and effort. Forrester is going to see the floor and get opportunities this year, and with his energy and passion for the game, he is likely to be quickly embraced by the fans.
More than just the effort, the physical transformation of Forrester is probably more noticeable than any of the freshmen. Cliff Marshall shared some insights on social media, and you can see the difference in the two photos above. He should be able to handle the rigors of Big Ten play.
Forrester is already accustomed to not being the top scoring option on a team, so he likely isn’t going to be overly concerned with scoring in his early years, and especially not this year as Juwan Morgan and Romeo Langford lead the way.
Hustle, rebounding, blocked shots, first to the floor, firing up the crowd — those are things that you can expect from the Pennsylvania product this year if he can crack the rotation.
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